Kentucky Opens as 26.5 Point Favorite in Season Opener
- Thread starter will.ksr
- Start date
I would hope we could beat them more than 26.5 points... I hope to score 45 on them or more, lol...
GBB
GBB
Ball State plays in the MAC and had a 5-7 record in 2022. The MAC is a respectable conference but Ball St is the first opponent on our schedule because our athletics management believes they can pencil in a useful W. It will be good on several levels if Destin Wade plays most of the 4th quarter. IMHO our objective is to get the opening W, get some game experience for our backups, and get out of the game without Leary taking any big hits. If we accomplish those things, then I'm good.
As Rembrandt state, Ball State is a respectable program from a good league. It will be Devins fist game as a Wildcat and for many in the OL. Nerves maybe a factor as well. A good solid win with Offense playing well is just what the Dr. ordered. As for as Destin, I do believe they will have a Package for him but KS will get most of the later reps if they are there to be had.
Seems like we don’t cover these a lot and fans freak out for no reason.
Definitely.
All reports have said the backup QB was not named by Coach Coen last month and will get decided in August or maybe even September. There is nothing wrong with Sheron and definitely nothing wrong with his arm, but I strongly believe he is better suited for a different style of offense with two excellent OTs where he hands the ball off or else sets his feet in the pocket and lets it fly. Sheron sees the field but is one of the least mobile FBS QBs I have personally seen.
With the benefit of more time, I believe Destin will turn out to have a great deal more versatility. But, of course, if Destin keeps throwing pick-6s, then I will ask you to forget what I just said. LOL! I am not suggesting Destin is a future starter. Everyone is super excited about Boley now, and there is no point in even implying a different path forward. But Destin is just beginning to learn, and I don't think Scan did him any favors. We don't know yet what we have here, but Destin is a team oriented guy who will get better. Maybe he doesn't have Boley's upside, but he is far from a finished product.
True. Covering a game like this depends on the offense being ready to play and not making mistakes. If you let any team hang around, they will gain confidence and compete.
I never lay points on the CATS, especially double digit, but I love those +4/+10 lines, they historically hit frequently.
Last edited:
We seldom beat our MAC opponents badly.
I would guess we don’t cover this spread, and should we ever lead by 27 or more points, we’ll be learning the names of our walk on’s the remainder of the game.
Stoops will not embarrass a mid-western MAC Coach.
I would guess we don’t cover this spread, and should we ever lead by 27 or more points, we’ll be learning the names of our walk on’s the remainder of the game.
Stoops will not embarrass a mid-western MAC Coach.
We are notorious for playing these within a few scores.
See Chattanooga when the db Ajian? had a 95 yard pick six to win that one. These blowout games have usually been close.
See Chattanooga when the db Ajian? had a 95 yard pick six to win that one. These blowout games have usually been close.
Yep Stoops loves to sit on those 10 point leads and burn clock and we do have a tendency to play down to weaker opponents but play up to stronger ones.
Having said that it will be interesting to see how long a leash he puts on Coen.
Was curious so looked up the scores for the last seven home openers. Couldn't tell you what the spread was
2022 UK 37 - Miami (OH) 13
2021 UK 45 - UL Monroe 10
2020 UK 13 - Auburn 29
2019 UK 38 - Toledo 24
2018 UK 35 - Central Michigan 20
2017 UK 24 - S. Miss 17
2022 UK 37 - Miami (OH) 13
2021 UK 45 - UL Monroe 10
2020 UK 13 - Auburn 29
2019 UK 38 - Toledo 24
2018 UK 35 - Central Michigan 20
2017 UK 24 - S. Miss 17
Yep. We have to stop punching down. We won't take another leap if we don't, I feel. Close games with inferior opponents tends to stick around a bit longer than it should.
A good list of home (and away openers) but there have been MAC opponents later in seasons that I think are illustrative of the typical outcome. Just last year we “beat down” Northern Illinois, 31-23.
In 2019, we beat Eastern Michigan solidly at 38-17, in the game that Terry Wilson hurt his knee.
Stoops was plainly recorded during the post-game handshake apologizing “for throwing so much . . . , I lost my starting quarterback.”
Whether conscious or subconscious, Stoops does not want to put beatdowms on MAC opponents.
He saves those for U of L!
I have not measured, but I suspect every MAC school is within 200 miles of Youngstown, Ohio. And with the easing of transfers, Stoops won’t go out of his way to piss in the Cheerio’s of the closest G5 conference from which quality transfers might come, and with whom we hope to have many future games.
