A 21-13 loss to Clemson in the Music City Bowl last December ended an otherwise decent season for the Kentucky Wildcats who will once again struggle on offense in 2010.
Solid, but rarely spectacular was the story of the Kentucky Wildcats in the Rich Brooks era. But now that he’s moved on to greener pastures, Joseph 'Joker' Phillips takes over. While he’s generated some excitement, Phillips and the Wildcats football team aren’t stealing any of the basketball team’s spotlight.
Phillips inherits a squad that won five of its last eight games in 2009, posted five consecutive winning seasons and played in five straight bowls. The program is clearly in decent shape.
But the question in Lexington is which way will the program trend? The early excitement is that Phillips will upgrade the Wildcats into an elite SEC team but that will take some time. A good first step would be defeating Tennessee for the first time in 26 years.
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Recapping 2009
It wasn’t a pretty start for Kentucky, who started 2-0 but quickly had the wind in their sails deflated with three losses to Florida, Alabama and South Carolina. All three teams were ranked and it simply showed the Wildcats fans that it was going to be another year in the SEC’s second tier.
The strange part for Kentucky was that its tough three-loss stretch didn’t break them, it was the low point of the season. Still, the Wildcats rallied to win five of their next six games.
The Wildcats were scrappy on defense but the problem was a toothless offense. Especially when quarterback Brian Hartline was injured, the Wildcats had problems moving the ball.
A season-ending win over Tennessee would have sent off Brooks on a high note but the Wildcats fell in overtime in their regular season finale, then lost to Clemson in the Music City Bowl.
As it turned it, it was just another pedestrian year in Lexington.
Previewing 2010
While the basketball program scares everyone in the nation, the football team doesn’t strike fear in any big-name SEC opponents.
This year, the offense returns five starters but unfortunately it will need to find four new faces on the offensive line. The good news is that leading rusher Derrick Locke, leading receiver Randall Cobb (more of a versatile, wildcat weapon than just a receiver) and quarterback Brian Hartline all return.
This unit struggled mightily last year and unless Hartline has improved by leaps and bounds – and he hasn’t so far in the offseason – they’ll have trouble scoring points again.
On defense, the Wildcats lost four key contributors from last year but appear to have a strong defensive line. Last year, the run defense was weak but the secondary was strong. With a thin group of cornerbacks and a solid defensive line this year, the opposite could be true.
It’s a typical Wildcats team for the most part: fairly vanilla with little pizzazz. Brooks was able to work with that, but can Phillips do the same?
Schedule & Outlook
The Wildcats dodge some of the big boys in the SEC, which gives them a reason to be optimistic for a sixth straight winning season.
They won’t face Alabama, Arkansas or LSU, which surely makes life easier. A trip to The Swamp looms, but contests against Ole Miss, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi State should see the Wildcats on relatively even footing with their opponents in the SEC.
But overall, there’s no real college football betting value here. They’re expected to be the second-worst team in the SEC and we don’t have any reason to expect otherwise. They don’t have a ton of talent and a new head coach throws in an extra wild card. Either bet against them on their futures or stay away altogether.
Pick: Under Regular Season Win Total