Rich Brooks has an amazing run going at UK with three consecutive bowl wins. Before the season started, I predicted the Cats to have eight wins and head to their largest bowl game since UK played Penn State in the Outback Bowl. This was supposed to be the year UK football took the next step. Jeremy Jarmon, Trevard Lindley and Micah Johnson all decided to stay in school instead of heading to the NFL. Of course, Jarmon was ruled ineligible, Lindley is now hurt and Johnson is playing his heart out.
As most realistic fans, I assumed the Cats would be 2-2 heading into the South Carolina game. Of course, I picked the Cats to finally beat Spurrier and take the next step in the SEC east. That didn’t happen and now the Cats are off to face another tough road game at Auburn. To make matters worse for UK, Auburn was embarrassed by Arkansas and UK lost Mike Hartline for at least 3-4 weeks to a knee injury. Even without Lindley, Warford and Hartline, the Cats should have won at South Carolina.
The Cats go on the road to play Auburn, which is still a winnable game in my opinion. The Auburn defense is thin and their special team’s play isn’t much better than UK’s, if you can imagine that. UK’s defense will have to step up and the secondary can’t get burned. Auburn runs a lot of misdirection plays which will be a challenge for the young UK corners. Martavious Neloms and Randall Burden will have to study game film so they are not fooled. Obviously the “X-factor” for UK will be the quarterback play. One of these quarterbacks, Newton or Fidler, has to step up and manage the game. UK needs to rely on their offensive line to protect the new quarterback and establish the running game for UK to pull off the upset Saturday.
As most realistic fans, I assumed the Cats would be 2-2 heading into the South Carolina game. Of course, I picked the Cats to finally beat Spurrier and take the next step in the SEC east. That didn’t happen and now the Cats are off to face another tough road game at Auburn. To make matters worse for UK, Auburn was embarrassed by Arkansas and UK lost Mike Hartline for at least 3-4 weeks to a knee injury. Even without Lindley, Warford and Hartline, the Cats should have won at South Carolina.
The Cats go on the road to play Auburn, which is still a winnable game in my opinion. The Auburn defense is thin and their special team’s play isn’t much better than UK’s, if you can imagine that. UK’s defense will have to step up and the secondary can’t get burned. Auburn runs a lot of misdirection plays which will be a challenge for the young UK corners. Martavious Neloms and Randall Burden will have to study game film so they are not fooled. Obviously the “X-factor” for UK will be the quarterback play. One of these quarterbacks, Newton or Fidler, has to step up and manage the game. UK needs to rely on their offensive line to protect the new quarterback and establish the running game for UK to pull off the upset Saturday.
Assuming UK beats Louisiana-Monroe and Eastern Kentucky, what other games do you feel UK can win this year to get them to six wins and their fourth bowl game in as many years? Personally, I feel the Cats go 4-3 over their next seven games. I believe the Cats beat Mississippi State at home, Vandy on the road and any other wins would simply be a bonus for the team. Kentucky is building a football program, but the program can’t afford to miss out on another bowl opportunity.
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