Are fans making too much of the SEC vs SBC. News flash people, ULL is a very respectable team ! Look at their season record over the last four or five years!
Reality, are fans making too much of an issue
- Thread starter mtn cat1
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People are definitely reading too much into it. Missing Kyle Meadows, CJ Johnson, Ryan Flannigan, Jason Hatcher, and Kobie Walker is definitely taking its toll. Now that we have Meadows and Johnson back, that's huge. If we get Flannigan back, it's even bigger for us.
Saturday, ULL made it a point to blitz 3 and 4 guys at Asafo-Adjei, and that's a stressful position to put any lineman in, let alone a freshman making his first start in his first game. Having Meadows would have been big, but I can't complain too much. Those blitzes from that side were responsible for 2 sacks, but Kentucky still put 40 on the board.
Also, it had to be tough on Meant to have to play the entire game. Our d-line played really well at times, got in the backfield quite a few times, but when some players can't have the luxury of getting a breather, and they're playing in the trenches against an offensive line with 4 seniors, one of which will likely get to play in the NFL (Quave). Being a younger player in that scenario is rough.
This wasn't the only close game this weekend. Hell, even Oregon played a close game against an FCS team for the most part. I seen more positives from the first half than I seen negatives in the second half.
Saturday, ULL made it a point to blitz 3 and 4 guys at Asafo-Adjei, and that's a stressful position to put any lineman in, let alone a freshman making his first start in his first game. Having Meadows would have been big, but I can't complain too much. Those blitzes from that side were responsible for 2 sacks, but Kentucky still put 40 on the board.
Also, it had to be tough on Meant to have to play the entire game. Our d-line played really well at times, got in the backfield quite a few times, but when some players can't have the luxury of getting a breather, and they're playing in the trenches against an offensive line with 4 seniors, one of which will likely get to play in the NFL (Quave). Being a younger player in that scenario is rough.
This wasn't the only close game this weekend. Hell, even Oregon played a close game against an FCS team for the most part. I seen more positives from the first half than I seen negatives in the second half.
Giving up 489 yards to a team we were favored to be beat by 17 points is not a good sign. Our abysmal offensive effort in the second half was bewildering. Did the Louisiana coach make that good of a half time adjustment? None of us imagined that we would lose such a large lead with so much time remaining on the clock. We got every major break including, recovering two Louisiana fumbles deep in their own territory from which we scored 10 points. We were also lucky Towles was able to get a first down after he fumbled the snap on that critical 4th and 1 at midfield during our final scoring drive. Then, we got blessed again when Louisiana committed two major penalties during that final drive inside the fifty yard line that allowed us to get into scoring position. We certainly weren't moving the ball in second half and those two major penalties allowed us to get into easy field goal position if not score a touchdown, which we did.
Hopefully, all of this concern can be attributed to first game jitters or whatever other excuse one wants to offer. . Regardless, UK's performance, particularly in the second half against a team with much the inferior talent has to make all UK fans concerned about the rest of the season. I hope I'm wrong. I hope this is not what Yogi Bear use to proclaim as "deja vu all over again.".
Hopefully, all of this concern can be attributed to first game jitters or whatever other excuse one wants to offer. . Regardless, UK's performance, particularly in the second half against a team with much the inferior talent has to make all UK fans concerned about the rest of the season. I hope I'm wrong. I hope this is not what Yogi Bear use to proclaim as "deja vu all over again.".
Maybe we can cut down on the Boo-Boo's and swipe a couple of picnic baskets in the process then we won't have to quote Casey Stengel wondering "can anyone here play this game"
What? You just mean the overall Win - Loss record right?
2014 - vs Ole Miss lost 56-15 , vs Boise St lost 34-9
2013 - vs Arkansas lost 34-14 , vs K-State lost 48-27
2012 - vs OK State lost 65-24 , vs Florida lost 27-20
2011 - vs OK State lost 61-34 , vs Arizona lost 45-37
2010 - vs Georgia lost 55-7 , vs OK State lost 54-28 , vs Ole Miss lost 43-21
0-11 vs Major Conference opponents + Boise
They did beat WKU in 2012 and 2013 though.
I just don't see this silver lining you are eluding too.
Yes they went to and won bowl games but vs mid-majors.
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33-10 and driving to make it 40-10. Foot was let off the gas. It wasn't a coincidence UK was dominating. However, I think that missing my veteran players and true freshmen forced to see significant game action due to suspensions is what did it. We play this game ten times and UK wins by 30 plus the remaining 9 games. Some handwring just to handwring. Next week we give up 500 yards and get beat by 28 points and I will be onboard.
