Kentucky Wildcats
College Football
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2013
Kentucky is just one of those teams that can’t get over the hump, playing in the always difficult SEC. The Wildcats are regarded as a basketball school with a football team. While they had shown promise in recent years with a couple bowl appearances, they took a step back in 2012, finishing a measly 2-10. Surprisingly, one of those wins came in a blowout of Kent State, a team that was just one win away from possibly being in a BCS bowl last year. However, that was the Wildcats lone good Game of the year as they were outmatched in every other Game. They managed a five-point loss against Georgia and that’s where the positives end.
Kentucky is listed at odds of 1000 to 1 to win the BCS Title in 2013 at 5 Dimes Sportsbook. It may as well be a million to 1 it’s simply not going to happen.
Leading the team is new head coach Mark Stoops who is coming over from Florida State where he was the defensive coordinator. New offensive coordinator Neal Brown (from Texas Tech) will install a new spread offense which will try and revive a unit that scored fewer than 18 points per Game last year. The quarterback situation is still undecided as it’s a three-man competition. Jalen Whitlow was out of the conversation until his performance in the spring scrimmage which will make deciding on a QB even harder for the coaches. At other skill positions, leading rushers Raymond Sanders and Jonathan George will be back, but their top returning WR from a year ago, Demarco Robinson, finished with just 297 yards and zero touchdowns last year.
The Wildcats main problem is on offense, but defensively, they aren’t that great either which is why they only had two wins. Kentucky returns Four starters to a squad that gave up 31 points per Game. The good news is that Stoops was a former defensive coordinator at one of the top defensive schools in the nation, so he should be able to instill some trust into his players that he knows what he’s doing.
2013 Kentucky Wildcats College Football Schedule
Aug. 31 vs. Western Kentucky (played in Nashville)
Sept. 7 vs. Miami (OH)
Sept. 14 vs. Louisville
Sept. 28 vs. Florida
Oct. 5 at South Carolina
Oct. 12 vs. Alabama
Oct. 24 at Mississippi State
Nov. 2 vs. Alabama State
Nov. 9 vs. Missouri
Nov. 16 at Vanderbilt
Nov. 23 at Georgia
Nov. 30 vs. Tennessee
Considering this is Kentucky, no Game will be easy for them and that includes their first two. One of their losses last year came to the Hilltoppers at home. This one will be at a neutral site. Like last year, the Wildcats should be able to get a win against their MAC opponent. From there, it gets ugly in the Schedule with a possible five straight Games against ranked opponents.
They’ll get a break with Alabama State in the mix, but road Games at Vanderbilt and Georgia will be tough in between home Games against Missouri and Tennessee. If their offense still has trouble moving the ball, Kentucky could easily see another two-win season. However, with a new coaching staff and a spread offense, some of their fortunes could change and three or Four wins might be expected.
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