Football Ranking UK's 2017 games by degree of difficulty
- Thread starter JRowland
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It's hard to argue with the list, but SC at third toughest? Well, it gives us an early season bellweather game!
I think Vandy will be a better team than UT and it's on the road so I'd flip those two, though it's understandable considering how putrid UK has been against the Vols. I also think MSU will be tougher on the road than UL at home so flip those two as well. 1, 2, 3 are exactly right imo.
Looking down that list actually makes me feel somewhat confident, the hardest game will be against a team that barely squeaked out a win against UK last year. I know it's on the road and will take great execution but Georgia is a very winnable game. Both teams should be improved. Outside of the directional teams there are no easy wins and no sure losses. I like our chances of making some noise this year.
Looking down that list actually makes me feel somewhat confident, the hardest game will be against a team that barely squeaked out a win against UK last year. I know it's on the road and will take great execution but Georgia is a very winnable game. Both teams should be improved. Outside of the directional teams there are no easy wins and no sure losses. I like our chances of making some noise this year.
No problems from me for the most part. Agree with whoever said switch Tennessee and USC, though. I think doing that would make it dead on.
I pretty much agree all of the way through.
I see this being a weird year...like beating Florida and Tennessee, yet losing to South Carolina and Miss St weird...lmao.
I see this being a weird year...like beating Florida and Tennessee, yet losing to South Carolina and Miss St weird...lmao.
A couple of takeaways:
1) There are no "definite" losses on this schedule, as many here have already pointed out.
2) There are very few "gimme" wins, as evidenced with Southern Miss as the third easiest game and Mizzou at 4 (UK could lose either of those games), but UK could also beat #1 and #2 on list.
3) Because of #1 and #2 above, the gap between "floor" and the "ceiling" on this season is very wide - one could make an argument that UK could go 4-8 or 5-7 if we get bad breaks, injuries, lose all of the close games, etc. One could also argue for 9-3 or 10-2 if we get the breaks, snap some streaks, develop better than expected on the DL, etc.
4) I'm not buying South Carolina. I'd put them at #6 or #7 toughest game. I'd argue that UL should probably be third (or perhaps Miss state at #3 as I think that will be a very tough game). Otherwise, I have few quibbles with this list.
1) There are no "definite" losses on this schedule, as many here have already pointed out.
2) There are very few "gimme" wins, as evidenced with Southern Miss as the third easiest game and Mizzou at 4 (UK could lose either of those games), but UK could also beat #1 and #2 on list.
3) Because of #1 and #2 above, the gap between "floor" and the "ceiling" on this season is very wide - one could make an argument that UK could go 4-8 or 5-7 if we get bad breaks, injuries, lose all of the close games, etc. One could also argue for 9-3 or 10-2 if we get the breaks, snap some streaks, develop better than expected on the DL, etc.
4) I'm not buying South Carolina. I'd put them at #6 or #7 toughest game. I'd argue that UL should probably be third (or perhaps Miss state at #3 as I think that will be a very tough game). Otherwise, I have few quibbles with this list.
USC missed playing against the frosh qb,Bentley I think is his name, and and Samuel their best WR, everyone missed playing against Moore who may be the best defensive player in the East, pre injury anyway. They were alot better offensively than they showed early in the year. They got blown out by Clemson, but Clemson was playing their best at the end of the season. Carolina won't be an easy win for anyone in the East. Playing them in a night game at WB in one of the hottest and most hostile enviroments will be a tough game. They have always played us hard in those games, won at times when we had the best team too.
I m not buying the USC hype. We may not win that game but I do not believe they will be as improved as everyone seems to think. The old ball coach left that program in a mess and I don't see Muschamp as anyone's savior.
No one is claiming they are going to win the SEC, but they did beat UT last year and played UF as close as either of us did. Taking them lightly and counting them as an easy win is a mistake by anyone in the East this season. I am not predicting they beat UK or UGA, but its a game that concerns me as much as any of them and we have them at home.
Here's how I see 'em.
12. Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels don't have the horses to keep up with Kentucky and barring a catastrophe this one should be over by halftime.
