Hot takes from Kentucky fans after the Wildcats' 31-17 loss at Mississippi State and with Tennessee set to travel to Lexington this weekend...

There have been 9-3 SEC teams in the NY6 before but I don't think Kentucky would get there at that point. In fact, if they are 9-3 they would probably be more likely to end up in the Outback Bowl than the Citrus. Again, that's still a very good year in my mind and it may always be.

They're not 3-point underdogs at home though.

The pass rush has got to improve. I don't know that Mississippi State is the game too judge them too harshly on there. It's tough to sack them. They get it out quick. But a lot of blitzes have been picked up this year and they need someone to step up and become an elite pass rusher no question.

It would be disappointing based on the 6-0 start. To finish 3-3 after beating Florida, LSU, and starting unscathed through the first half would have to be considered a bit of a letdown. But it's still a great season for Kentucky football. I picked 9-3 before the season and thought it might have been aggressive.

I don't think you can say they "shouldn't easily gone at least 10-2 or 11-1." That seems strong to me.

That is pretty much how I've felt. They're No. 17/18 now. If they win their last four games including Tennessee and Louisville to finish 10-2 (6-2) then I have to believe they stand a decent chance of still getting into the NY6. I'm not sure if they're going to the Sugar Bowl if that happens but it's possible. But I think Alabama may well be in the Sugar if it loses to UGA in the SEC CG.

I've made that point a few times over the last couple of years even as the results have been okay and that's pretty much how I feel. I do think that's a calculation on their part. Take away the explosives. In fairness, that's not a bad strategy considering that the team that wins the explosive play battle tends to fare very well.

They did have an easy schedule by SEC standards. The East is as down as it is ever going to be with three bad or poor teams and also Florida down. Then you draw Mississippi State and an LSU team that had some odd circumstances with their coach on a red hot seat.

Having said that, you can poke holes in most resumes. Iowa moved up to No. 2 because they beat Iowa State, Indiana, and Penn State. Was that really deserving of ever becoming No. 2? Cincinnati is currently No. 2 because they beat Notre Dame?

I'm not going to tell you that I broke every play down well enough to tell you what adjustments he did or didn't make. But the results are the important thing. It's hard to imagine 36/39 ever happens at any level of football, much less college rather than the NFL. They carved 'em up. I don't think Kentucky was going to change who they are. It reminded me a bit of LSU last year trying to go strictly man against MSU even as they got torched. This was less about big plays and more a steady, slow march, but the impact was the same.

I'll sell here. I think he's really good. They've had some really creative play-calling this year. This was Levis' worst game of the year. They're asking the line to do a lot more than they had done in the past. They need to build depth at receiver. Chris Rodriguez has had a huge fumbling problem this year. I still think it has been an improved offense that can at least test you most weeks. But they have run into a wall because Levis has been up and down and they really only throw to Wan'Dale most of the time.

He's good. Just not a miracle worker. I think you'll see them double down on the ground game this week.

Having looked up all the scores there's something to what you're saying. Stoops' teams haven't always been bad after the bye week but it does seem that's a point on the schedule when they are vulnerable. It would be nice if they could ease their way back to life with a chip shot.

Assuming you mean they lose to Tennessee, Louisville, and then the bowl game. That just seems like pessimism. They're going to be favored in every remaining regular season game, probably, and they've played well in bowl games four years in a row even if they haven't played well at the end of the regular season. I'll be surprised if they finish worse than 9-4. It will probably be that or 10-3.

I don't buy that. They have already gotten a lot more respect than they've usually gotten. If you look at how far they fell in the rankings after their losses it's no different than what you'd probably see for any other team. Jerry Palm still has them in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame coming off two losses. I think the perception has changed and they are getting more respect. It just might not feel like it right after your team plays badly.

Buy in that the season takes on a very different feel if you lose three games in a row, the last coming against a team you really expected to beat in a rivalry game for most of the season and offseason.

They did not play like a team ranked where they were or are. But I'd point out that just because you were supposed to beat six teams doesn't mean it's not impressive to win all six of those games. Many of them could have gone the other way and that's in spite of the nation's worst turnover margin. There have been close games for most teams in the country against bad competition. But I do think there's a point here. They were not dominating teams that you would have liked to see them dominate.

Hendon Hooker is not going to be easy to defend. He's playing good football and UT's offense is legit. This team is averaging 37 points, has an 18-2 TD to INT ratio, and 6.25 yards per play. Those are really good numbers. Hooker has thrown one interception since early September. They don't put up a ton of yards in the air but it's been about 230 almost every week to go along with a strong rushing attack.