LOL! They're Talking Playoffs!
- Thread starter tmuck
- Start date
"Playoffs, playoffs!"
Who was the coach who went off on a rant when asked about the playoffs in the middle of the season?
Who was the coach who went off on a rant when asked about the playoffs in the middle of the season?
1. I think what you guys mistake for delusional with UofL fans is the sad reality that you guys have a healthy number of people that have flat given up before the first kickoff; we seem like rampant optimists by comparison.
...there's a psychological profile opportunity for some enterprising psychologist in the Commonwealth. Heck, Billy Reed can probably co-author the book.
2. I maintain that the best offense in college football preseason is clearly Clemson's because it has it all...college football's best triggerman, a deep and lethal receiving corps (complete with an outstanding TE in Leggett), one of college football's best offensive lines and a workhorse at RB in Wayne Galliman. But their losses at DE in consecutive years--positions Louisville has had nightmares blocking--have been extensive; their losses in the secondary have been even heavier, and I don't get the sense from Clemson sites back through Spring ball that they are optimistic that that talent level at roughly six positions defensively is at Championship caliber. Their offense though...really loaded at every level.
...by contrast, Florida State may realistically have college football's best defense; their front seven is pure unadulterated nastiness, and they may well have college football's best safety in Derwin James. If I'm picking nits, their QB position really might be College Football's most important this season, because if Francis is as good as advertised with Dalvin Cook to hand the ball off to and the explosiveness they have on their perimeter...they're a certainty to be in the discussion for a playoff slot. They were young by their prior standard last year and deficient at QB; they look seasoned and really dangerous this year. And Clemson has to go to Tallahassee where they have only won once in their last twelve visits.
What Louisville has versus Clemson and Florida State versus our first home-road tilt through the ACC is more depth to challenge them; we probably couldn't be getting Florida State at a better time at home, but I think we matchup better with Clemson. We've played them defensively as well as anyone not named Florida State in the two previous matchups and the biggest reason is that we have an abundance of people behind the front four that are quality cover people; we have had high quality safety play for the better part of the last five years, and the group of Harvey-Clemons, Chucky Williams, Dee Smith and Khane Pass fits into that standard. It also doesn't hurt to have a really high caliber middle linebacker like Keith Kelsey.
That doesn't equate to playoff, but I can picture both Florida State and Clemson taking a loss in league play and still both making the playoff picture. Even if we split with the two, our history says that we'll pee down our leg at some point against a lesser opponent. Or two. We have a number of really gnawing trap games.
...there's a psychological profile opportunity for some enterprising psychologist in the Commonwealth. Heck, Billy Reed can probably co-author the book.
2. I maintain that the best offense in college football preseason is clearly Clemson's because it has it all...college football's best triggerman, a deep and lethal receiving corps (complete with an outstanding TE in Leggett), one of college football's best offensive lines and a workhorse at RB in Wayne Galliman. But their losses at DE in consecutive years--positions Louisville has had nightmares blocking--have been extensive; their losses in the secondary have been even heavier, and I don't get the sense from Clemson sites back through Spring ball that they are optimistic that that talent level at roughly six positions defensively is at Championship caliber. Their offense though...really loaded at every level.
...by contrast, Florida State may realistically have college football's best defense; their front seven is pure unadulterated nastiness, and they may well have college football's best safety in Derwin James. If I'm picking nits, their QB position really might be College Football's most important this season, because if Francis is as good as advertised with Dalvin Cook to hand the ball off to and the explosiveness they have on their perimeter...they're a certainty to be in the discussion for a playoff slot. They were young by their prior standard last year and deficient at QB; they look seasoned and really dangerous this year. And Clemson has to go to Tallahassee where they have only won once in their last twelve visits.
What Louisville has versus Clemson and Florida State versus our first home-road tilt through the ACC is more depth to challenge them; we probably couldn't be getting Florida State at a better time at home, but I think we matchup better with Clemson. We've played them defensively as well as anyone not named Florida State in the two previous matchups and the biggest reason is that we have an abundance of people behind the front four that are quality cover people; we have had high quality safety play for the better part of the last five years, and the group of Harvey-Clemons, Chucky Williams, Dee Smith and Khane Pass fits into that standard. It also doesn't hurt to have a really high caliber middle linebacker like Keith Kelsey.
That doesn't equate to playoff, but I can picture both Florida State and Clemson taking a loss in league play and still both making the playoff picture. Even if we split with the two, our history says that we'll pee down our leg at some point against a lesser opponent. Or two. We have a number of really gnawing trap games.
Its not that they talk about the possibility of it...its the arrogance, delusional confidence and obnoxiousness with which they talk about it!
I don't think Louisville is quite CFB Playoff material, too many very difficult games they would have to win (FSU, @Clemson, and @Houston sandwiched between conference game finale & in-state rivalry game). There's also some potentially-tricky trap games (@ Marshall between the FSU/Clemson games, @Syracuse in dome against fast-break offense in "real" opener week before big FSU game, and rivalry against Cats right after huge road game @Houston).
I do think they could be a very good team with multiple losses, and end up being a very tough 3 or 4 loss team to deal with in a mid-tier bowl game. I think a 10-win season would be fantastic for that schedule.
Of course, I'm predicting an amazing 11-1 season, with an upset of FSU, because I think we're going to be good and I'm a FAN...it's what optimistic fans do. Realistically, 9-3 would be my expectation if we were lucky enough to win "ALL" the games I think we should (Prob underdogs vs FSU, Clem & Houston at this point). So going 9-3 in reg season and getting 10th in bowl win would be a tremendous season. But it's August....so why not 13-0 and a playoff? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::smiley:[thumb2]:boxing:[banana]
I do think they could be a very good team with multiple losses, and end up being a very tough 3 or 4 loss team to deal with in a mid-tier bowl game. I think a 10-win season would be fantastic for that schedule.
Of course, I'm predicting an amazing 11-1 season, with an upset of FSU, because I think we're going to be good and I'm a FAN...it's what optimistic fans do. Realistically, 9-3 would be my expectation if we were lucky enough to win "ALL" the games I think we should (Prob underdogs vs FSU, Clem & Houston at this point). So going 9-3 in reg season and getting 10th in bowl win would be a tremendous season. But it's August....so why not 13-0 and a playoff? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::smiley:[thumb2]:boxing:[banana]
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Bruce Feldmen projects Louisville to the Cotton Bowl....Entire Bowl Projections right here...myself again see a 9-3 Record..6-2 in the ACC and would be very happy with a Taxslayer Gator Bowl...
http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...-schedule-playoff-picks-stewart-mandel-083016
http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...-schedule-playoff-picks-stewart-mandel-083016
I think this is a fair analysis. I think the OP's point is that in surveying the UL board, the 9-3 people are treated like pessimistic Patty's and the number of people that expect 12-0 or 11-1 is extremely high. I know it's a fan board, but I maintain that no fanbase in the country has a more overinflated view of its team and school than does UL. I don't even know that it's close for #2 (and this is quite a statement given that we've dealt with South Carolina over the last 15 years, Ole Miss forever, etc).
You are correct, however, in saying that the UK fanbase is different. We are beaten down. I give our fans credit for being able to criticize our own program, admin, etc, but it's probably too much. In the end, I think the UK fanbase could use a little bit more optimism, and the UL fanbase probably needs a comeuppance, as the respective truths probably fall somewhere in the middle.
I think you're right on Clemson. I think they should be excellent. I am not sold on FSU, especially with their QB situation. I'd be very surprised if they ran the table, and wouldn't be shocked if they lost 3-4 games especially with OOC games against Ole Miss and Florida.
To the OP's "point" (i.e., "They're talking playoffs") it is a season prediction thread. Many of the current 51 respondents are predicting an 11-1, 10-2 season. There are a total of 4 posts mentioning "playoffs". I suppose that qualifies as "They're talking playoffs" but....[eyeroll]
I'm always amused how some fans (in every fan base) characterize their rival's entire fan base on the strength of 2 or 3 posts.
FWIW, it would probably take at least a 12 win season (including, of course, the ACC championship game) and probably even an undefeated season, for the Cards to get any playoff consideration. They appear to be looking at a good season but I'm not ready to go that far. [winking]
Peace
I'm always amused how some fans (in every fan base) characterize their rival's entire fan base on the strength of 2 or 3 posts.
FWIW, it would probably take at least a 12 win season (including, of course, the ACC championship game) and probably even an undefeated season, for the Cards to get any playoff consideration. They appear to be looking at a good season but I'm not ready to go that far. [winking]
Peace
It seems to me to be of the modern "playoff" standard, you'd better:
1. ...have a quality quarterback, or just as importantly a QB who makes plays in the big games and doesn't get you behind the eight ball with mistakes. Deshaun Watson fits the bill. Oklahoma's Mayfield does as well. JT Barrett at Ohio State. Last year Connor Cook got Michigan State to Alabama by being the guy who made the clutch play without the mistake; it's the standard at Alabama.
Thus the importance of Francis at Florida State. Where does Lamar Jackson fit as that applies...he's probably more Michael Vick than Deshaun Watson. Michael Vick got Va Tech to the title game against Florida State as a freshman leading a fairly pedestrian offense; but he was pretty average his second year nursing an ankle injury minimizing his mobility. Lamar played through alot of mistakes last year; but he also went a stretch where he played sparsely.
2. You have to be explosive or capable of making big plays. It's what got Alabama beat by Ohio State two years ago. It's how Clemson beat OU last year and it's how they ultimately succumbed under a hail of OJ Howard against Alabama. When Alabama has been in a pinch the last five years, it's a Calvin Ridley or Amari Cooper are there to seemingly turn field position over.
Louisville got big plays from Jamari Staples when he got back from injury; but most of the highlights were Jackson's. They need more explosiveness from their running backs and their wide receivers to be remotely in the category of Clemson and FSU alone.
3. You simply can't withstand a position weakness defensively; the trenches on both sides of the football are mandated, but you can't hide a pedestrian secondary player anymore. You got a midget at corner vs. a high caliber WR these days...he will be found and exploited with motion, zone flooding, fade routes with no over the top help, rub routes across the formation. The college football offense of 2016 is built on that premise. You can do a lot on defense with a really great cover corner and good safeties; but you can't hide a mediocre cover man.
Defensively...good corner play from Louisville who are composed of three corners at or around 5"10. I really like Jaire Alexander who apparently is supplanting incumbent Shaq Wiggins; Trumaine Washington is the other corner. Nobody there has the NFL knocking on their door yet. Ultimately Alexander might; Wiggins and Washington aren't.
We don't meet what I'd consider a playoff standard with our personnel; we're well coached, we have good numbers and we have good overall team speed. But we're a little light in talent in the trenches (mostly due to what looks like a late in 2015 blossoming O line) at the least and lacking in real dynamic players in the secondary, though I do like our safeties. We'll play alot of 4-2-5 as a result.
Fair enough, but I would counter that almost every poster is predicting 11-1 or 10-2 (and quite a few 12-0, i might add) while Vegas is predicting 9-3. They're also failing to acknowledge that UL loses one game almost every year that they should not lose (Houston last year, UVA the year before, UCF the year before that, etc). So, to hit those records, UL will need to A) buck the trend of losing to a lesser team, B ) beat Clemson or FSU (they've never done that since joining the ACC, C) Beat a good OOC team on the road on a thursday night, D) Continue dominating their rival in a way that has never been seen before in the series, and E) hope and pray that your rush-prone QB does not get injured. That's a lot of "ifs". Not impossible by any stretch, but almost everything would have to break right.
Also, one last point...UL's fanbase almost universally expects to beat Vegas odds. Contrast with what I think is a more realistic (pessimistic?) fanbase here where many of the posters here are forecasting a record that is less than Vegas' projected win total. Of course ,we have our annual 9-3 types, but there are plenty here who think we're looking at 4-8 or 5-7. So, in that sense, I think this board has a much more well-rounded perspective than that of the school in Jefferson County.
That's kind of BS though. This year may be an outlier since UL is getting a lot of positive press from well-respected sportswriters, which only fans the flames of 11-1 and 12-0. If UK was getting the same kind of national buzz as a "playoff darkhorse" with a player described in several places as a "Heisman darkhorse", you'd be seeing the exact same thing here. Instead, UK is coming off several disappointing seasons in a row and many more fans are taking a wait and see approach to the year. Trust me, no UL fan was screaming about 8 and 9 wins between Kragthorpe's 2nd and 3rd seasons. After two disappointing seasons under ol' Krags, most were resigning themselves to another losing season while others were holding our hope for the turnaround - about exactly what you see here.
Posters on UK sites and UL sites always say stuff like "The other team has the worst fans in the nation at doing X", when in reality, we just have more interaction with each other and we're rivals. But by and large, our fanbases are way more alike than anyone cares to admit.
A few points (mostly of respectful disagreement):
-My point was not that the win totals are not comparable (of course they're not, given UL's recent success, UK's recent failures, and the easier nature of playing in the ACC instead of the SEC). My point was that UL fans on your boards have near universal agreement that UL will outperform the experts' expectations (9) while there are plenty here who do not expect UK to outperform Vegas' relatively modest expectations (5-5.5) for UK.
-I recognize a good fanbase when I see it, and I recognize a similar fanbase when i see it. I think UK basketball fans and Alabama football fans are very similar (for all the good and the bad that comes with that). I think that UK and UT are very very similar fanbases (both badly want to win in sport #2, both underachieve in sport #2, both schools and fanbases are similar in terms of resources, profile, etc). I think one of the only similarities I see between the UK and UL fanbases is that both have their share of bad eggs. There is no doubt that UK has plenty of delusional fans, but I think there are also very many "realists" and a lot of pessimists (especially on the football side). UL seems to have very few of those on their boards, and I don't make that comment out of sheer dislike for UL. It's just the way I see it. How else to explain the near-universal welcoming back of Petrino? The near-universal circling of the wagons regarding Pitino's latest scandal? This is a culture that goes way beyond just the numbers of wins that you guys project at the beginning of each year.
As someone who frequents the UL boards often (obviously), it's absolutely false to say we don't have many "realists" or "pessimists". I mean, they're everywhere during games and especially after losses. There are probably less at this very moment in time due to everything I've already explained, but it's ridiculous to say they aren't there.
And fans pretty much universally circle the wagons and support their team no matter what. That's what fans do, UK fans included. Saying otherwise is just being dishonest with yourself. If a player or coach can help your team win, fans will find a way to rationalize and justify.
I love the back and forth and often am guilty of saying "UK fans are this and that", but I know in reality we're just the opposite side of the same coin.
And fans pretty much universally circle the wagons and support their team no matter what. That's what fans do, UK fans included. Saying otherwise is just being dishonest with yourself. If a player or coach can help your team win, fans will find a way to rationalize and justify.
I love the back and forth and often am guilty of saying "UK fans are this and that", but I know in reality we're just the opposite side of the same coin.
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Let's see ... you're saying that over on the UofL board that there are some fans who are predicting UofL to be 1, 2 or even 3 games better than Vegas sees it.
As I seem to recall, one of the main threads over here was entitled "Is 8-4 Too Optimistic?" with many UK posters saying no, but that 6 or 7 wins is possible. And there were a few who thought that 8 was NOT too optimistic, and one or two posters even said that 9 wins was possible.
https://kentucky.forums.rivals.com/threads/is-8-4-too-optimistic.200290/
With the Vegas line for UK at around 5 or 5.5, the fact that UK fans are hoping for 6, 7, 8 or even 9 wins is very much like what UofL fans are also doing.
Some on here have far to much respect for the UL football program. You are talking about wins in the Fiesta, Orange & Sugar bowls. Well, lets just examine these wins. First the Fiesta over Alabama in 1991. This was one of the worst Alabama teams in history. At the end of the regular season that year, nearly half the players on that Alabama team voted not to accept a bowl bid. The Bama players couldn't have cared less about that game.
Then the Orange bowl win over Wake Forest. I mean for crying out loud, Wake Forest. That's like a heavyweight boxer getting to fight for the heavyweight championship & you look across the ring and your opponent is Pee Wee Herman. Wake Forest a real juggernaut. Beating them, Now that's something to brag about.
Then the Sugar bowl win over Florida coached by the great Will Muschamp. I still can't believe South Carolina hired this clown. But that's their problem. As far as UL beating Florida. That Florida team had national championship aspiration at the beginning of the season. When those hopes ended, that Florida team had no desire to play in a meaningless bowl game against a nothing football school like Louisville. They were about as fired up to play UL as our basketball team was to play Robert Morris in the 2013 NIT. So, if you get the impression that I don't respect UL football BINGO. My respect for them on a scale from 1 thru 10 is ZERO! & the fact that they beat us more than we beat them, big deal. They beat us not because they're that good. It's because we're that stinking bad. Thanks to probation & incompetent coaches like Bill Curry & Joker Phillips.
Not sure "where" you are going here, stuck.
The 9-3 Vegas prediction is based on being a 2.5 home 'dawg to FSU and at Houston, a big 'dawg at Clemson and favored in the other 9. FWIW, a 2.5 road 'dawg wins about 47% of the time but a 2.5 home 'dawg wins about 41% of the time (that seems a bit strange
). If Clemson proves as good as everyone thinks they will be the Cards will be a long shot in that one. But, to their credit, the Cards have played Clemson close for 2 consecutive years so many UofL fans think they might have a shot in that one. FWIW, this is akin to many UK fans thinking they have a good shot at FL this year because they have played them close the past 2 years.
So, to somewhat echo Pushup's post, win the ones you are supposed to (9) then steal one as a 3 point 'dawg and the Cards have a 10 win season. From the Cats perspective, win the ones you are supposed to (5) and steal one as a short 'dawg (Vandy, MO, MSU ???) and you have a 6 win season...the season that seems to be the basic expectation of BBN. Naturally, you have to avoid mis-steps in the ones you are supposed to win and, based on pre-season numbers, there are some thin lines there for the Cats and the Cards.
One last point about fan expectations, something CardHack touched on in his first post...there is a certain "expect to win" mentality with UofL football fans that is just not there with most of BBN. Nothing like AL or tOSU or TX fans of course but it's there. It was created by Howard Schnellenberger and has grown incrementally but steadily over the past 30 years. We can argue about why that happened at UofL or why it has not happened at UK but the bottom line is UK fans have not enjoyed any sense of sustained football success. And that is a key ingredient of an "expect to win" mentality. All JMO.
Peace
I think you're missing some nuance. Of course fans support their team. But, there are differences between the two fanbases.
Take Cal. He wins a ton. The UK fanbase generally loves him. But, there are plenty of us who will criticize him. I criticize the hell out of him for scheduling (he is taking too many of the marquee games away from Rupp), the SEC Tournament (he constantly minimizes it while the fanbase spends a ton of money attending it), as well as some of his in-game decision making (and this is in August, not after a loss). I personally have two UL friends who were banned from both the Scout and Rivals board for the mere idea that the university should part ways with Jurich and Pitino. These are UL fans and alums. They want UL to clean house b/c they value their degrees and are tired of being a punch line with these scandals. They were blacklisted.
