Next year's schedule?

[krazykats]

You can complain all you want but not every SEC team gets that Nov cupcake.......we did this year.

Also, Ole Miss and MSU as our SEC West draw next year is as favorable as can be. Hugh Freeze is going to possibly be gone and Chad Kelly and a lot more talent will be gone.

In the SEC it's never going to be easy so crying over small stuff is just a loser mentality. Next year we should have more depth and a talented OL with solid RB/WR and a SR QB with a lot of confidence.

Next year could be special.

 

[ashleys handfull]

8-9 regular season wins is possible!

 

[krazykats]

Anyone care to give a rundown on losses and gains for the East?

Well Dobbs is gone and they lost that RB already so TN could be average. UF will have defense but their offensive struggles will continue.

UGA will be TOUGH and that is the SEC East team to beat. However a 2nd year coach and Soph QB could find themselves not meeting expectations.

Missouri, USC and Vandy are meh honestly. I don't care if Vandy is getting better..........they simply should not improve more than us.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

I still think people are assuming a lot with next year's schedule. I don't like having to play Vandy, SC and MSU (all of who will be improved) on the road. I also agree with the other poster who said it was dumb to schedule USM on the road.

UT and FL are at home, but until we prove otherwise, hard to mark either as a win. Ole Miss at home is winnable, and Missouri at home should be a win. UL at home should be a win.

I think we can go 8-4, with losses to maybe UT, FL, UGA and one more SEC road game. I'd not be surprised with 7-5 or even 6-6 though.

 

[Mikey Likes It]

Who exactly did UK "sneak up on" this year ? Not any of the teams we lost to..and we were just flat better than Vandy, Mizzou, Miss. State, and South Carolina.

The way we savaged Missouri came as a surprise to both us and them

 

[truebluewildcat_rivals34254]

would like to see the easier ooc opponents more strategically spread out to break up the gauntlet of the SEC...but other than that a very favorable schedule considering the step we took this year and all that we will be returning next season...

 

[PhattyJ4UK_rivals309166]

Well Dobbs is gone and they lost that RB already so TN could be average. UF will have defense but their offensive struggles will continue.

UGA will be TOUGH and that is the SEC East team to beat. However a 2nd year coach and Soph QB could find themselves not meeting expectations.

Missouri, USC and Vandy are meh honestly. I don't care if Vandy is getting better..........they simply should not improve more than us.

Curious as to what makes you so high on UGA? We should have beaten them this year. We looked to be the better team but inexperience players and coaches did us in. That will hopefully change as we return our whole team basically and stoops becomes more seasoned. But I could see them being preseason pick for east. Just don't see why they would be described as "TOUGH".. but I also don't know their roster.

Dobbs being gone is great. What do they have rising? Hopefully a slow white guy.

We HAVE to beat Florida next year. Their offense is putrid. We will have our best team since 07. I like that we have USC before Florida. Go into Florida 3-0 and guns ablazing.

 

[MarkPftw]

The way we savaged Missouri came as a surprise to both us and them

Not to me. Mizzou's D line was horribly banged up and in shambles. I knew UK would run all over them.

 

[MarkPftw]

Curious as to what makes you so high on UGA? We should have beaten them this year. We looked to be the better team but inexperience players and coaches did us in. That will hopefully change as we return our whole team basically and stoops becomes more seasoned. But I could see them being preseason pick for east. Just don't see why they would be described as "TOUGH".. but I also don't know their roster.

Dobbs being gone is great. What do they have rising? Hopefully a slow white guy.

We HAVE to beat Florida next year. Their offense is putrid. We will have our best team since 07. I like that we have USC before Florida. Go into Florida 3-0 and guns ablazing.

YES..I agree. Georgia is NOTORIOUS for not meeting expectations and Florida is absolutely AWFUL offensively..Del Rio or no Del Rio. UT loses a ton..Dobbs, Kamara, etc...and UT is currently a dumpster fire. Vandy will be tough..nothing crazy..but even better than this season..they carry a lot of momentum into next season. They finally found an offense. Mizzou..ehhh..a little better but not much. South Carolina found a QB and their defense is tough..they will be tough. Georgia always fields a good team..but nothing ever really special. Florida's great D won't be enough to sneak them into an SEC Championship for a third year in a row. UK will be right in the mix again next season.

