KSR's 2020 Football Season Predictions

@MrsTylerKSR

This very weird college football season is finally upon us, and the KSR staff is ready to weigh in on how the Cats will fare in Mark Stoops’ eighth year.

The good news is we all believe Kentucky will finish above .500 with either a 6-4 or 7-3 regular season record. The bad news is, none of us believe the Cats will upset Alabama or Florida on the road. Three brave souls have Kentucky knocking off Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time since 1984, while a handful of us went with Georgia as the big upset pick this year. We all agree that Kentucky will beat Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina.

Check out our predictions along with a few comments from the panel…

Ryan Lemond

UK has to win one of the two road trips to Auburn and to Tennessee. They can’t lose them both, and until I can actually see them beat UT down there, I’m taking the W at Auburn.

Adam Luckett

Let’s face it, with its best on paper roster in a very long time, Kentucky is going to get somebody. This team has pulled off a straight-up victory as a double-digit dog three times since Thanksgiving 2016 so we’re looking at you Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. UK gets the Dawgs at home a week after they play Tennessee and Alabama consecutively and just ahead of the Florida game. It’s a perfect spot for a team with quarterback issues and rebuilding on the offensive line. Mark Stoops finally gets the UGA monkey off his back.

Nick Roush

I will be disappointed if there are any predictions worse than 6-4. I’m willing to wager there will be a big upset and a bad loss. I have too many bad Tennessee memories to pick anyone else for the bad loss. Luckett has talked me into the Georgia upset because it might be the best time to pull off a big surprise and finally give Mark Stoops a win over every team in the SEC East.

Drew Franklin

Auburn: Lessgooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Mississippi State: I’m not ready to root against Mike Leach, yet here we are. I hope he fails in Starkville (at least in all of the games against Kentucky).
Tennessee: Kentucky has the better football team, but I’ll never pick UK to beat Tennessee again. One yard last year. One yard. Ugh, now I’m mad.
Georgia: I really want to pick a win here. I think it will be a very close game.
The season as a whole: Overall confidence level: 2/100 because this season is going to be an absolute mess.

Jack Pilgrim

Including Terry Wilson, Kentucky returns ten starters and 18 from the two-deep on offense, along with eight starters and 18 from the two-deep on defense from 2019. When you factor in the return of Wilson, Davonte Robinson, Phil Hoskins, and Isaiah Epps from injury, along with the addition of LSU transfer Kelvin Joseph, UK’s talent and depth is inarguably better across the board than the eight-win team we saw a year ago.

With a ten-game, conference-only schedule, things aren’t going to be easy for anyone in the SEC this year. With the way this team is built, along with continuity on the coaching staff, though, I expect the Wildcats to put together yet another impressive season and finish in the upper tier of the SEC East.

Tyler Thompson

Like others have said, I’ve seen too many Tennessee heartbreaks to pick the Cats to win in Knoxville; however, I do think Kentucky is strong enough in the trenches and skill positions to pull off a big upset this season. It won’t happen at Alabama, but beating Georgia at home is the next big step the program needs to take to continue its upward climb. Hopefully the virus lets us get that far.