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ESPN Discusses Why Kentucky Wildcats Will–or Won’t–Make a Bowl Game

By Brian True

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It’s 2015, and Mark Stoops is heading into his third season at the helm of the Kentucky Wildcats football program. So far, he has had three fantastic recruiting classes, and is working on his fourth for 2016. The athletes that he has brought into the program has not only upgraded the talent on the first string, but also provided depth that is just as talented. This is extremely important when playing in the SEC, and Mark Stoops has done everything he can to ensure the Kentucky Wildcats can compete. The next step in the process would be to develop the talent into a winning product on the field, something that they are hoping will take effect this season. Check out what ESPN had to say about the Kentucky Wildcats chances to make–or miss–a bowl game this season.

"Why Kentucky will make a bowl gameQuarterback competition: At most schools, a quarterback competition isn’t necessarily a good thing. It means you don’t have a guy you trust to lead the offense. The opposite is true at Kentucky, where the Wildcats have two players — Patrick Towles and Drew Barker — who are more than capable of running the show. Towles started every game last season and looked great at times. He was a big reason why they jumped out to a 5-1 start. But Barker, a four-star recruit who redshirted last season, has the talent and pedigree to push Towles. Regardless of who wins the job, Kentucky should be in good shape at the quarterback position.Emerging playmakers: With two capable quarterbacks and four starters returning on the offensive line, the Kentucky offense should be pretty good this fall. It just needs a couple of playmakers to step up, and Stanley “Boom” Williams and Ryan Timmons are the perfect candidates. Williams came on late last season and wound up leading the team in rushing with 486 yards on 74 carries. Timmons, the team’s leading receiver, showed flashes of brilliance last season, but lacked consistency. If those two can put it together — and new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson should help with that — the Wildcats will be in good shape.Manageable schedule: No SEC schedule is manageable, but Kentucky needs just six wins to make a bowl game. Assuming the Wildcats take care of business against Louisiana-Lafayette, Eastern Kentucky and Charlotte at home, that leaves three wins left to secure. Florida has had Kentucky’s number for quite some time, but the game is at home and the Wildcats nearly pulled the upset last season. Even some of the road games — South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt — at least seem winnable for this team. It might come down to Louisville and the Governor’s Cup just like it did a year ago, and if so, the game is in Lexington.Why Kentucky won’t make a bowl gameNo Dupree or Smith: Kentucky’s defense was supposed to be one of its strengths last season, but it finished No. 95 nationally in scoring defense, allowing 31.3 points per game. To make matters worse, last season’s group lost its two best players — Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith — to the NFL. The coaches hope Jason Hatcher can fill the void left by Dupree, but replacing a player who had 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks is never easy. At this point, the Wildcats might be deeper on that side of the ball, but there’s no proof yet that they will be better. And they need to be better.A losing culture: Last season’s Kentucky team should have played in a bowl game. The talent was there. The support was there. Even the momentum was there early on. But a couple of losses midway through the season, and the wheels began to fall off. By the end, it was ugly to watch. Part of that was the culture. This is a program that has endured a lot of losing in recent years. There’s a reason the Wildcats haven’t been to a bowl game since the 2010 season. If this year’s team can’t break that streak, it won’t be due to a lack of talent. It will be a result of the culture."

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Whether or not the Kentucky Wildcats will crack the six win mark and make it to a bowl game remains to be seen. But with the talent infusion on both sides of the ball, and the experience they will be returning, you’d have to think that they’d get that elusive sixth win. Especially since the only real players or value they lost are Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith. While they’ll both be missed a ton, a play-by-committee position should lessen the blow of those two departures. It should be an exciting third season for Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats.

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