Did we collapse or were we never any good?

[LadyCaytIL]

I keep hearing people talk about something had to happen between Missouri and right after Auburn to make the team go downhill.

But I think it was all an illusion. From the get go we were in danger late against ULL and it took a crazy lucky come back against EKU to win that game. We all know how horrible USC jr. is/was. And Missouri wasn't even good with Mauk (and it was obvious things were going on with him ...as he was crazy inaccurate the games he played compared to years past)

What do you guys think? I say 80% never any good and 20% collapse.

 

[dorkmeister]

Can we go with 50/50? We were better than 5 wins. We were good enough to win 6-7 this year with the schedule so it was a collapse but the front of our schedule was as easy as we will ever get. We only needed to win 1 more game. There is no reason we didn't win ONE more game!!!

 

[LadyCaytIL]

Can we go with 50/50? We were better than 5 wins. We were good enough to win 6-7 this year with the schedule so it was a collapse but the front of our schedule was as easy as we will ever get. We only needed to win 1 more game. There is no reason we didn't win ONE more game!!!

I agree, ... just 1 more game and it should of happened against Florida, and again against Auburn, Vandy and UL... heck if we were half way decent, we should of had a chance to beat UGA but we couldn't stop 1 play over and over.

Think what would of happened if this was a normal year for Mizzou and USC Jr. it would only of been a 3 win season.

 

[Mr Schwump]

Yes.

 

[Rickman]

In the first 4-5 games, we had flashes of really good play. A ton of inconsistency, but there were a lot of positives. Enough that overcame the inconsistency in the big picture. And, my expectation is that we'd get more consistent as the year went on. I knew the schedule got harder and I knew the 4 game stretch was going to be tough, but I thought that we'd continue to improve. Instead, we regressed. The flashes of really good play lessened.

Worse, I saw signs that some of our players weren't necessarily giving the same level of effort they were in the beginning of the year. (hate to keep harping on WRs, but this was easiest to see in the fall off in the WRs blocking for each other and in the running game)

We were never SEC champion quality, but we were absolutely a mediocre, middle of the road SEC team in the middle of the season. By the end of the year, we were a bottom dweller yet again.

 

[K_TIME]

If UK were to replay USC game, we'd lose by 10 points or more IMO. If Uk were to play Mizzou again, we'd have no shot to move the ball as well as we did in that game. Same for Auburn.

UK really regressed as the season wore on...especially on offense. Look at passing stats.

Mizzou - 22-27 for 249 yards (Towles)
Auburn 27-44 for 359 yards (Towles)

UT 16 - 33 for 134 (Towles)
UGA 8-21 for 96 yards (Towles)
Vandy - 10-26 for 67 yards (Towles)
UL - 6 - 22 for 128 yards (Barker)

So something really went backwards the last few games as this offense was able to move the ball solidly the first half of year. I'll grant some of those defenses are better on backend vs. front end of schedule. But UL/UT aren't better units on defense than Mizzou. I'd argue UL really isn't much better than Auburn on defense. But to go from 65% completion and solid 250+ yards passing a game to lucky to break 100 yards passing a game down the stretch...something really went backwards.

 

[Chuckinden]

We had enough talent to beat Vandy, but not the knowledge and that with the stigma of a successful season riding on it. That falls squarely on the coaches. UT destroyed Vandy.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

We did regress, but we were never really any good. We barely beat ULL, SC, Missouri and EKU. You wiill struggle to find 4 weaker wins for a power 5 team, although beating any SEC team for UK is an accomplishment so I'm not gonna hold those two games against us. The ULL and EKU games shoulda told us all we needed to know for this team. All my rambling aside, we were about what our record says we were. We were 4-3 in games decided by one score, which evens out over a season (you can throw in UL until their late score and its 4-4 as that was a close game until the very end) .

 

[Ukbrassowtipin]

They just aren't that good yet..I thought before the year 7 wins would have been a hell of a year. Too many on here always have bigger predictions than reality, but they were indeed worse than expected. However, they were still better than last year.

 

[LadyCaytIL]

I don't know...... we beat Vandy last year , Mizzou and USC were far better last year.... I think we were better last year. I know Towles was better than 9 TD's and 14 INT's last year.

 

[Levibooty]

I think we went down hill at halftime of the ULL game.

 

[NKYWildcat]

We weren't that talented/experienced, but we were good enough to win 7. No reason whatsoever to lose to Vanderbilt and Louisville, and, as it turned out, could've beaten Auburn.

 

[Mr Schwump]

Ask yourself, what UK O or D starter could start or even play for other SEC schools not named Vandy? Bitter truth is very, very few.

