by ALLBLUCAT
If any of you are old enough you can remember the days when UK fans bragged about their Peach Bowl appearance in 1976 in which the Cats wailed on an overmatched UNC squad 21-0 led by RB Rod Stewart (no not THAT Rod Stewart) who scored 3 TD’s and was a one man band for the Cats. You may also remember that UK followed up that year with a 10-1 record the next season and a final #6 ranking and the SEC Championship. Fast forward to 2006. UK starts on a 4 year tear of winning seasons and consecutive Bowl game appearances. And while watering down of Bowls (I believe there are 3-4 times as many now as there were then) makes for some less than stellar Bowl game matchups, the Cats have definitely performed well above previous years in football. So, what do we do for an encore? Well, Rich Brooks retires, his heir to the throne takes over, and we go chugging right along as before right? Well, maybe we will and maybe we won’t, but first there are some questions just nagging me somethin’ fierce.
1) Is Joker Phillips the “Real Deal”? Can he replace and succeed Brooks as coach?
My first thought on this is yes, but I have some reservations and those will only be answered by seeing the product on the field.
2) Are we EVER going to get this QB situation straight?
I will tell you now that in spite of his obvious leadership skills, I have never been the greatest Mike Hartline fan. But no one will step up and take the spot away from him, in spite of the obvious skills of the other QB’s. And I am not talking about Randall Cobb here. That is another whole matter. Speaking of which;
3) Can Randall Cobb handle the beating and carrying the load again? Or will he have to?
Cobb accounted for I believe about 30% of the offense last year. That is a huge load to have to carry for someone who is not a primary RB or QB. The man is great, but this season could be rough when you consider he was somewhat gassed by the end of last year.
4) Will the D-line be able to hold opponents to respectable point totals?
Donte’ Rumph becoming eligible was a huge break for Phillips and his new D-line, but will it be enough to replace Corey Peters and Co, that is the question. The Cats need Florida and Tennessee under 20 points to be competitive in those games. I don’t like our odds.
5) Is this the year the scheduling Gods have been kind to us?
S.C., Auburn, UT, and Georgia are all beatable this year. But “beatable” is a relative term. If the Cats can attack the weaknesses each team has with enough force and skill, we will be in every game this year. This UK squad could easily go 10-2, and be staring at post New Year’s play in a good BCS bowl. They could also go 5-7 and miss bowl eligibility.
6) Who is going to be this year’s surprise player?
Will it be a defensive guy step up? Offensive? I honestly have looked over everyone and there are a ton of guys who could break out. My money is riding on Rumph. He has had 2 years to sit and stew about not being able to get on the field. He might be in a bad mood.
7) Is Florida now a winnable game?
My first thought is no, Florida will pummell us just like every other year and we will look like so much ground chuck when it is over. Then I put my mind to work and I found several possible situations which might change that thought. They have a new QB, we do not( again, that could swing this either way, but hey, you have to have a little faith). Joker may be more of a “riverboat gambler” than Brooks was in some situations. But every time Brooks tried to gamble it bit him in the butt. Joker may not be so quick to roll the dice. I say we have a 40-60 shot at this game this year. Keep Florida under 21 points, and who knows?
8) Is “Operation Win” for real?
I think Joker has the right idea. Players buying into a philosophy is more about the coach and how he presents it than anything. Phillips is definitely going to be more energetic than Brooks was, and this should be contagious.
9) Are the days of “communications confusion” behind us?
We cannot allow miscommunication to cost us scoring opportunities and yardage as they have in the past. I have never been more frustrated than I was last year watching the sidelines trying to communicate with upstairs and the field. It brought to mind a military term I don’t care to repeat.
10) Can the University of Kentucky fanbase and student body embrace a winning football program and all of the bells and whistles that go along with it?
This is the trickiest one of all. If you are reading this, then you are truly a football fan, or my mother. The problem is that the true football fan at UK is rarer than a slice of New York’s finest Prime Rib. Most of the fanbase tolerates football as a precursor to basketball. In order for this program to get “over the hump” in the ubertalented SEC, it is going to take everyone and everything at UK getting behind them, and staying behind them for the long haul.
There are a lot more questions than I have raised, but if all of the answers to these questions are positive ones from the team and their performance this year, we not only won’t be able to drive to the Cats next Bowl game, we might have a hard time getting tickets.
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