Kentucky Football: Do That To Me One More Time

On Saturday, September 5, 2015, the University of Kentucky Wildcat football team will take the field in a newly renovated Commonwealth Stadium. For the first time in a long time, the Big Blue Nation is excited about this new season. There’s a feeling that this is the year the Cats get over the hump and get back to a bowl game. The thing is, we’ve had these expectations before. The UK football program has shown flashes of promise before, only to fall back to Earth, to its rightful place at the bottom of the SEC. What makes this season any different?

1. Mark Stoops

Head Coach Mark Stoops, entering his third season in Lexington has changed the culture of UK football. Not to disparage previous coaching staffs, but there always seemed to be a fatalistic fog around. As a fan, it appeared to be that the Cats played not to lose instead of playing to win. Every mistake seemed to lead to this “same ol’ Kentucky” mentality which would inevitably lead to another mistake. What we’ve seen from the team under Coach Stoops is the ability to let one mistake just be one mistake. Last season, the game against Louisville was back and forth. The Cats were up early. The Cats made some mistakes. The Card got the lead. Watching this back and fort battle, it was clear that the mistakes didn’t cause these Cats to give in, there was a fight to overcome those relationships.

To turn the page and change the culture of a sports program, there has to be a willingness to get to the foundation, make it stable and then build upward. Most often, there has to be a break with the mindset of the past. Coach Stoops made it clear with a recent night practice that “good enough” will not cut it. Kentucky football doesn’t have a margin of error to just go through the motions, even for one practice. Every outing, the players have to get better. The team must improve, it’s the only way to be competitive in the SEC. Mark Stoops has, through hard work, changed the mindset of the Kentucky football program.

2. Facilities

Commonwealth Stadium has been renovated before, but this most recently completed renovation appears to be different. Instead of the “bigger is better” mentality, the UK athletic department has paid attention to detail. There’s a different feel to the facility. It’s not just a generic stadium. It’s Commonwealth Stadium. Like other stadiums, there’s the chance to make Lexington an intimidating place to play.  This season the Big Blue Nation will have 8 opportunities to make that point perfectly clear to opponents how serious this “basketball school” takes football.

On top of the gameday atmosphere, the Wildcats appear to be serious with all the extras needed for a topflight program. The recruiting room has been upgraded. The practice facility will be upgraded. If nothing else, these changes will let everyone know that the Kentucky is finally serious about changing their football lot. There’s a commitment to the program that has been, in my mind, a long time in coming.

3. Recruiting

“It’s not the Xs and Os, it’s the Jimmies and Joes.” That old sports adage is all about talent. Historically, the Wildcats have had talented players. What the Wildcats have not historically had has been SEC level depth. The SEC conference slate is a long journey. It’s not always the best teams that win toward the end, but the healthiest. Because the conference is so tough, every team has that 3-4 game stretch which is just brutal. The key to surviving that stretch is depth.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Stoops and his staff have made a concerted effort to recruit Ohio as well as keeping the most talented high school players in state. High school rating aren’t always a great measure of depth, but as the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Kyle Tucker has stated, it’s more important to see who you’re beating out for recruits. Matt Elam turned down Alabama. Drew Barker turned down South Carolina. Those are the type of “gets” this staff needs. Not only those marquee players, but the players that the coaches have added up and down the roster have given the Cats much need, SEC level depth.

4. The fans

Let’s face it. There may not be a more patient and passionate group of college football fans than the Big Blue Nation. For every great men’s basketball memory, there seems to be matching football nightmare. Except for the bleakest of times, the support for the football team has never wavered. While it’s true that the SEC travels well which inflates attendance numbers, I’ve seen 55,000 plus for the likes of Ohio. Not too many “bad” football teams can still stay close to capacity especially during the lean times.

The Big Blue Nation has been supportive of this team for years and it’s time that the fan base gets rewarded for their patience by a program that moves out of the SEC basement and toward a consistently bowl eligible team. It’s time for that to happen.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

I picked this team to go 8-4 this year. I think they’ll beat Florida. I think they’ll beat Louisville. I believe in Stoops. I believe in this team. The home heavy schedule is setup for the Cats to have a good year. Kentucky won 5 games last year and were knocking on the door for two more (Florida and, don’t let Card fans tell you differently, Louisville). This Kentucky team will be the team that we look back on and say “this is the team that got us over the hump.”

It’s time to show the college football world that the Kentucky Wildcats ARE ready for some football. I’m going all in with Coach Stoops and the Wildcats. It’s our time. It’s time for the Cats to prosper.