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Kentucky Football: Preseason game predictions

By Frank Spencer

Oct 29, 2016; Columbia, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats safety Marcus McWilson (15) drops back to pass during the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Columbia, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats safety Marcus McWilson (15) drops back to pass during the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kentucky Football will be entering camp soon. New recruits will be making their way to campus. Take a look at the schedule for the 2017 season.

Mark Stoops is fresh off of his best season at the helm as Kentucky Football’s head man. Kentucky has not seen this much success since the Rich Brooks days. Those days don’t seem like that long ago, but before last season’s trip to the TaxSlayer bowl, Kentucky Football hadn’t been to a bowl game in 10 years.

The 2017 season will kick off on Saturday, September 2 at Southern Mississippi. Last season the Golden Eagles came to Lexington to stun the Wildcats on opening night of Commonwealth Stadium. Hopefully things will be a little different this season. New field name, new feeling, new era of Kentucky Football.

The Schedule plays out like this. We have given our predictions for the outcome of each game in parentheses. In as realistic expectations as possible, here are the predictions for the 2017 season’s schedule.

Sept. 2 @ Southern Miss (W)

Sept. 9 Eastern Kentucky (W)

Sept. 16 @ South Carolina (W)

Sept. 23 Florida (L)

Sept. 30 Eastern Michigan (W)

Oct. 7 Missouri (W)

Oct. 12 @ Mississippi State (W)

Oct. 28 Tennessee (L)

Nov. 4 Ole Miss (W)

Nov. 11 @ Vanderbilt (W)

Nov. 18 @ Georgia (L)

Nov. 25 Louisville (L)

Final record: 8-4

Reviewing Losses

The games in which we have Kentucky possibly taking the loss are against teams that Kentucky generally have trouble competing against. Of the four prospective losses on this schedule, Louisville looks to be the best chance to pull out a win with Tennessee coming in at a close second. In order for Kentucky to win those games and become 10-2 on the season, the Wildcats’ defense must be a well oiled machine. Although this may be the best team in terms of talent that Mark Stoops has had at Kentucky, the defense is still going to be the weak point of the team. A strong secondary and linebacking core carry the team. Defensive line is a weakness that will be hindered by any sort of run game. Georgia and Louisville will give Kentucky fits on the ground. Unless the defensive line is improved, those games will be hard to win.

Next: Ranking Kentucky Football's top performers of 2016

Also, some of those wins, could easily turn to losses. Mississippi State and Ole Miss will be much improved with two of the best young quarterbacks in the SEC. MSU’s Nick Fitzgerald has the ability to make plays with his legs as well as his arm. Ole Miss’ Shea Patterson is a former five star prospect who saw some significant time on the field in 2016. Both of those games are toss ups that Kentucky can win just as well as lose. I’m picking them as a win because I expect Kentucky’s pass rush to be much improved to rattle those young arms.

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