So we get a lead, then play scrum ball near the middle of the field the second half, the MAC school gets a 7 figure check, and got to play within 20 of a good SEC program.
Frankly, I like how Stoops handles it.
Throwing for an extra 150 against Central Michigan ain’t goin’ to help us beat UF next week.
Last edited:
By the scores posted it seems the offense has been fine opening day. Giving up 29,24,20 and 17 to these teams is the problem. How’s about holding them to a big ole goose egg.
I get what you are saying but I’ve got to disagree. Having a nasty attitude that we are gonna run you outta this building is a great mindset to have. Having that mindset would have beaten Ole Miss last year. We play scared a lot. I can’t help but think our lack of killer instinct takes a hit when we call off the dogs. Hell. As much as Stoops hated Satterfield he called the dogs off in the entire 4th quarter the last 3 years. Brohm worked under Bobby P. If he ever gets a chance to run up the score. He will keep his starters in to the final horn. Bet on that.
Last edited:
This. Games like this when we get a comfortable lead stoops starts trying different looks or giving young guys a look. Essentially like a live scrimmage
This, It's pretty rare that our first game is a true blowout. It usually ends up being an ugly sort of win where we really don't assert ourselves until the second half. last year we were only up 13-10 at the half against Miami, OH. It took a couple of quick scores early in the third to break it open for us. The last two seasons we let our opening day opponents score first. In 2018, we were only up 21-20 at the half to Central Michigan, and yes, they scored first too.
Point being, 26.5 seems high, but there's a lot of uncertainties. One thing I wish Stoops wouldn't hesitate to do is to give it some throttle when we get a lead. Tired of letting teams creep back into games or getting complacent when we get a lead. This is big boy football. We don't have to play nice. I'd love for us to come out and whip Ball State 65-7 and put the SEC on notice that we aren't playing nice anymore.
Little insight into Ball St’s team.
Offense
Qb- their starting qb from last year transferred to Illinois. They brought in a starter from Texas St who was also a starter at Ark St before that.
Rb- lost starter to UCLA and backup graduated. Brought in starter from Kent St who ran for 1200 yds in 2021 and 1300 yds in 2022.
WR- only had 5 WR make a catch last year and only bring back 1 of those. That player caught 6 passes for 35 yards. No notable transfers in.
TE- they lineup in a lot of 2 TE sets and bring back both their starters. Both are very big TEs (6-6 and 6-7). One only caught 12 passes but 7 of those were TDs. They use them a lot.
OL- return 3 starters with some experienced depth. Brought in 2 transfers one from D-II to play G and another from IU to play T. They were 14th in the country in sacks allowed and 2nd in tackles for a loss allowed. They only played 1 game against a P5 team last year (Tenn) giving up 0 sacks and 2 TFL.
Defense
They ran a 3-3-5 last year. They return all the starters from the DL and LB corps so it should be a good test for our OL.
Their secondary is a mess though. They lost their 2 starting CB, Starting Nickel, and 1 starting S along with 2 of their more experienced backups. The depth doesn’t have a lot of experience and they brought in 3 transfers, a starter from D-II, Illinois kid that never played, and a ODU CB that only played ST.
Offense
Qb- their starting qb from last year transferred to Illinois. They brought in a starter from Texas St who was also a starter at Ark St before that.
Rb- lost starter to UCLA and backup graduated. Brought in starter from Kent St who ran for 1200 yds in 2021 and 1300 yds in 2022.
WR- only had 5 WR make a catch last year and only bring back 1 of those. That player caught 6 passes for 35 yards. No notable transfers in.
TE- they lineup in a lot of 2 TE sets and bring back both their starters. Both are very big TEs (6-6 and 6-7). One only caught 12 passes but 7 of those were TDs. They use them a lot.
OL- return 3 starters with some experienced depth. Brought in 2 transfers one from D-II to play G and another from IU to play T. They were 14th in the country in sacks allowed and 2nd in tackles for a loss allowed. They only played 1 game against a P5 team last year (Tenn) giving up 0 sacks and 2 TFL.
Defense
They ran a 3-3-5 last year. They return all the starters from the DL and LB corps so it should be a good test for our OL.
Their secondary is a mess though. They lost their 2 starting CB, Starting Nickel, and 1 starting S along with 2 of their more experienced backups. The depth doesn’t have a lot of experience and they brought in 3 transfers, a starter from D-II, Illinois kid that never played, and a ODU CB that only played ST.
Last edited:
Yes!
And against Northern Illinois, we gave up 23.
Here is the head-scratcher: since 2019, we have surrendered a higher point total against out G5 opponents than average for the season?!?!
Last edited: