Your season standings predictions
- Thread starter screwduke
- Start date
7-5 (3-5) get to a Music City Bowl
Wins:
All 4 OOC
South Carolina OR Florida
Vanderbilt
Missouri
Could easily be 8-4 or 5-7.....hoping for the better.
Wins:
All 4 OOC
South Carolina OR Florida
Vanderbilt
Missouri
Could easily be 8-4 or 5-7.....hoping for the better.
At this point, I don't see UK as the favorite in any games other than Louisiana Lafayette, Eastern Kentucky and Charlotte. Ya'll obviously "could" beat several other teams but I don't see any where a "should" applies. I'll predict 5 wins.
For those counting Vandy as a sure win, please recall that the talent was in place to have an over/under of 6 last year (along with most predicting another bowl) and that same talent is still around. While coaching clearly matters, it would not surprise me to see 3-win Coach Mason's record improve somewhat like Coach Stoops' record improved (2 wins followed by 5 wins). James Franklin picked up a Vandy team that had gone 2-10 the last two years and won 6 (then 9 and 9) with that 2-10 talent. While Coach Mason isn't James Franklin, and totally bombed last year, Mason is generally regarded as an outstanding defensive coach and will be directly coaching the defense this season while Andy Ludwig (who did a solid job at Wisconsin without exceptional talent except at running back) takes over the offense. The talent that James Franklin recruited (which is similar to what Coach Stoops landed), is now ready to play so talent is there. Specifically, Vandy's recruiting classes in 2012 and 2013 were #29 and #19 while UK's recruiting classes in 2013 and 2014 were #29 and #17. If one compares only 2012 and 2013 (assuming that 2014 is so recent that those players won't contribute), then recruiting for Vandy for those recruits making the impact is #29 and #19 while UK is #63 and #29.
While it would be silly to predict great things for Vandy following a 3-9 season, I do think that Vandy has the potential to play far better than most on this board think (given that almost 100% here seem to think that Vandy is a "sure win" in Nashville for UK). While last year's UK 10-point home win is the most recent and therefore the most meaningful, the relevant four year total is Vandy 107, UK 31. UK may well win on the road in Nashville (after the gauntlet of Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Georgia), but I really don't see how one can reasonably say it is a "should" at this stage unless one just assumes that Mason will remain a train-wreck (although Coach Stoops won fewer games than Mason in Stoops' first year). You'll know a lot more, as will I, about what the UK-Vandy game should be after Vandy's opener against Western Kentucky.
For those counting Vandy as a sure win, please recall that the talent was in place to have an over/under of 6 last year (along with most predicting another bowl) and that same talent is still around. While coaching clearly matters, it would not surprise me to see 3-win Coach Mason's record improve somewhat like Coach Stoops' record improved (2 wins followed by 5 wins). James Franklin picked up a Vandy team that had gone 2-10 the last two years and won 6 (then 9 and 9) with that 2-10 talent. While Coach Mason isn't James Franklin, and totally bombed last year, Mason is generally regarded as an outstanding defensive coach and will be directly coaching the defense this season while Andy Ludwig (who did a solid job at Wisconsin without exceptional talent except at running back) takes over the offense. The talent that James Franklin recruited (which is similar to what Coach Stoops landed), is now ready to play so talent is there. Specifically, Vandy's recruiting classes in 2012 and 2013 were #29 and #19 while UK's recruiting classes in 2013 and 2014 were #29 and #17. If one compares only 2012 and 2013 (assuming that 2014 is so recent that those players won't contribute), then recruiting for Vandy for those recruits making the impact is #29 and #19 while UK is #63 and #29.
While it would be silly to predict great things for Vandy following a 3-9 season, I do think that Vandy has the potential to play far better than most on this board think (given that almost 100% here seem to think that Vandy is a "sure win" in Nashville for UK). While last year's UK 10-point home win is the most recent and therefore the most meaningful, the relevant four year total is Vandy 107, UK 31. UK may well win on the road in Nashville (after the gauntlet of Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Georgia), but I really don't see how one can reasonably say it is a "should" at this stage unless one just assumes that Mason will remain a train-wreck (although Coach Stoops won fewer games than Mason in Stoops' first year). You'll know a lot more, as will I, about what the UK-Vandy game should be after Vandy's opener against Western Kentucky.