I watched all or parts of several games last weekend. Saw people like Bama, LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, FSU, UF, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Notre Dame......those teams are in another universe compared to UK.

Still, with effort, focus, scheme, coaching.....UK can and should win more than they lose. I hope all of this is just growing pains of building a program but that may very well be optimistic.

 

[kyjohn]

Pre season hype by the UK athletics department and others had fans believing the team would be good.Then that first half against ULL had most thinking it was true, then came the second half of that game and people started wondering.Fact is this team was not very good and were extremely lucky to finish the season at 5/7.And saddest of all,if there is not some changes in personnel things probably won't get much better next year or anytime soon.

 

[LadyCaytIL]

Ask yourself, what UK O or D starter could start or even play for other SEC schools not named Vandy? Bitter truth is very, very few.

I watched all or parts of several games last weekend. Saw people like Bama, LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, FSU, UF, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Notre Dame......those teams are in another universe compared to UK.

Still, with effort, focus, scheme, coaching.....UK can and should win more than they lose. I hope all of this is just growing pains of building a program but that may very well be optimistic.

I think we had several players with enough talent to start at other teams other than Vandy. Towles, Barker, Boom.... Baker, Badet, Stamps, Elam, Forest. Those guys didnt have the coaching though. If we had Rich Brook's and Staff coaching those players..... you would see a massive improvement

 

[JasonS.]

I don't know...... we beat Vandy last year , Mizzou and USC were far better last year.... I think we were better last year. I know Towles was better than 9 TD's and 14 INT's last year.

Yep. We were much, much better last season. With the exception of special teams.

 

[docholiday51]

If UK were to replay USC game, we'd lose by 10 points or more IMO. If Uk were to play Mizzou again, we'd have no shot to move the ball as well as we did in that game. Same for Auburn.

UK really regressed as the season wore on...especially on offense. Look at passing stats.

Mizzou - 22-27 for 249 yards (Towles)
Auburn 27-44 for 359 yards (Towles)

UT 16 - 33 for 134 (Towles)
UGA 8-21 for 96 yards (Towles)
Vandy - 10-26 for 67 yards (Towles)
UL - 6 - 22 for 128 yards (Barker)

So something really went backwards the last few games as this offense was able to move the ball solidly the first half of year. I'll grant some of those defenses are better on backend vs. front end of schedule. But UL/UT aren't better units on defense than Mizzou. I'd argue UL really isn't much better than Auburn on defense. But to go from 65% completion and solid 250+ yards passing a game to lucky to break 100 yards passing a game down the stretch...something really went backwards.

I think this is very accurate,.Looking at things from a physical/talent standpoint we were good enough to win six or seven games but from a mental / emotional standpoint we were not (and probably lucky to win as many as we did) The question becomes was it lack discipline,lack of organization or lack of skill on the part of the coaches or lack of mental toughness or willingness to work on the part of the players

Whatever it was it got worse as the year went along.One final thought which was worse the loss to Vandy or the way we lost to UL? Vandy should not have beaten this team and if you're up 21-0 you should not lose to UL.Both losses speak volumes and what they have to say is in no way good for the football program.

 

[NCukcat62]

We really regressed. This team definitely should of won 7 games. We should be riding a 3 game winning streak.

 

[ukalumni00]

Combination of both. Several of these younger players either are not developing or simply were overrated coming out of HS. KY is woeful at the LOS and will continue to be bad next season. Winning in football and especially in the SEC starts and ends at the LOS which is why KY has never been successful in the SEC (except a few seasons which they were legit at the LOS). Add in several players who simply are not the playmakers we thought they were or could be and you then have an avalanche of issues that pile up and then add some questionable character on the roster with a staff that did/does not manage it well and you all of sudden have a team that loses its way when the schedule gets tougher.

So, its a combination of not being very good to having minimal mental toughness to withstand the onslaught of SEC teams.

 

[John Henry]

We were a mediocre to
poor team that collapsed. At the end of the season we may have been one of the worst teams in Div I

 

[BlueRaider22]

I agree with most.....it's a combination.

-"Weren't very good from the start" - From the moment we started against ULL, we struggled to complete passes. Drops, poor passes, poor protection.....you name it. And this was magnified as the yr went on against better competition. Our defense has struggled against the run all yr......ULL hung in there running it. Grier (UF) beat us with his legs. The USC backs had huge yds/att. EKU put up just as much rushing yds as passing yds. Etc.