 

[dyersburgcatfan]

Strange as it sounds, UK and Vandy could both finish in the top 3 in the East next season. With us rising and Tennessee faltering, and UGA retooling under new staff, there is a lot of parity developing in the East. It's going to be almost anyone's to win. I like our chances.

 

[cardkilla_rivals379685]

You can complain all you want but not every SEC team gets that Nov cupcake.......we did this year.

Also, Ole Miss and MSU as our SEC West draw next year is as favorable as can be. Hugh Freeze is going to possibly be gone and Chad Kelly and a lot more talent will be gone.

In the SEC it's never going to be easy so crying over small stuff is just a loser mentality. Next year we should have more depth and a talented OL with solid RB/WR and a SR QB with a lot of confidence.

Next year could be special.

also teams you thought were good end up not being and vice versa, so it's really crying over something unknowable right now. I do know that barring major injuries, UK will be on paper and with my eyes, the best UK team top to bottom that I've seen since...I don't know. They will be better than the 07 squad, and much, much deeper at more positions.

If Boom comes back and Johnson plays anywhere close to how he did Saturday, we're in major contention for the East. And we need to hold on the Gran/Hinshaw. Which i think we do. I guarantee there was a 2 year gentlemen's agreement. So excited to see what next year holds.

 

[why_not_kentucky]

It's 8 wins plus a bowl or bust.

 

[Sleepy Sleeperson]

1. This is yet another long of reasons that Barnhart is just not a legit football AD.
- So Miss on road...and we exhaust all 3 non conference cupcakes by wee 5...and then a bye week 2 weeks later. We should have demanded one total cupcake in October or November like all SEC teams do to give the team a breather of sorts.

2. But if UK is going to win the East...this is the schedule to go for it. UT and UF at home. But you have to win 1 or both of them. If you drop them both, you're in jeopardy of possibly not making a bowl game.

I see you've never drawn up a schedule. You have to consider the cupcakes' schedules also. "Hey Cupcake X, we want to play you in October - sorry, UK, we're booked in October, we can play you September 17th. Take it or leave it.

Several major teams play their out of conference teams at the beginning of the year.

 

[vhcat70]

This.

I wouldn't be opposed to dropping UL for another cupcake either.

UK gets plenty of tough games in the SEC.

UK SOS is #56 so far this year. Hardly tough.

 

[Rhavic]

This year's schedule set up well, but next year's will set up very well too if you're dreaming of bigger things. Need to beat Florida for sure.

If we beat them, we'll be in contention for the CFP next season. Big *** step, I know, but I see a lot of wins on that schedule judging by:

The key players Georgia will lose
The number of key players Tennessee will lose (namely Dobbs) + some dysfunction to boot
The number of key players Louisville will lose + them just bringing back a bunch of weak a** dudes in the trenches
Ole Miss should be a win. They're pretty horrendous defensively, and Chad Kelly is no more
Florida will be missing a lot of key playmakers on both sides of the ball. A ton of questions at QB next year.

Obviously I'm not jotting all of these down as wins, but I think we have less questions than any team that we'll see next year. We return more starters, and 2 deep players than anybody that we'll face, we have an identity, and we have some absolute studs to go with some incredible depth in our offensive trenches.
Think we'll be a real force next season.

 

[K_TIME]

I see you've never drawn up a schedule. You have to consider the cupcakes' schedules also. "Hey Cupcake X, we want to play you in October - sorry, UK, we're booked in October, we can play you September 17th. Take it or leave it.

Several major teams play their out of conference teams at the beginning of the year.

You are 100% correct...I've never drawn up a schedule in my life...but also I've never been an AD either.

Seeing that just about every other AD in SEC has accomplished this very same scenario...I'd estimate it should not be unrealistic to help our football team out from any strategic scenario possible. The So Miss home and away can be argued as a unique situation with UAB ending football (and then not)...but that has no role in why we have no cupcake in October/November. We should have given our football team that edge and it's not there for them.

 

[hollcat]

What program shut down resulting in UK going to E Mich in the next couple years?