It's a LOSER Mentality that UK has had for a lot of years. Forrest said after the game that they "got comfortable", meaning in the 3rd quarter they packed it in feeling like the game was already won. I believe Stoops alluded to this also.I've seen it multiple times with UK, even when they're playing good teams. A lot of people here mention lack of depth, which has been a factor over the years but a lot of games I've seen them lose is because they think they've already won the game and start going through the motions. It doesn't matter if it's football, ping pong or whatever, once you start coasting it's awfully hard to regain your edge. You can't just flip a switch. We were pretty lucky to escape with this one.
ULL has recruitment ranking per scout.com of 2015 #85, 2014 #90 . 2013 #78 and 2012 #102 in the nation.
You mean our freshmen can't step in and play with a team living off 2 star recruits?
Unless it's a Bill Snyder team.
UK used to be that team living off of 2 star recruits, and they still pulled out wins against SEC teams. You're also thoughtless in considering that those "2 star recruits that the team is living off of" has been playing college football for 3 and 4 years. Helluva lot more physically mature than a kid right out of high school, a lot more knowledgeable of the game. You can build a team of all of the very best college players, and an NFL team would smash them, because of physical and mental maturity, as well as experience.
Few freshmen can come in and be heavy impact players from day 1, especially against more mature, more experienced players. Fact.
I'll be honest, if I had a football team, based on personality alone, I wouldn't want most of the people on this forum. So many people here are defeatists, it's disgusting. Winning a close game actually means you lost the game or something.
This is what happens when a team coasts, regardless of who you play against. Now our players have learned not to coast. Better to learn that lesson now, rather than coasting against an SEC team that we may be ahead of, and losing that game at the end.
Some of you people are quick to dismiss a number of factors as to why Kentucky's second half performance was bad, and it certainly doesn't warrant 2 consecutive days of b****ing and moaning incessantly.
If we play against SC like we play against ULL the second half, we will get our heads handed to us on the way out of Columbia. That's the big concern I think.
You have to be very careful to distinguish the fan base from those on a user board like this. Fans were excited and happy to win. Most on here are simply those loving the echo chamber environment a board like this provides.
It gives the mindless, (me included) a forum to exhibit how little we know about the game without truly owning what we say about players, coaches, teams etc...
It gives the mindless, (me included) a forum to exhibit how little we know about the game without truly owning what we say about players, coaches, teams etc...
Yeah winning with 2 stars recruits in the SEC comes with good coaching , preparedness and some luck helps also.
It's not like the whole defense was comprised of true freshmen either, there was plenty out there that's been in the program at least a year.
There's ones saying we left some points on the board but we also had a nice margin in turnovers for being so close a game at home.
They can't play this way vs the Gamecocks for sure.
People need to realize the read option is one of the toughest to defend. The Cajuns have been doing it very well for several years now. I believe the Cats are in a much better place defensively than most realize, and will show some improvement against SC. The Cajuns are going to win a lot of games this year,Very big and strong on both lines. Don't be fooled that they're not a Power conf. team, they are much better than we want to give them credit for. Our Cats are pretty good too. In fact, if our young offense can take what the defense gives them, we could be scary good! I believe we win in Columbia with many more to come. THe Cats are just better than the Cocks, Much better!!
Our fanbase is a microwave fanbase. They are very good at blowing things out of proportion. So, yes, I do think that there are those that are making things out to be worse than they are. However, things are far from hunky-dory.
Most of those that know football.....specifically UK football....pegged us at around 5-7 wins this yr. We knew that we wouldn't be "there" yet. We knew there would be a few blow-outs....and a few ugly wins. We knew that there would be times when we would play well and others where we wouldn't.
We won. So, that's the bottomline. And I hope we learned a lesson here. The thing that bothered me the most was that we didn't step on their necks while they were down. We went up 33-10, but then backed off. Now ULL is just good enough to climb back into the game, but poor enough that we could still pull out the win. Most of the opponents we play the rest of the year won't be as forgiving.
Most of those that know football.....specifically UK football....pegged us at around 5-7 wins this yr. We knew that we wouldn't be "there" yet. We knew there would be a few blow-outs....and a few ugly wins. We knew that there would be times when we would play well and others where we wouldn't.
We won. So, that's the bottomline. And I hope we learned a lesson here. The thing that bothered me the most was that we didn't step on their necks while they were down. We went up 33-10, but then backed off. Now ULL is just good enough to climb back into the game, but poor enough that we could still pull out the win. Most of the opponents we play the rest of the year won't be as forgiving.
