Football's Kentucky Effect

Coach Cal's self proclaimed Kentucky Effect has made the program the gold standard of College Basketball. Having a player's first program that is a winning machine is something unique to Kentucky basketball. There is something very unique about Kentucky Football that has hung around the program, that does not have the same positive effect. It's hard to describe, so I'm going to paint a picture for you.   Bluegrass Miracle Guy Morriss had a tall task assigned coming off probation, but gave the defending SEC Champions and 14th ranked LSU a run for their money. The Cats took a 30-27 lead with 11 seconds left after pulling off an amazing 4th quarter comeback. The Wildcat faithful couldn't have been more excited to see the light during a very dark time in the program. Morriss had been drenched in Gatorade and the fans began to rush the field to tear down the goal posts when LSU pulled a 72 yard Hail Mary out of their rears to win the game. Close, but no cigar #KentuckyEffect.   2003 vs. Florida I remember how painful watching this was as a little kid, but after reading about it today I realized that it was much, much worse. Jared Lorenzen had the Wildcats up 21-3 at home after 3 quarters in Ron Zook's 2nd season as the Gators' Head Coach. Arliss Beach had 3 TD's for the Cats, and it looked as if the Cats were going to end another streak. Enter #KentuckyEffect. With 3:15 left in the game, Lorenzen dropped back to pass. With Florida defenders swarming, Lorenzen attempted to throw the ball away to save a sack. It would have probably been intentional grounding. The ball went about 5 yards forward right into UF defensive lineman Johnny Lamar's hands. It was returned to the 1, where the Gators easily scored to cap off their greatest road comeback victory in school history. The Kentucky Effect hurts.   2007 vs. Tennessee [caption id="attachment_119606" align="alignnone" width="320"] Andre Woodson couldn't handle the devastating loss to UT.[/caption] How was the greatest season of Kentucky Football since Fran Curci was coaching part of the Kentucky Effect? It's very simple. The trickiest part of Football's Kentucky Effect is that you actually believe that something great is about to happen, only to be let down. The Cats had already upset Louisville and LSU, with Rocky Top in their crosshairs, #BBN thought they had a chance to watch the streak end. In the words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friends." The Cats made a hell of a comeback from 17 down in the second half to force Overtime. Andre Woodson showed us what greatness looks like with 430 yards and 6 touchdowns. The atmosphere was nuts, despite the cold weather. Entering OT, you could barely hear yourself when you tried talking to the person next to you. The crowd worked when Erik Ainge threw an interception in the 2nd Overtime to Sam Maxwell. All UK had to do was make a Field Goal and 'The Streak' was over. From 35 yards out, KY's all-time leading scorer Lones Sieber had his FG blocked by Dan Williams. The wind was sucked out of the Stadium. UT would go on to win in the 4th OT 52-50 after UK failed to make a two-point conversion to force a 5th OT.   During the bowl streak the "Kentucky Effect" did not seem to be as relevant. Now it seems like every game something goes wrong that is out of the Cats' hands. Two QBs get hurt, an OT loss on a trick play, a secondary without any players, the list just keeps going. I don't know how to stop it, but the frustration at times seems insurmountable.  

Swear if one good thing happens, five things go wrong for us #annoying

— Jeffrey C.B. Poole (@JPoole11) October 6, 2012