 

[CoachZ77]

We shouldn't be worried about UK having to play this team or that team at home. They now have to worry about playing UK. Georgia, UT and Louisville knew we were coming at them with our running game and our OL and running backs took their swagger away from them and imposed their will on the game.
No more hand-wringing about the schedule. Our players didn't flinch late in the season on the road (Blaming UT loss primarily on key injuries vs not being ready to play), time for our fan base to follow their lead and start expecting to win instead of hoping to win. And when UK loses, it's time to believe they'll bounce back. A lot of fans, myself included, were ready to bury them after NMSU. They proved a lot of us wrong with how hard they played, and we need to fully support them for it.

 

[K_TIME]

What program shut down resulting in UK going to E Mich in the next couple years?

"The first game of the series will be in Lexington on September 30, 2017. Kentucky will then travel to Ypsilanti, Michigan on September 7, 2019 for a return game. The Eagles will then return to Lexington for the final game of the series on September 5, 2020."

THis is another weird scheduling by UK again. I have no idea why we are playing road games with scrub teams like we are. If this is what we have to do to play scrubs, I'd rather just try to a home and away with an Indiana, Purdue, Cincy, etc.. type of school. I'd like to see what other SEC schools choose to play road games vs. scrubs like this.

 

[51stFan]

The schedule next year could turn out really good (compete for east) or end up with 5-6 wins. If you are ever going to win the east it will be a year where you have Florida and UT at home. The downside is if you lose to those two and UofL and drop a couple on the road against teams that you are just not that much better than, then you might only win 5 games.

 

[MrKentucky]

"The first game of the series will be in Lexington on September 30, 2017. Kentucky will then travel to Ypsilanti, Michigan on September 7, 2019 for a return game. The Eagles will then return to Lexington for the final game of the series on September 5, 2020."

THis is another weird scheduling by UK again. I have no idea why we are playing road games with scrub teams like we are. If this is what we have to do to play scrubs, I'd rather just try to a home and away with an Indiana, Purdue, Cincy, etc.. type of school. I'd like to see what other SEC schools choose to play road games vs. scrubs like this.

I know MSU is going to South Alabama in a few years and Vandy played at WKU this year.

So it seems like our same level in the SEC peers are in the same boat.

 

[J-FIELDS23]

If we can pull off a win against Florida or Tennessee at home I like our chances at 8 wins. The good thing about next year is we play the two worst teams in the West who continue to trend downward. Not playing Alabama, LSU, Auburn or Arkansas is huge. Yes we play Miss St at home but knowing their fan base, that stadium will be 60% full for a game against a non-traditional powerhouse like the cats. We have Ole Miss at home. I say we win both of those. However, I could also see us only winning five. Will depend on if we can win a couple road games and pull off a win against Florida or UT.

 

[DSmith21]

If we beat them, we'll be in contention for the CFP next season. Big *** step, I know, but I see a lot of wins on that schedule judging by:

The number of key players Louisville will lose + them just bringing back a bunch of weak a** dudes in the trenches.

The dirty birds lose a ton of their best kids to graduation this year. They lose their top three receivers (Quick, Staples and Hikitini), 3 starting OLs, their top RB (Radcliff), FB, and blocking TE (Towbridge). That will put huge pressure on Lamar Jackson. On defense, they lose Harvey-Clemons, Kelsey (leading tackler), Brown and Fields. All four of those guys could have gone pro last year and were the heart of their Defense. I like our odds of beating them again next year.

 

[STUCKNBIG10]

I sort of take odds with that...every other team gets to place a cupcake slap in middle of SEC slate for a breather...why we're not doing that is beyond comprehension.

The home and home with So Miss is just flat out nonsense. Again, you'll never see another SEC school outside of Vandy having to do this. I understand the UAB program shutting down put us in a bind but do a one year massive payout to get it handled...but a home and home...WTH

Bama - Mercer Nov 21
Tenn - So Miss Nov 4
UF - UAB Nov 18
Mizzou - Idaho/UConn Oct 21/28th
Vandy - WKU Nov 4
So Carolina - Wofford Nov 18

Why UK isn't getting a cupcake in October/November is a clear difference and does give a pretty significant advantage to have a mental break to reset...heck look no further than UK being allowed to sleep walk thru first half of Austin Peay game and still get a 'W'. The AD's job is to fight for the schedule (maybe even try to get Florida game moved to play in cold weather instead of always opening the SEC slate with them)...our last 6 are a murder's row for UK.

I've been tough on Barnhart, but you're wrong on a couple of points:

1. The USM series was a result of UAB dropping (temporarily) their football program. He was backed into a corner, and USM stepped up but demanded a home and home.