11. Eastern Michigan. The Eagles aren't total pushovers but the Cats should win.
10. Southern Miss (road). Going to Hattiesburg won't be easy but Kentucky will be the favorite and USM has questions on both sides of the ball. If the Cats are focused this game should get the season off on the right paw.
9. Ole Miss. Ole Miss is a mess right now and while they still have some talent and a good QB, they will come to the bluegrass having played 5 straight SEC games @ 'bama, @ Auburn, Vandy, LSU & Arkansas and whatever is left of them should limp into Lexington on a cold November day. If the Cats play their game and take care of the ball this one should go in the win column fairly easily.
8. Missouri. Seems to be all offense and little defense but the Tigers do have an off week before coming to Lexington. This one will be tougher than most think.
7. Louisville. Louisville has questions on defense, on the offensive line and elsewhere, but containing Lamar Jackson will, once again, be the key. If the Cats get their ground game going this could be a blue light special.
6. Tennessee. Dobbs is gone, Kamara is gone, Hurd is gone, Barnette is gone, etc. The Volunteers still have plenty of YOUNG talent but have some real questions and this game is at Kentucky AND we get them the week after they visit Tuscaloosa. The additional item to our advantage is their uniforms always look like puke.
5. Vanderbilt (road). For whatever reason this game is never easy. It's always a grey, gloomy November day in Nashville and the Cats always seem to have the blahs. Add to that the fact that this is one SEC game every year that Vandy knows it can win. If we go in not respecting these guys they will kick our butts.
4. Mississippi State (road). UK must travel to Starkville which is a nothing town smack in the middle of a whole lot of nothing, where the Cats haven't fared well lately, to take on a team headed by Nick Fitzgerald, a QB who can run all over even a good opponent but the bloom seems to be a bit off the Mullen rose. MSU better hope they weather the trio of LSU, @ UGa, @ Auburn and don't lose too many kids to extended injury before the Cats come to town 2 games later.
3. South Carolina (road). The Gamecocks will be itching to set their world back on its axis and should be undefeated as should the Cats when they come rolling in. This will be an early season night game in Columbia and Cats have played well under the lights there but it will be very loud and raucous. Hopefully our Junior/Senior laden team will be up to the challenge.
2. Georgia (road). Kentucky has played Georgia well on the road with less talent and against a much better HC IMO. Can the Cats win this one? Unlikely but UGa will have played Florida, SC & @ Auburn consecutively before welcoming the Cats to Athens. Will the Dawgs take UK seriously while taking a breather before their revenge game against Ga Tech? We shall see.
1. Florida. The Cats are sandwiched between two home games with two teams from Tennessee that Florida has recently had trouble beating and the Gators had their way with the Cats last year so they could roll into K-Roger thinking they might have an easy time AND this Florida team is greener than most. Stoops' teams have been competitive with Florida and could have won two of the last three with the Gators. This streak simply HAS TO end so...
12. Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels don't have the horses to keep up with Kentucky and barring a catastrophe this one should be over by halftime.
11. Eastern Michigan. The Eagles aren't total pushovers but the Cats should win.
10. Southern Miss (road). Going to Hattiesburg won't be easy but Kentucky will be the favorite and USM has questions on both sides of the ball. If the Cats are focused this game should get the season off on the right paw.
9. Ole Miss. Ole Miss is a mess right now and while they still have some talent and a good QB, they will come to the bluegrass having played 5 straight SEC games @ 'bama, @ Auburn, Vandy, LSU & Arkansas and whatever is left of them should limp into Lexington on a cold November day. If the Cats play their game and take care of the ball this one should go in the win column fairly easily.
8. Missouri. Seems to be all offense and little defense but the Tigers do have an off week before coming to Lexington. This one will be tougher than most think.
7. Louisville. Louisville has questions on defense, on the offensive line and elsewhere, but containing Lamar Jackson will, once again, be the key. If the Cats get their ground game going this could be a blue light special.
