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UK to host Northern Illinois in 2022.

He may have some facts screwed up but I concur with the general thought in that when a school is playing in what is arguably the toughest conference in the country, and struggling to improve the program, there's no need to create obstacles of one's own making.
But then people need stop complaining (not you) about how hard scheduling ooc games is & playing away games at the likes of Eastern Michigan/Southern Miss/etc. That's what started my responses.

But, If I never see another FCS team at Kroger I'll be happier. And if that means a tougher schedule, so be it.
 
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For the record, just as a fan, I would ten to one rather see decent games than the OVC/Mtn West/Gulf Coast bum of the month club

That being said, I understand why we don't schedule another tough P5 opponent, and in addition, I have no problem with the home and home with Southern Miss, they play a lot of SEC teams and are a respectable program, and in fact, we should have won both games, just choked away the 2016 game. Cincinnati would be another respectable non P5 opponent that would jazz up the schedule yet give us a much better than 50-50 chance of winning.
Oh, T, UC is just too tough. Not a guaranteed win.
 
Times infinity! I wish I could like this post multiple times.
Does the fact that it is factually inaccurate have any effect on how much you like it? In fairness, based on the likes it received, you’re not the only one who likes falsehoods.
 
Oh, T, UC is just too tough. Not a guaranteed win.

I know you are being facetious, but especially the top 2 or 3 teams in the MAC are not guaranteed wins either, hell Ga Southern, a IAA team, managed to beat Florida in Gainesville one year, which we have not done since the Carter Administration. The Citadel beat South Carolina too. I think South Alabama beat either Ole Miss or Miss State a few years ago. Troy beat LSU last year, etc., etc.

My point is, you have to play someone, and there almost always is a chance you might lose, so at least make it a bit interesting and more fun for the fans who after all are paying the freight . . . sometimes I think that little factoid gets lost in the white noise sometimes.
 
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I know you are being facetious, but especially the top 2 or 3 teams in the MAC are not guaranteed wins either, hell Ga Southern, a IAA team, managed to beat Florida in Gainesville one year, which we have not done since the Carter Administration. The Citadel beat South Carolina too. I think South Alabama beat either Ole Miss or Miss State a few years ago. Troy beat LSU last year, etc., etc.

My point is, you have to play someone, and there almost always is a chance you might lose, so at least make it a bit interesting and more fun for the fans who after all are paying the freight . . . sometimes I think that little factoid gets lost in the white noise sometimes.
So if those aren't guaranteed wins, might as well play some P5 teams at our level of ability. I'd rather see KS & R & UC over EKy.
 
To appease the ones who like to nitpick every single thing that they don't like, I decided to count those who play more than one out-of-conference P5 team in 2018 and included Notre Dame since they have an affiliation with the ACC. Let's try this again:

Clemson
FSU
Louisville
Duke
Pitt
Texas
WVU
Ohio St.
Northwestern
Purdue
USC

As you see, still not that many P5 teams do so (17%) and no SEC team has scheduled more than one P5 out-of-conference game for this upcoming season. I would guess that it's normal for most SEC team to do the same thing (Georgia is an exception sometimes according to GrumpyDawg) but those other conferences are not as strong top to bottom like the SEC, except maybe the ACC.

Anyway, I challenge the ones who take such great exception to UK's scheduling to contact Stoops directly and tell him to schedule more P5 teams every year because you think that is what's best for the program.
 
To appease the ones who like to nitpick every single thing that they don't like, I decided to count those who play more than one out-of-conference P5 team in 2018 and included Notre Dame since they have an affiliation with the ACC. Let's try this again:

Clemson
FSU
Louisville
Duke
Pitt
Texas
WVU
Ohio St.
Northwestern
Purdue
USC

As you see, still not that many P5 teams do so (17%) and no SEC team has scheduled more than one P5 out-of-conference game for this upcoming season. I would guess that it's normal for most SEC team to do the same thing (Georgia is an exception sometimes according to GrumpyDawg) but those other conferences are not as strong top to bottom like the SEC, except maybe the ACC.