No offense to you BlueRaider22, but I get tired of people calling UK fans microwave fans. I think that is furthest from the truth. If anything, we should be called crockpot fans. For decades we have been waiting and waiting and waiting for the program to become relevant and it never really fully materialized. Eventually after such a long wait the fans are finally done waiting and want to see the finished product. You can't keep cooking something forever and not expect it to get burnt.
In 2007 we played in Columbia on a Thursday night. We went into that game ranked in the top 15, I don't remember where exactly. We had beaten Louisville (Stevie got loose). I just remember walking out of the stadium and having SC fans laughing at us because we thought we could win. UK fans were all holding "WE BELIEVE" signs. I left with a horrible taste in my mouth, maybe because boiled peanuts taste like ass, but until we can sustain wins in the SEC, no one in this conference will respect us. All the bitching about UL claiming they beat SEC teams in bowl games and we say they are down those years. They beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl and we lost to Florida. When was our last Sugar Bowl appearance? We just need to win games. Beat SEC teams. Until then, in football we are little brother, as much as I hate to say it.
Even if we won 40-10 we still should of been worried. You cant look at the score , its what happens in the game that gives clues to the future game play of the team. And during the game, our defense was sliced up like a rotten tomato.
BS, did you see the crowd in the 3rd quarter, half empty and that was when we were playing well. It's a great myth that UK has such a loyal fan base, the reality is that half of them go back to tailgating once the buzz starts to wear off around half time. It's sad but funny at the same time cause those folks missed a close game and a game where UK made the plays in crunch time to win.
Defense gave up 70 percent of there yards in a 9 minute window. Defense played fine accept for 3 blown coverages we are going to face some growing pains playing frosh backers but they all can run and will make a big jump after gm 1.
Our fan base is probably like other fan base. Fans think true freshman can outplay RS Jr's and Srs on other teams. Or that any defense can play 90 snaps and not give up a lot of yards or points. Even if we blow out a team we should be concerned. If we play our worst football (second half) we will lose the next game. No kidding.
Its comical to read some of these posts. This team is very young.
Mike Edwards, Darius West, Nico Firios, Josh Allen, Denzil Ware, Adrian Middleton, Chris Westry, Jordan Jones. All of these guys took their first college snap on the defense on Saturday. Replace the bulk of those snaps with Hatcher, Flanigan and CJ and it's a different story.
Dont forget Elam and Meant are true sophomores.
Its comical to read some of these posts. This team is very young.
Mike Edwards, Darius West, Nico Firios, Josh Allen, Denzil Ware, Adrian Middleton, Chris Westry, Jordan Jones. All of these guys took their first college snap on the defense on Saturday. Replace the bulk of those snaps with Hatcher, Flanigan and CJ and it's a different story.
Dont forget Elam and Meant are true sophomores.
Heading into gameday last week, many, not all, felt like UK was going to roll LL by 30+ points. Ignoring how good they have been over the last several years, and counting on kids who hadn't played a down of college ball performing at All SEC level. Neither of those happened, UK got up quick, LL made some adjustments and made it a close game. That's a pretty common practice of fanbases, overestimating their talent/ability and underestimating their opponent's. LL didn't come to Lexington just to get a check, they came with the mindset they were going to win, they were not the typical small conference team looking to take a butt kicking and get a nice check for their trouble. I expected UK to win, in the 17-21 range, which the game should have been I think. But don't talk about your team easing up or the qb missing throws, LL made some great adjustments, Towles didn't take advantage of that, but without his quick start UK would have been in trouble, no one is taking notice of that.
For me and many other longtime fans, I have been waiting for 50 yrs to have a consistently competitive team. I'm still waiting and will keep waiting till I die, if I have to.
You can't blame fans or administrators for wanting true competitiveness. Coaches are paid millions of dollars to produce results. If it doesn't look like it's going to happen, you have to move on. Stoops is doing very well getting players in here that can be competitive. Now he just has to win with them to show he can coach.
You can't blame fans or administrators for wanting true competitiveness. Coaches are paid millions of dollars to produce results. If it doesn't look like it's going to happen, you have to move on. Stoops is doing very well getting players in here that can be competitive. Now he just has to win with them to show he can coach.
^Well said Grumpy. I predicted 45-27. ULL has been a really good team for the last 4-5 yrs. Heck, many posters on this very board were talking about Hudspeth as a possible UK HC candidate after Joker was let go. The final score of 40-33 didn't bother me that much. The way we backed off and let them climb back in quickly bothered me more than the score.
Yeah we can say all we want about those who have been in the program a year or two but when you are playing against a 5th year senior, physically it's a big difference. Winning helped but being on the road is always a concern especially with the younger players.