2. Other SEC teams (not all, but some) play a meaningful game the second-to-last week. Just this year, UT played Mizzou. Arkansas played Miss State.

3. Plenty of other SEC teams are signing home and home with "lesser" teams these days. It's a sign of the times. Mizzou played at Toledo. Miss State played at USM last year or the year before. Ole Miss played at Memphis. Vandy played at MTSU. Vandy played at WKU. UT has played at Memphis.

 

[KentuckyStout]

That schedule looks very challenging to me.

 

[allabouttheUK]

W @ Southern Miss - They lose a couple top guys and won't be anything close to what they were this year.
W EKU - Could be entertaining for a quarter, or longer depending on what type of transfers they have coming in. Still, too big and too deep for the Colonels.
W @ South Carolina - They have a stud in the making at QB, but not many weapons on the outside. Defense is a mystery for them. Their rebuild continues.
L Florida - Still too big, too fast, even with the best secondary in the country departing. It's a head game for UK that UF is sadly dominating.
W Eastern Mich - Easy win and confidence builder after UF
W Missouri - They have fallen back to earth and will be what their history outside of the Pinkel tenure shows...say Hi to the new bottom feeder, boys.
W @ Miss State - Fitzgerald is a stud...not sure what else Mullen has. Unlike years past it will take more than one guy to beat UK.
W Tennessee - They could be very fun to watch next year from a UK perspective. I see implosion written all of the Vol's
W Ole Miss - What happens when you put a shark on land? It dies. They won't find their defense in one off-season.
W @ Vandy - Absolute slug fest, and could be one of the games of the year in the SEC. UK in a close one.
L @ UGA - Heartbreak to the Dawgs two years in a row. Eason grows up quite a bit by this time.
W Louisville - They come in reeling and fighting to stay relevant. Jackson is out because luck eventually runs out when you run as much as he does.

Miss State, and @ Vandy are my two toss-ups, but I see momentum on our side and numbers. Next year could be very special, or it could be just another bowl. 6-10 wins is outlook

 

[BoulderCat_rivals187983]

If we can beat either Florida or UT in CW I think the Cat's could get to 9 wins. Really we should have had at least 8 this year, and 9 if we could have beaten Georgia. And we could have. Let's just hope we don't start the year with another loss to S Miss.

 

[Kats23]

UK could have 7 wins.
Should be wins
EKU, E. Mich, Vandy, Mizzou (but you never know)

Could be wins
USCjr, Southern Miss

Tossups
Miss St, UT, Ole Miss,

Should be losses ( but you never know)
UF, UGA, UL,

UK was really up and down this year despite the regular season finish. A lot in play next year.

 

[RV]

List of teams on our 2017 schedule we can't beat.

...

 

[poonfan2]

UK could have 7 wins.
Should be wins
EKU, E. Mich, Vandy, Mizzou (but you never know)

Could be wins
USCjr, Southern Miss

Tossups
Miss St, UT, Ole Miss,

Should be losses ( but you never know)
UF, UGA, UL,

UK was really up and down this year despite the regular season finish. A lot in play next year.

Shouldn't UL at least be a toss up at home since we just defeated them at the pizza pit?

 

[DSmith21]

Shouldn't UL at least be a toss up at home since we just defeated them at the pizza pit?

Agree. They lose 7 starters on offense and their 4 best defenders. We have nearly everyone back.

 

[vhcat70]

When was the last time we played three Mississippi teams in one year, or three teams from any state in one year? It will be the second time we play two games in MS in one year.

 

[vhcat70]

THis is another weird scheduling by UK again. I have no idea why we are playing road games with scrub teams like we are.

It's because many P5 schools have difficulties finding non-P5 & non-FCS schools to schedule when you have 4 non-SEC slots to fill. Most P5 conferences get around this by scheduling 9 conference games. SEC chooses not to do that.

 

[vhcat70]

That schedule looks very challenging to me.

What's very challenging? Is it tougher than this year given we replace AL with OM? What do you want - 8 Missouris and 3 Cincinnatis & an Austin Peay?

 

[Michigan Fan]

As a Non Kentucky Fan and with 19 Starters back...every game on your schedule in 2017 is winnable...including Florida and on the road at Georgia.