University of Kentucky Football Looks to End a Streak

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

When Kentucky faces Vanderbilt in Commonwealth on Saturday, the ‘Cats will be looking to end a 17-game conference losing streak. Both teams, unfortunately, are familiar with being on the losing side of things in SEC football. John Clay writes:

"“Thank goodness for Sewanee.When it comes to SEC football losing streaks, the University of the South wrote the record book. In fact, the Tennessee school never had a winning streak during its conference membership from 1933 to 1940. It played 37 league football games. It rolled 37 gutter balls.So there is that to consider when Kentucky drags its 17-game SEC losing skid into Commonwealth Stadium for Saturday’s noon game with Vanderbilt, a team familiar with the subject matter.”"

Though he stands 6-6 and weighs 348 pounds, Cole Mosier had no offers coming out of Walton-Verona High School. Instead, the offensive lineman was offered a walk-on spot at UK, where, after an injury to Zach West, the redshirt freshman has been able to slide into a starting spot. Kyle Tucker writes:

"“Mosier has been one of the pleasant surprises of the Wildcats’ season so far, and lucky for UK. He was pressed into a starting role in Week 2 after junior starter Zach West developed a mystery neck injury that has lingered for almost a month now. While West is on the mend, returning to limited practice this week, Mosier is likely to start his third consecutive game on Saturday against Vanderbilt.”"

Eric Bledsoe’s professional career has gone quite well. After being Chris Paul’s backup in LA, the former UK-point guard moved on to Phoenix where he took control of the offense and showed just how close he is to becoming one of the league’s next big stars. So when his contract was up, Bledsoe wanted to be compensated accordingly. On Wednesday, Phoenix finally came to their senses. Adrian Wojnarowski writes:

"“Restricted free-agent guard Eric Bledsoe has reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract extension with the Phoenix Suns, league sources told Yahoo Sports.The deal will include no player options, and the $70 million will be fully guaranteed, a source said.”"

Though most expect Kentucky to be the class of the SEC this basketball season, Florida ought to be right behind them, waiting to see if the ‘Cats will stumble. The Gators will get two chances in conference play to help their cause, in what Bleacher Report considers the 5th best home-and-home matchup this season. Brian Pedersen writes:

"“Whether the Wildcats are still in pursuit of perfection worthy of 40-0 T-shirts when they visit Florida in early February remains to be seen, but there’s a very good chance the return visit in Gainesville on the final day of the regular season could clinch the SEC title for one or another.”"

Sports Illustrated is running a “Sweet 16 Tournament” to determine, with fan input, the best team to never win an NCAA Title. Kentucky’s lone representative was the 2003 ‘Cats, who lost to Dwayne Wade’s Marquette team in the Elite 8. They were paired up against the 1993 Michigan team, who beat Kentucky in the Final Four that year only to lose to North Carolina in the championship game, in part, because Chris Weber called a timeout Michigan didn’t have. I thought the 2010 ‘Cats deserved a spot in the field, but Luke Winn said no, citing UK’s terrible shooting that year as a reason to exclude them. You can read about the tournament here. Spoiler Alert: 2003 UK lost to 1993 Michigan in the first round.