This is a big difference between the two fanbases, whether or not you want to see it or not.
I have seen that thread. There are a few outliers, but the vast majority are predicting 5-7, 6-6, or 7-5 (and there are far more 6-6 and 5-7 than 7-5. That would coincide perfectly with Vegas expectations. I have already acknowledged that we have perpetual 9-3 types in August, so I'm not sure what the point of your post is.
I agree with the premise that UL football is given way too much credit (even around here), but I think they deserve at least some credit for taking advantage of their few moments in the sun (especially the UF win). Most of their newfound glory is a myth though, so on that we agree.
The point is that UK fans on this website are just like UofL fans when it comes to July-August predictions of how the season is going to go. Most of us start out at the Vegas line as the lowest level of expectation and go up from there. It's the inevitable "Kool-aid" factor caused from listening to too much of the propaganda coming from the athletic department and being filtered to the sportswriters and then to us.
No, that's the point. There are plenty on here that are actually predicting a worse season than vegas projections. Of course, there are 9-3 types around here (there always will be, regardless of whatever the reality is at that time), but there is literally no one on the UL board predicting 8-4 or 7-5. UL's schedule is not hard, but it's no longer CUSA, so you would think that there would be at least a few who don't predict sunshine and roses but that's never the case over there. It's not a culture that encourages dissent or departure from the company line - that's true for the message boards all the way to the president's office.
Seems to me both fan bases are generally in the right range. Most on here are in the 5/6/7 win range, and most on the Cards board are in the 8/9/10 win range. There are a few on the extremes either way on both boards. Looks about right to me.
That Alabama team was national champs the next year, how bad could they have been? Florida was 11-1 while playing in the SEC, Muschamp apparently could beat a few teams.
OK, you guys see what you want to see. See link below. Several 9-3 predictions but otherwise it's all 10-2, 11-1, or 12-0 (some go so far as to say 15-0). Not a single prediction below 9 wins. Many of those predicting 9 were then criticized as 9 would be a "disappointment" to fellow card homers. There is one "realist", Jay, who is roundly criticized throughout the thread (and does his fair share of criticizing too, to be fair), but he does not give a prediction. I only linked rivals but it was a lot more of the same (or worse) on scout.
https://louisville.forums.rivals.com/threads/my-2016-season-outlook-predictions.28946/
Honestly, 9-3 would be a bit of a disappointment. We will be favored in 9 games, probably, so hoping for an upset or two is normal. We'll know a lot more after week one. We have a true cupcake game, while Clemson, FSU, Houston (and Kentucky) have legitimate opponents. Go Cards!
So UK fans deserve extra credit for "well-roundedness" for being skeptical of Stoops at this point, but UofL fans deserve no credit for believing in a head coach who has three double digit win seasons in 11 years, including one of those in the SEC West? You are definitely reaching there by trying to claim both. In Petrino's case, the only way that logic works is if you want to claim that the ACC Atlantic this year is tougher than the SEC West from 2011.
Both sets of fan bases are showing exactly the right amount of optimism or pessimism based on the past performance of both of these coaching staffs.
"the sad reality that you guys have a healthy number of people that have flat given up before the first kickoff; we seem like rampant optimists by comparison."
I have to agree with you on this.....
Houston, Clemson, FSU and UNC, three of those are in the top 10 and UNC in the top 25... So, UL isn't getting a puffed up schedule this year, and I love it... Just to see UL play a few tough teams.... It makes my day..... let them earn it, like SEC teams do.... Then they play UK at the end, I really like UK going in there with nothing to lose.....
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I have made several points and I'll summarize them one last time. I have noted that you disagree.
1. It's not about "credit". It's about noting differences between the two fanbases. I find the UK fanbase to be more even-handed in its assessment of UK athletics than the UL fanbase. I know that you disagree.
