ESPN previews UK’s season, says eight wins is best-case scenario
Bryan Lynn | USA Today
This afternoon is Kentucky’s turn in the 2016 team-by-team season previews over at ESPN’s SEC Blog. The Cats’ season preview, written by staff writer Greg Ostendorf, hit the major storylines around the team and its personnel heading into the first kickoff next week.
Loyal followers of the happenings around fall camp won’t learn anything new from ESPN’s preview, but the best-case scenario for the entire season sounds exciting:
Best-case scenario: Looking at the schedule, if you count the games that Kentucky should win, plus the toss-up games, there’s the potential for seven wins. But this team also has enough talent to surprise one of the upper-echelon teams. The Wildcats aren’t beating Alabama, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see them win at Florida or at home against Georgia. And maybe this is the year they break the streak against Louisville in the Governor’s Cup. Either way, eight wins is probably the best-case scenario for a Kentucky team that is still building. [ESPN]
The worst-case scenario? Five wins or fewer, as our own Jared Lorenzen predicts.
I’m more of a glass half-full guy so sign me up for the first bowl win since 2008. Although, eight wins in the regular season is getting a little ambitious.
[ESPN: 2016 Season Preview: Kentucky Wildcats]
14 Comments for ESPN previews UK’s season, says eight wins is best-case scenario
OPTIMISM! I almost didn’t recognize it.
Traditionally I am kind of a football pessimist. I want to hope and believe that we will win, but deep down I know I need to be prepared for disappointment. That being said, I think 8 wins is really possible this year. The talent is there, especially at the skill positions. This will be a prove it year for coaching though, and I still think stoops and co (especially the new OC and QB coach) have it right. Matter of fact, I would say the majority of my optimism is because of Gran and Hindshaw at this point. Cant wait for Caturday!
So Jared thinks 5 or less. I would think he should know about the talent better than any of us or as good as any one on KSR. Doesn’t sound good.
I kind of agree, but I would argue Freddie would know just as much and he disagrees with Jared. This team is kind of an enigma. Not too much longer and we will get a much better answer.
Jared predicted a 4-8 season starting with a loss to Southern Miss
I hope the Referees don’t shoot us down.
We can’t really blame the refs for our last 2 seasons as a whole (Florida at the swamp included, even though that was a major screwup). Execution has been more of our achilles heel than any poorly timed bad call, we screwed ourselves as often as anything.
Anything over 6 is gravy this year, I wouldn’t complain about 8-5 if it came to pass. Let’s start with 1-0 and work our way up from there though
If we win 8 games I’ll be throwing confetti in the air.
And campaigning for Stoops to be COTY in the SEC!
I look at it differently than most. After four years I think 6 lossesate too many.
You have to remember which conference we are in…….we’re not in the ACC like U of L.
Also, homegrown talent doesn’t reach the level of the other states in the SEC.
When I was in Birmingham, the #1 team in KY played the Homewood High School team; Homewood is a suburb of Birmingham. They were not one of the powerful Birmingham HS’s and were not ranked.
They destroyed Paducah Tilghman; absolutely embarrassing.
Maybe it’s the blue drink I’ve been sippin’ on for a few weeks, but BEST CASE SCENARIO is really 9-3/10-2…don’t lose me just yet…The only losses that seem to be forgone conclusions are Tennessee (who will probably dominate from start to finish) and Alabama (which I think, if, and it’s a ginormous IF) UK shows any inkling of being able to stop the run, then UK can keep it close for 3 quarters until UA’s depth wears us down. They’re starting a QB who has very little experience, inexperienced RBs, and we’ll have one of the best secondaries in the conference. BD Stadium will be a tough win, but my hope is that the game is an 11:30/early game and Bama takes a while to wake up. Louisville is the next closest guarantee of a loss unless something happens to Lamar…but all the rest are 60/40 at worst. We tend to play UGa tough and they’ll be breaking in a new QB, same as MSU and probably every other SEC team. I don’t know…when I think best case scenario, I can’t help but believe that it isn’t too unreasonable to believe that UK will win more than half of those toss up match-ups. Our offense will take teams by surprise.
I love UK but I don’t think we have the defense to win more than 6 or 7. Would love to be wrong.