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Get ready for an exciting year folks

Just a gut feeling but I think UK will be even better than most expect. I really feel like this team can pull out 8 wins.

Every game on our schedule is winnable.
I feel that 6 wins is a given and, as happy as I will be to go to a bowl game, it will be a letdown with only 6 wins. 7 is a safe number but I agree with you 100% that 8 is the goal
 
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We have to play better vs SEC opponents - its embarrassing. We cant sleep on Ragin Cajuns either. We do have the advantage of I think 8 home games this year? and a returning QB. I think maybe we get a surprise win this year but then lose to someone we shouldn't and I hope we play stronger in the second half of the season, really faded badly last couple years.
 
Just a gut feeling but I think UK will be even better than most expect. I really feel like this team can pull out 8 wins.

Every game on our schedule is winnable.

I agree this team CAN win 8 games. The question is WILL they. This team is improved. And I think anything less than 6 wins will be a major letdown. I have said 6 or 7 this year before the bowl game and 2016 is when we push for 9 or 10 wins.
 
I too feel something brewing.....an underlying thought that UK is lying low and will surprise. But, as for now, I'm going to stick with my original prediction:

When Stoops was hired I predicted
1st yr - 3 wins
2nd yr - 5 wins
3rd yr - 6 wins
4th yr - 8 wins
5th yr - 8 wins
6th yr and beyond - fluctuate between 7-10 wins on any given yr.
 
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If Vandy can have back to back 9 win seasons then I don't see why we can't.

Maybe I'm biased but I feel as if this UK team is more talented and deeper than those Vandy teams were.

I agree with that, but I'd also argue Vandy had a better coach (at least on paper/up to this point).

On the OP's point, 8 is possible, but probably unlikely. 6-6 is still the safest bet. I think they win all 4 OOC, and a couple of SEC games....but a 3rd is likely if they can win a road game at SC or MSU or beat Missouri at home. I'm not really considering @UGA, AU or UT...at present as highly winnable games, but things can change over a season.
 
Just a gut feeling but I think UK will be even better than most expect. I really feel like this team can pull out 8 wins.

Every game on our schedule is winnable.

I really hope you are right been looking for a great season for years.
 
We have to play better vs SEC opponents - its embarrassing. We cant sleep on Ragin Cajuns either. We do have the advantage of I think 8 home games this year? and a returning QB. I think maybe we get a surprise win this year but then lose to someone we shouldn't and I hope we play stronger in the second half of the season, really faded badly last couple years.

I agree with what you're saying here. I think first half of season we may be 2-4 but can see us finishing 4-2 over the second half. Need to win MSU road game then sweep final 3 of season which seems more plausible than wins vs. SC, FL and Mizzou. That would give us our 6 and going into a bowl with some momentum.
 
Just a gut feeling but I think UK will be even better than most expect. I really feel like this team can pull out 8 wins.

Every game on our schedule is winnable.

Your post is not based on reality or logic.

6 wins and I'm happy. We will have to play very well to get 6 wins.

We will not be favored in most games. We will have to beat someone in the SEC we are not supposed to beat per Vegas odds.

I guess you don't understand we are not as talented as anyone in the SEC except for Vandy.

That is why virtually all sports pundits are predicting us to finish just ahead of Vandy.

Like BueRaider said, I see 6 wins in Stoops' 3rd year and that is progress I can accept. Anything above 6 wins will be a surprise to the football world and it will mean we'll probably pull a major upset.
 
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Your post is not based on reality or logic.

6 wins and I'm happy. We will have to play very well to get 6 wins.

We will not be favored in most games. We will have to beat someone in the SEC we are not supposed to beat per Vegas odds.

I guess you don't understand we are not as talented as anyone in the SEC except for Vandy.

That is why virtually all sports pundits are predicting us to finish just ahead of Vandy.

Like BueRaider said, I see 6 wins in Stoops' 3rd year and that is progress I can accept. Anything above 6 wins will be a surprise to the football world and it will mean we'll probably pull a major upset.

Not reality or logic?

We put up a very, very tough game against Mississippi State, and according to those same odds that you cite, they take a major step back. UK will improve, that much is obvious. Mississippi State will regress, that much is obvious. Thinking that UK could win there is purely logical, and a very real possibility.

Florida is moving to an entirely different offensive system, they have 0 experienced offensive linemen, lost 7 offensive players to the draft, and lose a couple of their defensive stars, as well as one of the best defensive minds in the game (Whether you agree or not, that is what Muschamp is). Not to mention, we have them at home. Again, very real possibility UK wins, and very logical to think so.

Mizzou has a couple of two stars replacing Golden and Ray as their defensive ends. They lose almost all of their offensive playmakers, aside from a running back, and they bring back an incredibly inconsistent Maty Mauk. He's been inconsistent for the previous 16 years of eligibility, I have to imagine that doesn't change. We also get them at home, and it's rare for a Mizzou team under Pinkel to come out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The man's motto is "Those who win in November will be remembered" ffs. Very real possibility, and again, very logical to believe that we win that game, considering that UK make a big surge against them in the 4th quarter last year, against a Mizzou team that Pinkel himself agreed was his best defensive team since joining the SEC.