Anyway, I challenge the ones who take such great exception to UK's scheduling to contact Stoops directly and tell him to schedule more P5 teams every year because you think that is what's best for the program.

We play ND in 19 at home, played Clemson a home and home in 14 and 15 I believe, ASU a home and home and Colorado, before them.

With the UF game always in Jax, we never get the 8 game home schedule, I am for ending that game. If UF wants their home game in Jax fine, we could have ours in Atlanta. There is no advantage to playing there, can't host recruits even if we are home team.

We have tried to get Michigan for a home and home, but they passed, rumor is OU is a possibility in the near future.
 
T

Anyway, I challenge the ones who take such great exception to UK's scheduling to contact Stoops directly and tell him to schedule more P5 teams every year because you think that is what's best for the program.

I don't know why I do this, because I really don't care as much as I used to . . . which is why I don't argue nearly as much on this site anymore.

But when Jerry Claiborne got here, in 1982, we played Oklahoma and Clemson (think how much fun that would have been in 2017!!) plus Kansas State and at least 6 SEC games. No doubt that was suicidal and I would say 0% of Kentucky fans think that kind of scheduling would be a good idea.

Yet, once he took over, the "dumbing down" of the schedule began, and has continued to this day, adding N. Tex State, East Tenn State, Charlotte, Jacksonville State, and a bunch of OVC/MAC and IAA stiffs that interest no one. But in all that time, we have not been ranked in the top 20 since 1984 (when we played and beat Rutgers, Indiana, and Tulane), and the biggest bowl game we have been invited to since then (Outback, 1998) came in a season where we beat Louisville and Indiana. Still are waiting for that first winning conference season in more than 40 years. Have not won a bowl game in nearly 10 years, have not won 9 games in over 30 years, etc.

So, it seems to me that we have already tried the "schedule three stiffs and hope for the best" method . . . but where has it gotten us? A smaller stadium and dwindling fan base is one result, there is NEVER a capacity crowd for those games. Not even close. And how has that built our football program? You aren't fooling anyone by beating 3 OOC teams and squeezing out a nickel dime bowl bid, just like 80 other teams receive. How about earning a little credibility by playing and beating West Va, Pitt, UC, Illinois, IU, Northwestern or Purdue along with two other easier OOC games? That way, if you happen to beat Louisville and the other "good" OOC team, you are likely to get more good regional PR, and maybe even a better bowl bid than another team that chose to play 3 or even 4 crappy opponents to pad their record.

And if you can't beat those teams I named, then you aren't building much of a program.
 
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Oh, T, UC is just too tough. Not a guaranteed win.

So which of the 2018 Alabama opponents should be replaced . . . . Arkansas State, UL Lafayette or the Citadel? Oh, and they play Louisville, at a neutral site.

Clemson
FSU
Louisville
Duke
Pitt
Texas
WVU
Ohio St.
Northwestern
Purdue
USC

Do you mean to say that NO SEC team is playing more than one P5 program outside of the conference?

Hell, we finished third in the East . . . . we ought to show 'em just how mighty bad we are by breaking the trend!!!!
 
So which of the 2018 Alabama opponents should be replaced . . . . Arkansas State, UL Lafayette or the Citadel? Oh, and they play Louisville, at a neutral site.



Do you mean to say that NO SEC team is playing more than one P5 program outside of the conference?

Hell, we finished third in the East . . . . we ought to show 'em just how mighty bad we are by breaking the trend!!!!

Correct. I just checked fbschedules.com.
 
I think we should drop UL and play the four worst div 1 teams we can schedule all every year at home .

That’s eight home games a year . Four sure wins . That’s how you build confidence and a program . And that’s s even if it cost us money by overpaying teams to come in without a return to their place.
That’s a little like UL did to bring their program to national prominence by playing minor keGue football although their day is done because now in the ACC they will never keep up with Clemson, FSU, Miami, Notre Dame , Ga. tech on a consistent basis . But at least they are middle of the pack and not a bottom feeder like we have been.
My plan coupled with good recruiting and coaching would get us to the middle of the pack level and a bowl game most years .
 