-"Collapse" - All of the problems above were magnified and worsened as the yr went on. Now, guys like Baker don't just drop passes, but completely quit on a route. The RT didn't just fold part of the time, but now are getting beat consistently every other down.


A lot of this is personnel. Underclassmen are erratic. They often can perform decently if they are playing with veterans around them, but if they don't then it magnifies. We've got a ton of youth on the team. Then couple that with lack of depth. When Lewis broke his leg, who did we have to back him up? Linemen take yrs to develop and Elam just wasn't ready. Now look at nearly every other position in the field. We often have fresh/soph backing up darn near everywhere. Once again, that's fine if it's a few positions here or there, but not good when it's so widespread.

It's also coaching. Where are the adjustments? Who's gonna change the defense to stop the running QB that's killing us? If Towles/Barker are mobile, then why tie them down? If Boom/Jojo/Horton are running decently, then why throw it?

 

[Johnfarrel]

Depth was is the major problem. When Lewis went down for the year that cut the heart out of the defense. Boom's elbow injury probably was a factor in the fumble against Vandy. When he and JoJo went down against Louisville, they had no one else to provide a creditable running game. With Lewis and Williams healthy, I think Vandy and Louisville are wins.

Take the best defensive player and best running back away from any team and they will suffer. When a team is rebuilding and as thin as Kentucky, it is magnified 10 fold. Whatever the other problems with the coaches and team members, you could see the team wear down physically as the season progressed. When and if the twos are almost as goods as the ones, Kentucky can withstand injures and a grueling season, but not until then.

 

[KentuckyStout]

We collapsed. Absolutely fell to pieces the last half of the season. For the second straight year.

 

[qwesley]

OL, DL, and LB all went to pot. Resulted in a beaten down team.

 

[docholiday51]

OL, DL, and LB all went to pot. Resulted in a beaten down team.

I knew when they began to legalize pot we were in trouble[smoke]

 

[Indy Cat]

We had enough talent to beat Vandy, but not the knowledge and that with the stigma of a successful season riding on it. That falls squarely on the coaches. UT destroyed Vandy.

We were a bad team and then collapsed

 

[8titles_rivals270261]

We lost our only 2 threats at RB (Williams and Kemp). Horton doesn't have enough speed to break a play.
They sagged back into a cover 2 the entire second half which can be hammered if you give your QB time to do it.
We never could give him 7-8 seconds to let a play develop against it and went 3 and out too much. Put too much pressure on our D and voila, we have a melt down.

It reeks of lack of depth, as much as play calling. Honestly with our issues on the line and our QB's being fairly inexperienced, or lack the ability to make precise throws consistently then they were put in a tough spot. Hats off to the UL coaching staff for recognizing it, but if I recognized it then it doesn't take a hall of fame coach or anything. We have better talent, we just need depth and consistency. If we make changes every 3 years we will get neither and continue to get the same result we have been getting.

 

[WildCard]

Tough question. There was clearly regression over the year but due to what? The SC and Mizzou wins looked pretty good at the time. And, unlike last year, the back half of the schedule was not loaded with Top 25 teams, in fact, none. I generally associate "collapse" with some kind of event (e.g., wave of injuries). And there was plenty of, perhaps unwarranted, pre-season optimism for a better year. But rather that say "never any good" I would say "never as good as expected".

Peace

 

[docholiday51]

We lost our only 2 threats at RB (Williams and Kemp). Horton doesn't have enough speed to break a play.
They sagged back into a cover 2 the entire second half which can be hammered if you give your QB time to do it.
We never could give him 7-8 seconds to let a play develop against it and went 3 and out too much. Put too much pressure on our D and voila, we have a melt down.

It reeks of lack of depth, as much as play calling. Honestly with our issues on the line and our QB's being fairly inexperienced, or lack the ability to make precise throws consistently then they were put in a tough spot. Hats off to the UL coaching staff for recognizing it, but if I recognized it then it doesn't take a hall of fame coach or anything. We have better talent, we just need depth and consistency. If we make changes every 3 years we will get neither and continue to get the same result we have been getting.

No QB gets 7 or 8 seconds 5 seconds is like having all day to throw it

 

[carolinacat]

We weren't that good in the early season wins against suspect competition...that is absolutely true. However, we also clearly regressed as we weren't even competitive in blowout losses to UT, UGA, and MSU. The Vandy game was a complete abomination.

 

[8titles_rivals270261]

No QB gets 7 or 8 seconds 5 seconds is like having all day to throw it

It was taking our receiver 7-8 seconds to get to a soft spot. I agree that it shouldn't take that long and that no line can maintain blocks that long. That's my point.