South Carolina is still in disarray. Jadaveon Clowney is not, I repeat, is not walking through that door. They lose their starting QB, and their starting RB, along with many other offensive and defensive players. Their defense, as of this spring, has still been known to suck tremendously, and I tend to believe that beating USCjr. in Columbia is much easier than beating Florida in Gainesville (which we came awfully close to doing). Again, very real possibility of winning, very logical to believe that we can.

Louisville game was very close. They lose the one reason they beat us last season, on their field, by less than a touchdown, to the NFL draft, along with 9 other players. Petrino brings in less talent than us (and hell, Mizzou does as well if you base your argument solely on stars), so to think for even one moment that Louisville takes a step up as much as we do, after losing all that talent, and then beating UK at Commonwealth, that defies logic much more than what @screwduke suggests.

I think we all agree on any level that Vandy, EKU, UL-Lafayette, and Charlotte are all wins as well.

I also don't know what you base your evaluation of our talent on. As I recall, we had 16 players from our 2014 class redshirt last season. We fielded 8, and as far as I can see, by only fielding those 8 true freshmen, UK was noticeably better. We get similar recruiting rankings to Oregon, Baylor, TCU, West Virginia, Arkansas, Michigan State, Wisconsin, so on and so forth. If you want me to believe for one second that UK doesn't have the talent to compete, you're wasting your time on me, because I won't buy that.
UK is not favored in most games aside from Vandy by most pundits (yourself included) because of the sheer number of losing seasons. Until proven otherwise, Vegas and others are going to roll with history.

UK could win 8 games, hell, they could win 9. They could also win 6. It depends on how hard they play, and how well the games are coached, but make no mistake, the coaching ability and talent is there to win those games.
 
UK football is never as good as I want it to be, and seldom as bad as others perceive it to be. I do think this year is going to be a great year though. I predict 7, which would be a MAJOR step forward given our traditionally difficult schedule. Anything else would be gravy with extra sausage..and maybe even a side of bacon!
 
I never count Pinkel out. He has been the best coach in the SEC these past two years. The guy gets it done with his players kind of like Bill Snyder at Kansas State.
 
Just a gut feeling but I think UK will be even better than most expect. I really feel like this team can pull out 8 wins.

Every game on our schedule is winnable.

I just want SIX wins. I don't care about SEVEN or EIGHT (outlandish). Give me SIX and I'll eat crow from there. I predicted after win #5 last year that we wouldn't win another game. We had SIX tries to win ONE more game and couldn't get it done. What's different about this year?
 
Not reality or logic?

We put up a very, very tough game against Mississippi State, and according to those same odds that you cite, they take a major step back. UK will improve, that much is obvious. Mississippi State will regress, that much is obvious. Thinking that UK could win there is purely logical, and a very real possibility.

Florida is moving to an entirely different offensive system, they have 0 experienced offensive linemen, lost 7 offensive players to the draft, and lose a couple of their defensive stars, as well as one of the best defensive minds in the game (Whether you agree or not, that is what Muschamp is). Not to mention, we have them at home. Again, very real possibility UK wins, and very logical to think so.

Mizzou has a couple of two stars replacing Golden and Ray as their defensive ends. They lose almost all of their offensive playmakers, aside from a running back, and they bring back an incredibly inconsistent Maty Mauk. He's been inconsistent for the previous 16 years of eligibility, I have to imagine that doesn't change. We also get them at home, and it's rare for a Mizzou team under Pinkel to come out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The man's motto is "Those who win in November will be remembered" ffs. Very real possibility, and again, very logical to believe that we win that game, considering that UK make a big surge against them in the 4th quarter last year, against a Mizzou team that Pinkel himself agreed was his best defensive team since joining the SEC.

South Carolina is still in disarray. Jadaveon Clowney is not, I repeat, is not walking through that door. They lose their starting QB, and their starting RB, along with many other offensive and defensive players. Their defense, as of this spring, has still been known to suck tremendously, and I tend to believe that beating USCjr. in Columbia is much easier than beating Florida in Gainesville (which we came awfully close to doing). Again, very real possibility of winning, very logical to believe that we can.

Louisville game was very close. They lose the one reason they beat us last season, on their field, by less than a touchdown, to the NFL draft, along with 9 other players. Petrino brings in less talent than us (and hell, Mizzou does as well if you base your argument solely on stars), so to think for even one moment that Louisville takes a step up as much as we do, after losing all that talent, and then beating UK at Commonwealth, that defies logic much more than what @screwduke suggests.

I think we all agree on any level that Vandy, EKU, UL-Lafayette, and Charlotte are all wins as well.

I also don't know what you base your evaluation of our talent on. As I recall, we had 16 players from our 2014 class redshirt last season. We fielded 8, and as far as I can see, by only fielding those 8 true freshmen, UK was noticeably better. We get similar recruiting rankings to Oregon, Baylor, TCU, West Virginia, Arkansas, Michigan State, Wisconsin, so on and so forth. If you want me to believe for one second that UK doesn't have the talent to compete, you're wasting your time on me, because I won't buy that.
UK is not favored in most games aside from Vandy by most pundits (yourself included) because of the sheer number of losing seasons. Until proven otherwise, Vegas and others are going to roll with history.