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6 wins. Bowl game is a 7th win. I'll be happy with that.
Anything less than 6 wins and no bowl is unacceptable this season.
Anything less than 6 wins and no bowl is unacceptable this season.
Nonsense. it's quite reasonable to place UK as a solid favorite in Nashville. Vanderbilt has absolutely zero momentum in recruiting, zero momentum on the field, and Mason has shown himself to be a very poor head coach so far (he inherited a FAR better situation than did Stoops).
It's reasonable to question 7-5 predictions, but I don't think it's reasonable to question how KY can be favored in Nashville, especially given the fact that Vandy has the poorest home field advantage in the conference (if UK is doing well, half the crowd will be blue).
Well, the OP asked for "season standings" predictions, so that can be interpreted a few ways. here are mine:
ULL - Win, but tougher than we would like.
USC - Loss. hard-fought, but they get a few breaks to win.
UF - Win. It's time. Night game. This game is this year's South Carolina game.
Mizzou - Loss. Let-down game. They are pesky and win by 10.
EKU - Win.
Auburn - Loss. We lead at half, but they wear us down in the second.
MSU - Loss. Can't seem to beat Dan Mullen.
UT - Win. My upset special. They play Alabama the week prior, and check the records of teams the week AFTER they play bama. Hint - It's not good.
Vandy - Win. Ugly game in nashville, as they always are.
UGA - Loss. We tend to play them well (except for last year), but it isn't happening.
Charlotte - Win.
UL - Win. I think we win b/c I think we have the better team this year. This is a bit of a leap of faith, b/c UK's only win over Petrino came in his first year at Arky, but I just don't think we lose to them at home this year.
Final - 7-5, 3-5. The one I feel iffiest about is UT, but I could argue that we could beat Mizzou if we lose to UT. In the end, I'd be elated b/c UK would have beaten its three teams that It most wants to beat (UT, UF, UL) in the same year. 6-6 would also be a step forward, but have to get to a bowl to signify forward momentum.
My SECE standings:
UGA 6-2
UT 4-4
Mizz 4-4
USC 3-5
UK 3-5
UF 2-6
Vandy 0-8
ULL - Win, but tougher than we would like.
USC - Loss. hard-fought, but they get a few breaks to win.
UF - Win. It's time. Night game. This game is this year's South Carolina game.
Mizzou - Loss. Let-down game. They are pesky and win by 10.
EKU - Win.
Auburn - Loss. We lead at half, but they wear us down in the second.
MSU - Loss. Can't seem to beat Dan Mullen.
UT - Win. My upset special. They play Alabama the week prior, and check the records of teams the week AFTER they play bama. Hint - It's not good.
Vandy - Win. Ugly game in nashville, as they always are.
UGA - Loss. We tend to play them well (except for last year), but it isn't happening.
Charlotte - Win.
UL - Win. I think we win b/c I think we have the better team this year. This is a bit of a leap of faith, b/c UK's only win over Petrino came in his first year at Arky, but I just don't think we lose to them at home this year.
Final - 7-5, 3-5. The one I feel iffiest about is UT, but I could argue that we could beat Mizzou if we lose to UT. In the end, I'd be elated b/c UK would have beaten its three teams that It most wants to beat (UT, UF, UL) in the same year. 6-6 would also be a step forward, but have to get to a bowl to signify forward momentum.
My SECE standings:
UGA 6-2
UT 4-4
Mizz 4-4
USC 3-5
UK 3-5
UF 2-6
Vandy 0-8
would be nice, but we aren't on the same level with UT yet. We won't win that game. They are far more talented. I think they will win the East.
I think UK goes 6-6 and goes on to win a bowl game.
Final standings:
Georgia
Tennessee
Missouri
South Carolina
Florida
UK
Vandy
It wouldn't surprise me if UK ends up higher than sixth.
Final standings:
Georgia
Tennessee
Missouri
South Carolina
Florida
UK
Vandy
It wouldn't surprise me if UK ends up higher than sixth.
Eh, I dunno. They should have lost to the same USCe team that we beat, and their signature win is Iowa, so I'm not quite sold on all of the hype. With that said, you're definitely right that they are recruiting at a very high level, so they should be tough to beat. I'm just a big believer in the importance of game placement on the schedule, and I think that one sets up perfectly for us (as opposed to MSU which gets La Tech before our game and then gets a bye week after our game).
