This is the second leg of a series where we here at WC break down what each preseason college football magazine says about UK football for the 2008 season.
Our first look was at Lindy’s College Football Magazine, which was wildly off-base.
Now we turn to Athlon, one of the better magazines. And the outlook is only slightly better for the Cats. Athlon puts the Cats as fifth in the SEC East, behind South Carolina and above Vanderbilt. Nothing new there, Kentucky finished fifth last year (thanks to South Carolina owning a tiebreaker) and it’s been a safe bet year in and year out…so far.
But, Athlon lists UK as one of their five programs going down, also including Louisville and Arkansas in that list. The reason: losing all their offensive firepower. This is a trend throughout the book and I have a feeling it’s going to be the calling card of most “experts” until the season starts. I just don’t think they understand how big UK’s rushing attack is going to be this year.
Athlon gives UK no “games to watch” and the highest ranking any position gets is 7th in the SEC–an honor shared by the running backs and defensive backs. Ouch. Although Athlon places two Cats on their first team All-SEC, CB Trevard Lindley and DE Jeremy Jarmon. OT Garry Williams makes third team on the offense. Respectable, I guess.
Heck, in the team profile, Athlon even quotes head coach Rich Brooks as saying he doesn’t believe his team in on the downside. Athlon doesn’t actually believe Brooks, but leaves room for his words to ring true.
Athlon really takes a bipolar approach to the Cats. They rank them 58 in the nation, well above rival Louisville (who lands in the 60s), but the magazine believes that the without any offensive returners of note, the SEC will shallow the Cats whole. Oh and they also crown Florida as their national champion, bucking the popular Georgia pick I’ve seen so far this year (the Dawgs do have a hellish schedule).
Here’s for sure wins Athlon puts the Cats down for: Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Here’s Athlon’s for sure losses: At Alabama, At Florida, At Mississippi State (why is this game a loss in every book and article I read? Really? When did Miss. St. turn into a powerhouse? please.) Georgia and At Tennessee.
And the swing games: At Louisville, South Carolina and Arkansas.
So Athlon has UK with a 4-5 record, with three swing games. If UK sweeps those games, it’s 7-5 record. Win 2 and it’s 6-6. Reasonable, although I’m not so convinced that Mississippi State is a for sure loss. Sorry, Croom.
Overall, Athlon acts like UK would fair better if they have an offense. They hesitantly give the defense credit, but constantly harp on the departure of key offensive seniors from last year. But overall, I think Athlon is close to gettting it right. Losses to Georgia and Florida seem kinda obvious, with the teams they are returning and Alabama is everyone’s sleeper pick.
And everyone is going to pick Tennessee to beat UK because well, they always do, as crappy as that is. In all, Athlon hits the mark if your trying to be objective. They point out what could hurt the Cats, while providing room for a quality season to still seem in reach. They pick Louisville as a swing game because it’s a rivalry and crazier things have happened. And it’s really hard to get mad at a magazine that follows every knock on UK with a way they could explode. Very disarming.
Athlon passes the test, but not with flying colors.
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