UK could win 8 games, hell, they could win 9. They could also win 6. It depends on how hard they play, and how well the games are coached, but make no mistake, the coaching ability and talent is there to win those games.

Take the blue shades off dude...Seriously. I guess you don't know what we're up against as a climbing program in the SEC. I'm as excited as anyone about UK football. I've been following it for 25 years as a diehard and I love where Stoops is taking us....We are getting talent we've never gotten in my lifetime.

Saying that, we are still YOUNG TALENT mostly. Very young in some cases. We still don't have SEC depth. We were absolutely pummeled the last half of last season because of talent gap and having no depth. We lost the UL game on a huge choke play by McWilson so we should have won that game and gotten 6 wins.

A lot of those pundits you disregard actually study teams closely. They see what most people see.....We are still only marginally better than Vandy in the SEC East and starting to close the gap on some other teams in the SEC.

I personally see 6 wins and maybe 7. You think we're going to beat Spurrier 2 years in a row? That's a tall order indeed...

I do think we beat Florida because they are in disarray.

I laugh at some of you who ALWAYS disregard Mizzou and mark them as a win every season....

Pinkel is the best coach in the SEC. He has won the East 2 years in a row and some of you STILL DISCOUNT HIM and Mizzou. Talk about no respect. It's frankly ridiculous the way some of you always disregard Mizzou and they just keep beating everyone in the SEC East.
 
I just want SIX wins. I don't care about SEVEN or EIGHT (outlandish). Give me SIX and I'll eat crow from there. I predicted after win #5 last year that we wouldn't win another game. We had SIX tries to win ONE more game and couldn't get it done. What's different about this year?

A lot of people predicted that last year. It appears that people who think we will win six believe UK is better this year than last. Even some of those who predicted five wins last year believe this team is better. Stoops said in the spring the team was better than at any point last year. I suspect that is what is different.
 
I just want SIX wins. I don't care about SEVEN or EIGHT (outlandish). Give me SIX and I'll eat crow from there. I predicted after win #5 last year that we wouldn't win another game. We had SIX tries to win ONE more game and couldn't get it done. What's different about this year?

DEPTH, TALENT, EXPERIENCE, is the difference this year. All the Redshirt talent that will be on Roster. I see improvement in Running Back, QB, secondary, Linebackers. The experience our RB'S AND QB had last year is huge coming into this,season. Plus our O-line will be better and I think 1 season away from being great.
 
Some posters are commenting on UK football and UK recruiting as if Joker is still coaching here.
 
Having an experienced QB behind a more talented, experienced and deeper oline should help the offense improve. Defense should improve based on not being able to suck much worse ;) But seriously if the LB'ers can stay healthy, there is a ton of talent on the 2 deep. The middle of the defense should be greatly improved. Can we tackle...if we can do that and stay on the plus side of the turnover margin, should see a decent improvement on defensive numbers.

We were a couple of plays away from being 7-5 last year, so there's no reason to believe a more talented version of last years team can't win 7 games. But they'll have to win on the road to do it. We've got a great chance at that when you look at our road games, minus Georgia.

It is going to be a really fun year at Commonwealth though. I'm expecting the fans to be fired up this year, great home schedule...fantastic!
 
I just want SIX wins. I don't care about SEVEN or EIGHT (outlandish). Give me SIX and I'll eat crow from there. I predicted after win #5 last year that we wouldn't win another game. We had SIX tries to win ONE more game and couldn't get it done. What's different about this year?

Huge difference this year. A much more balanced schedule as opposed to all the tough games backloaded onto the schedule without any open dates through that stretch. We scatter around the OOC games. Plus 8 games are at home. Also the talent, depth and experience all go up a notch this year. I really think this offense will be much more open and less predictable under Dawson too. Our talent level is rising while Louisville will be replacing a lot of players, so my take is that our talent level with them is about evening out and should begin to exceed theirs starting next year. But I think we beat them at home this year. I think this year will be better than most expect as well.
 
Heck anybody can play the what if game. Take Florida, for example. They had a sure win in their opener, cancelled due to weather. They were one play from winning the LSU and South Carolina game. They led FSU in Tallahassee going into the 4th quarter and missed two make able field goals. That "could" have been a 10 or 11 win season, instead of seven wins and the coach getting fired. Every season stand on its own. There's no do overs.
 
This is the first year in a while that I feel confidence in being competitive in each and every game.

That might sound sad on the surface but I don't think it was far from reality. Sure, there is always the chance to shock but there have been weeks that I knew going in on Saturday morning would be a fool's chance in hell.

I just wanted to watch the Cats play and seek silver linings.

We're still not "there" but I'm much more in the vein of not being "shocked" at all, perhaps somewhat surprised, but I think we have a real team here. Not saying we win 14 games or even 7 games...anything can happen.

Just won't be shocked by any of it.
 
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