2. It's all relative. It's not about UL fans believing in Petrino more than UK fans believe in Stoops. Of course they do. He has a longer track record (ahem) and Stoops has not wowed us yet at UK. Of course UK fans are not irrationally exuberant in expecting 9-3 years at this point, but UK fans are more disparate in their expectations. UL fans universally (according to 50+ posts on the rivals link) expect their team to meet or (mostly) to beat Las Vegas' expectations. I call that a fanbase that is a bit delusional regarding their place in college football.
3. What I am saying is also reflective of the UL culture. Anyone who questions anything at UL is blasted. It's a culture that's fostered by a corrupt university from the president to the AD (what other AD blackballs media outlets that he perceives to be unfriendly to UL?).
Remember that this is in reply to the OP who is LOL at UL fans talking about the playoff. It is pretty laughable, but you UL will be UL.
It's not earning it "like SEC teams do". The ACC is still likely the weakest P5 conference (though I think it is improving, especially with some of the recent coaching hires). UL grew its program by playing largely cupcakes on Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday nights. It's true that they now play 2-3 really good teams every year and then a host of middling teams. That's a huge step up from what they used to play, but let's not pretend that they deal with anything close to what we deal with in the SEC.
The SEC is the strongest conference, but playing the SEC east schedule isn't any tougher than any other P5 schedule. The SEC west teams do have an insane schedule though.
Regarding #1, disagreement noted. I will tell you the same thing I tell zipp when we disagree: you'll be a lot happier when you finally realize that I'm right....
Regarding #2, only the fan of a jealous rival would think that a team ranked #19 in the preseason has no shot at finishing 15 spots better than that. Our place in college football is exactly what we have earned and we are exactly where we belong.
Regarding #3, you sound like a UofL basketball fan, pointing out Calipari's past transgressions at Memphis and UMass and hoping that UK gets caught doing something wrong on his watch. I can tell you from my own experience that not everyone on at UofL who disagrees with the party line is blacklisted, because if they were, I wouldn't still be able to post on CardinalSports.com. I quite often disagree with other UofL posters over there - just a couple of weeks ago I got into it with Jack Coffee (the owner of CardinalSports.com) about who deserved the blame for the poor performance of our wide receivers last year.
The moral high ground is a sad and lonely place when you aren't also winning games, as many of my fellow UofL basketball fans will tell you. (Yes, I realize the irony in that statement). I will leave you with a genuine wish - that UK football wins a few more than predicted this year, so that the moral high ground also includes a Christmas football game for the Wildcats.
I think one of the retrospective toughest things about UK last year is the reality that in twenty years none of the teams on your schedule are going to look back on their 2015 campaigns with any real fondness. Your schedule had three really bad football teams from the SEC East in South Carolina, Mizzou and Vandy, included a clearly down SEC West squad in Auburn that we both would have liked to have had again and a Florida that probably overachieved to get the record they had; like Florida, Tennessee is limping back up to a standard comparable to ten years ago while certainly not at the standard they were twenty years ago. Georgia was a little down by their standard last year. When it's all said and done you missed the top Three in the SEC West and played Auburn and MS State instead.
As meat grinders go in the fables of life in the SEC for UK, last year wasn't one.
As meat grinders go in the fables of life in the SEC for UK, last year wasn't one.
Not true, IMO. It's true that the SEC East is "down" relative to its history, but you still have 3 schools that recruit top 10 talent (Fla, GA, and UT) every single year, along with a school with lots of resources that has been recruiting top 20 talent every year this century (USC), along with a school that has been an upper half team in both the Big 12 and SEC for most of this century (Mizzou). That's much different than having FSU (perennially great on the field and in recruiting), Clemson (good football history, but still relative "new money" as a national power player and a school that has a losing record to every single SEC team not named South Caorlina), 3 complete dregs that are on par with Vandy (or worse), and NC State a school that gets less talent than UK every year. Plus, you get two crossover games against what is, by far, the toughest division in college football.