6. Tennessee. Dobbs is gone, Kamara is gone, Hurd is gone, Barnette is gone, etc. The Volunteers still have plenty of YOUNG talent but have some real questions and this game is at Kentucky AND we get them the week after they visit Tuscaloosa. The additional item to our advantage is their uniforms always look like puke.
5. Vanderbilt (road). For whatever reason this game is never easy. It's always a grey, gloomy November day in Nashville and the Cats always seem to have the blahs. Add to that the fact that this is one SEC game every year that Vandy knows it can win. If we go in not respecting these guys they will kick our butts.
4. Mississippi State (road). UK must travel to Starkville which is a nothing town smack in the middle of a whole lot of nothing, where the Cats haven't fared well lately, to take on a team headed by Nick Fitzgerald, a QB who can run all over even a good opponent but the bloom seems to be a bit off the Mullen rose. MSU better hope they weather the trio of LSU, @ UGa, @ Auburn and don't lose too many kids to extended injury before the Cats come to town 2 games later.
3. South Carolina (road). The Gamecocks will be itching to set their world back on its axis and should be undefeated as should the Cats when they come rolling in. This will be an early season night game in Columbia and Cats have played well under the lights there but it will be very loud and raucous. Hopefully our Junior/Senior laden team will be up to the challenge.
2. Georgia (road). Kentucky has played Georgia well on the road with less talent and against a much better HC IMO. Can the Cats win this one? Unlikely but UGa will have played Florida, SC & @ Auburn consecutively before welcoming the Cats to Athens. Will the Dawgs take UK seriously while taking a breather before their revenge game against Ga Tech? We shall see.
1. Florida. The Cats are sandwiched between two home games with two teams from Tennessee that Florida has recently had trouble beating and the Gators had their way with the Cats last year so they could roll into K-Roger thinking they might have an easy time AND this Florida team is greener than most. Stoops' teams have been competitive with Florida and could have won two of the last three with the Gators. This streak simply HAS TO end so...
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Can't argue with your first 3 points. I'm expecting some down to the wire close games this year which should be very entertaining but will be hard on my blood pressure and finger nails. Special teams will be crucial in those tight games and we just so happen to have one of the most clutch kickers in the country.
McKinniss will be the main reason we win a couple of games, just like last year. In reality he's probably the best player on the team and is an ace we're lucky to have. It's one spot that we'll have an advantage over most opponents. I'll be feeling very confident if the Cats are in position to kick a game winner.
On the flip side of that, punting is very worrisome. Gotta get that figured out or we could lose some we shouldn't. There's very little margin for error with evenly matched opponents so field position will play a huge role. Stoops brought in another P so maybe that spot will see improvement. Hopefully Gran and his dudes don't give him much of an opportunity to play.
I respectfully disagree about SC. They return a lot of players and have talent in some key spots. I'm not impressed with Muschamp and they were inconsistent last year but played some good FB near the end, very similar to UK in fact. I expect their QB to be one of the best in the SEC.
I actually see SC, Vandy, UF and UK all in the same tier. Each could be at the top or near the bottom depending on who gets the breaks. Georgia is ahead of the rest (but not by much) and Mizzou should be near or at the bottom (their O will be dangerous though).
The tough one for me is UT. They have a lot of highly regarded talent on their roster but have a ton of production to replace. I expect them to play well enough to get Jones fired when its all said and done. I will be highly disappointed if the Cats come out flat against the Vols once again. Their huge talent disparity over UK has narrowed and it's at Kroger Field so there's no excuse to suck against that ugly orange. Let's hope Stoops can reverse the trend of Vol QBs having a career day against the Cats. It will be nice not having to play Dobbs, we made him look like a 1st rounder.
Here's how I see 'em.
12. Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels don't have the horses to keep up with Kentucky and barring a catastrophe this one should be over by halftime.
11. Eastern Michigan. The Eagles aren't total pushovers but the Cats should win.
10. Southern Miss (road). Going to Hattiesburg won't be easy but Kentucky will be the favorite and USM has questions on both sides of the ball. If the Cats are focused this game should get the season off on the right paw.
9. Ole Miss. Ole Miss is a mess right now and while they still have some talent and a good QB, they will come to the bluegrass having played 5 straight SEC games @ 'bama, @ Auburn, Vandy, LSU & Arkansas and whatever is left of them should limp into Lexington on a cold November day. If the Cats play their game and take care of the ball this one should go in the win column fairly easily.
8. Missouri. Seems to be all offense and little defense but the Tigers do have an off week before coming to Lexington. This one will be tougher than most think.
7. Louisville. Louisville has questions on defense, on the offensive line and elsewhere, but containing Lamar Jackson will, once again, be the key. If the Cats get their ground game going this could be a blue light special.
6. Tennessee. Dobbs is gone, Kamara is gone, Hurd is gone, Barnette is gone, etc. The Volunteers still have plenty of YOUNG talent but have some real questions and this game is at Kentucky AND we get them the week after they visit Tuscaloosa. The additional item to our advantage is their uniforms always look like puke.
5. Vanderbilt (road). For whatever reason this game is never easy. It's always a grey, gloomy November day in Nashville and the Cats always seem to have the blahs. Add to that the fact that this is one SEC game every year that Vandy knows it can win. If we go in not respecting these guys they will kick our butts.
4. Mississippi State (road). UK must travel to Starkville which is a nothing town smack in the middle of a whole lot of nothing, where the Cats haven't fared well lately, to take on a team headed by Nick Fitzgerald, a QB who can run all over even a good opponent but the bloom seems to be a bit off the Mullen rose. MSU better hope they weather the trio of LSU, @ UGa, @ Auburn and don't lose too many kids to extended injury before the Cats come to town 2 games later.
3. South Carolina (road). The Gamecocks will be itching to set their world back on its axis and should be undefeated as should the Cats when they come rolling in. This will be an early season night game in Columbia and Cats have played well under the lights there but it will be very loud and raucous. Hopefully our Junior/Senior laden team will be up to the challenge.
2. Georgia (road). Kentucky has played Georgia well on the road with less talent and against a much better HC IMO. Can the Cats win this one? Unlikely but UGa will have played Florida, SC & @ Auburn consecutively before welcoming the Cats to Athens. Will the Dawgs take UK seriously while taking a breather before their revenge game against Ga Tech? We shall see.
1. Florida. The Cats are sandwiched between two home games with two teams from Tennessee that Florida has recently had trouble beating and the Gators had their way with the Cats last year so they could roll into K-Roger thinking they might have an easy time AND this Florida team is greener than most. Stoops' teams have been competitive with Florida and could have won two of the last three with the Gators. This streak simply HAS TO end so...
Richt was and is a good coach, but every year he had games that he just didn't have the team prepared or motivated to play. He didn't believe in the kids getting emotional and he didn't believe in having a strong OL. He was from the ACC and a finesse coach, any team that played physical gave us trouble. Now I don't know why others think Kirby is such a bad coach. We lost the Vandy game but without special team misques it wasn't close. He won 8 games without an OT on the roster when he got to Athens, a starting qb who wasn't good enough to start for Virginia and his best player coming off major reconstructive knee surgery and one of the youngest defenses in the country if not the nation, plus new systems being installed on both sides of the ball. He makes 1 bad call, but don't remember the call he made to beat UNC, or the timeout against UK to force a FG, so if his call cost 1 game, his calls won 2 games. GT, we couldn't stop their option, not much else to say, it's not easy to prepare for in a week, UK had a month and saw that first hand. It requires you to uncoach everything you coached all year. I don't normally don't say things like this, this is the year to beat UGA, OL will be too young for us to be real good, that won't be the case starting in 18.
Toughest top to bottom:
Gators
UGA Dogs
Vols
MSU
Gamecocks
Vandy
Mizzou
Ole Miss
Cards
So. Miss
Gators
UGA Dogs
Vols
MSU
Gamecocks
Vandy
Mizzou
Ole Miss
Cards
So. Miss
FL and UT will always be the two toughest games on UK's schedule every year until UK proves they can finally start beating them. One win between the two teams in a 30 year span is disgraceful and it has to stop starting this season.
Ole Miss should be tougher than eight and South Carolina easier than three. For the most part it is accurate.
Before all this went down with Freeze, I thought OM might be UK's toughest game. I haven't seen anything anywhere else but it was posted on our board a couple days ago their starting LT was thinking about or was transferring. A rising soph who was a top 10 prospect in the 16 class. But with Freeze now out of the picture it's hard to predict how they will react. Talent wise they are still very good offensively, got some good defensive players but not many. Carolina will be quite a bit better than the Carolina UK played last year, us too. 3 could be a little high, but they are top 5 and could be top 3. State may be better, may not be either. The schedule isn't as easy as some seem to think it is. The parity that appears to be in he East makes every game close to me, of course after we see all the teams play that will likely change. But right now every team has some big question marks
There's no doubt that my opinion on SC is in the minority, as most media and message boarders seem to think that they may challenge for an upper tier east finish. I don't see it, but will say that their QB looks legit
That's the interesting thing about this season. You can make an argument that every single team in the east will be improved (except for UT imo). Returning starters at QB, talented skill players, young couches that are trying to prove something. It's bizarre that Stoops is the old man of the east now. UK could be a better overall team and still end up with a worse record than they had last year if they get some bad bounces. It's a hard year to predict.
toughest games imo,,
Gators,,30 straight ,what else needs to be said.
Bulldogs but I am another who just isn't sold on Kirby yet, sorry grumpy
ole Miss,,Jimmy and Joes are still there
other Miss,Mullen is one of the best imo
UT talented still
UofL Lamar
Vandy usually tougher than many of us think
So Miss gonna be tough out at their place I am afraid
USC lite I ain't buying it, even at their place at night
Missou down big time(I hope)
EM IDK
EKU but remember '15
Gators,,30 straight ,what else needs to be said.
Bulldogs but I am another who just isn't sold on Kirby yet, sorry grumpy
ole Miss,,Jimmy and Joes are still there
other Miss,Mullen is one of the best imo
UT talented still
UofL Lamar
Vandy usually tougher than many of us think
So Miss gonna be tough out at their place I am afraid
USC lite I ain't buying it, even at their place at night
Missou down big time(I hope)
EM IDK
EKU but remember '15
Afraid you are right, I expect us to improve a lot this year and surprise but several teams will be improved and the road games will be tough. If we do improve a lot we could win a lot of games, the sky is the limit, if we don't we could lose a lot of games.
I think that if we can reduce our turnovers from nearly last in the country to even, we end up losing 2 if 3 to GA, UT, & FL and 1 of UL, Ms St, Ole Miss, and USC. 9-3 and 2nd outright in the East.
Worst case? We lose to UT, GA, FL and to 2 of UL, Ms St, Ole Miss, and USC to finish 7-5 again and keep this train rolling with steady improvements until the 9-3 or 10-2 breakout season finally happens
Worst case? We lose to UT, GA, FL and to 2 of UL, Ms St, Ole Miss, and USC to finish 7-5 again and keep this train rolling with steady improvements until the 9-3 or 10-2 breakout season finally happens
Only 3 teams in the East have been steadily recruiting at UKs level or above.
With continued recruiting like that, eventually the time will come when those 3 are our only games not favored to win. Even so, catching 1 of the 3 I'm an off night isn't insane to predict. UK will have a 10-2 season in the next 5 years. I strongly believe so. Once that happens, the nation will take some serious notice and everything about UK football will improve at an even higher level. Assistants, game times, recruiting, ticket sales, etc. It will start the era that we have all been craving for the football team.
With continued recruiting like that, eventually the time will come when those 3 are our only games not favored to win. Even so, catching 1 of the 3 I'm an off night isn't insane to predict. UK will have a 10-2 season in the next 5 years. I strongly believe so. Once that happens, the nation will take some serious notice and everything about UK football will improve at an even higher level. Assistants, game times, recruiting, ticket sales, etc. It will start the era that we have all been craving for the football team.