Good post Tsk! In the big picture of the current 8 game conference schedule I agree it better to play an IL or IN rather than IL State or IN State.

loucatfan, probably some others but about the only program I can think of that built itself up in some part due a totally lopsided OOC schedule was Kansas State under Bill Snyder. Of course he took over a football program that, by comparison, made UK football look like AL football.

As Tskware pointed out, UK tried the same thing (i.e., diluted OOC schedule) under Claiborne. In his 8 years at UK Claiborne went 28-9-3 OOC but only 13-37 in SEC play and posted only 3 winning seasons (6-5 twice, 9-3 once) in his 8 years.

Peace
 
Good post Tsk! In the big picture of the current 8 game conference schedule I agree it better to play an IL or IN rather than IL State or IN State.

loucatfan, probably some others but about the only program I can think of that built itself up in some part due a totally lopsided OOC schedule was Kansas State under Bill Snyder. Of course he took over a football program that, by comparison, made UK football look like AL football.

As Tskware pointed out, UK tried the same thing (i.e., diluted OOC schedule) under Claiborne. In his 8 years at UK Claiborne went 28-9-3 OOC but only 13-37 in SEC play and posted only 3 winning seasons (6-5 twice, 9-3 once) in his 8 years.

Peace

Thanks, but to clarify, seems to me we have been trying it ever since Claiborne got hired 35 years ago (i.e., not just while he was the coach)
 
So which of the 2018 Alabama opponents should be replaced . . . . Arkansas State, UL Lafayette or the Citadel? Oh, and they play Louisville, at a neutral site.



Do you mean to say that NO SEC team is playing more than one P5 program outside of the conference?

Hell, we finished third in the East . . . . we ought to show 'em just how mighty bad we are by breaking the trend!!!!
The FCS school.

The SEC East was by far was the lowest rated P5 division of nine in 2017 per Sagrin. Third in that division is definitely a step forward for us.
 
Gary Gumm is scheduled to graduate from junior college in 2021

Too bad jurich isn't still running the show at Transfer U, he might have trouble getting in there now.
I don't know why I do this, because I really don't care as much as I used to . . . which is why I don't argue nearly as much on this site anymore.

But when Jerry Claiborne got here, in 1982, we played Oklahoma and Clemson (think how much fun that would have been in 2017!!) plus Kansas State and at least 6 SEC games. No doubt that was suicidal and I would say 0% of Kentucky fans think that kind of scheduling would be a good idea.

Yet, once he took over, the "dumbing down" of the schedule began, and has continued to this day, adding N. Tex State, East Tenn State, Charlotte, Jacksonville State, and a bunch of OVC/MAC and IAA stiffs that interest no one. But in all that time, we have not been ranked in the top 20 since 1984 (when we played and beat Rutgers, Indiana, and Tulane), and the biggest bowl game we have been invited to since then (Outback, 1998) came in a season where we beat Louisville and Indiana. Still are waiting for that first winning conference season in more than 40 years. Have not won a bowl game in nearly 10 years, have not won 9 games in over 30 years, etc.

So, it seems to me that we have already tried the "schedule three stiffs and hope for the best" method . . . but where has it gotten us? A smaller stadium and dwindling fan base is one result, there is NEVER a capacity crowd for those games. Not even close. And how has that built our football program? You aren't fooling anyone by beating 3 OOC teams and squeezing out a nickel dime bowl bid, just like 80 other teams receive. How about earning a little credibility by playing and beating West Va, Pitt, UC, Illinois, IU, Northwestern or Purdue along with two other easier OOC games? That way, if you happen to beat Louisville and the other "good" OOC team, you are likely to get more good regional PR, and maybe even a better bowl bid than another team that chose to play 3 or even 4 crappy opponents to pad their record.

And if you can't beat those teams I named, then you aren't building much of a program.


Excellent logic.

Only one problem, with the support UK football has gotten from UK for DECADES, and none could possibly be much worse than the FIRST TEN YEARS before it completely fell apart (couldn't follow it as well before him) under mitch-------we wouldn't have been beating those teams, they would have been beating us.

MAYBE now with the strike and a new attitude UK can win those games, still to be determined.

Big gains to be had, maybe, big gamble also.
 
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