I like our chances of going 7-5. We beat all four OOC matchups and we also win 3 of 4 against Florida, Vandy, USCjr and Missouri.
6-6 and win a bowl game to end the season at 7-6, higher than Vanderbilt, Florida and perhaps one other school in the East.
I never know what "should have lost" means. Either the did lose or they didn't. And UT has beaten South Carolina 2 years in a row if my memory serves correctly. In last years game, South Carolina was outcoached and Joshua Dobbs ended the game looking like a force to be reckoned with. They won that game on the road the week after playing Alabama. They lost to Georgia and Florida by a combined 4 points. And probably would have beaten Florida except for an expired play clock that the refs didn't see (or ignored); but I can't say they should have won that game because they obviously didn't. If Kentucky beats Tennessee this season that will be the signature win of his career up to this point.
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We will be much improved, however that may not translate into wins. I don’t see us beating UF, USC (especially after last year),
UT, MSU (at msu), UGA, Auburn. We will have a shot vs. Missouri. We should be able to count 3 or the 4 ooc games and Vandy as sure wins. Not sure about ul solely because of Petrino.
If I had to bet my house, I’d say 4-8 maybe 5-7.
UT, MSU (at msu), UGA, Auburn. We will have a shot vs. Missouri. We should be able to count 3 or the 4 ooc games and Vandy as sure wins. Not sure about ul solely because of Petrino.
If I had to bet my house, I’d say 4-8 maybe 5-7.
Again, I acknowledge that A) UT is recruiting well and B ) it will be a very tough game for UK. I gave my reasons for the pick. With that said, USCe was up by two TDs with less than two minutes remaining at home. They should have won the game. That's not controversial.
And yes, if we beat UT, then that would undoubtedly be the signature win of CMS' career. Nothing controversial about that statement either.
Sorry but the talent level at Vandy was not high. Vandy was the least talented team in the conference by a comfortable margin. You have good LB play and your corner/returner should probably be All SEC. Other than that there isn't much on either side of the ball. Also keep in mind not only do you not have Franklin who led you to those point totals you mentioned over UK but UK doesn't have Joker anymore either. Stoops not only won last year but could have won the previous year with a team that had no QB or RB.
Also the game last year was deceptively lopsided. Towles had his worst performance of the year, in fact he scored Vandy's only points. He was so bad that from the 2nd quarter on we decided not even bother with an offense we'll just win on defense alone. Stoops had that much confidence in his last place defense to control the game that we pretty much shut down our offense. Just watching it at no point did the game actually feel like a 10 point margin. It felt like UK was up 40 points or more.
I really, really want to go with 8, but I'm going to say 7. I think last year I predicted 4 wins for us and we had one better..this year I'll predict 7 and I think we could do one better.
What makes this season so hard to predict is that even once you become an SEC team that can compete and beat anyone, it's almost like the NFL in that anyone can beat anyone on a given night, and there are going to be a whole lot of toss-ups.
That being said, w/o trying to sound like I'm wearing my blue glasses, there seems to be a real swell of momentum the closer we get to this season..and the fact that we're playing a ridiculous 8 home games in our new stadium is going to be something that's going to be really helpful in the end.
This just feels like a season where there are going to be one or two of those program-defining wins at Commonwealth.
If a team comes back from being down two touchdowns with 2 minutes to go, on the road that tells me two things about them 1) their players don't quit and 2) excellent coaching. That's even taking into account how bad USC was last year.
vandy will be a much improved defensive team this year but they weren't horrible there last year. offensively though they suck and i really dont see that changing any time soon. we will be favored by a touchdown or so and it is a game UK should win. vandy does have enough talent to win that game if we dont come to play. but they dont have enough offense to win that game if we play like we should on the offensive side of the ball. if vandy wins games this year it will be 16 to 10 or some such score.
i think part of the reason many of us are predicting a win at sc this year is because of coaching. they looked a little off at times the 2 years ago win they won 11 games.... but they won 11 games. last year they didn't have the playmakers to make up for the coaching and this year is likely steves last run. usc still has more overall talent than us but qb is in our favor by a bunch and defensively i'll take our coaches over their's in a heartbeat.
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