Kentucky fans always have something to say whether the 'Cats have won or lost.
So throughout the season we've been opening the Twittersphere for your hot takes on the football program after every game.
Here are some of those takes plus buy/sell responses.
All things considered 5-6 against an all-SEC and bowl game schedule, given what they were up against this season, is not a bad year at all. And I fully buy into the idea that against a normal schedule this would have been a 9-4 season. That looks different and people feel differently about it.
The last two times they've played Louisville it has been ugly and I'm not sure what has changed with the Cardinals to make anyone think they still wouldn't have a significant advantage. They're much better in the trenches and would have been this year as well. I'd probably pick UK 30-17.
We'll have to see how the offseason goes. By the spring we should have a better idea of who the starting quarterback will be. My guess would be that Allen has a decent shot of becoming the starter. 9-3 is always going to be a good year at Kentucky but the schedule isn't too daunting. Still, you're talking about UF, UGA, and LSU, so there won't be much margin for error getting to that mark.
Someone behind him could have been better. I'm not sure we saw enough from Joey Gatewood or Beau Allen to convince me they would have been a better option this season, though. One thing Wilson did do was avoid big turnovers after the Auburn game for the most part. It looked like they were just finishing one more year with the typical formula they've gone with in recent years and probably felt comfortable with Wilson doing that. In hindsight, there were enough issues on the offense that I don't think it would have been super valuable getting someone else a lot more experience and could have been a negative for development.
People should prepare themselves for that possibility. Transitions are always difficult. It's been a few days since you wrote this so I will point out that the return of Justin Rigg, Josh Ali, Darian Kinnard, and Luke Fortner will make the transition easier. My feeling is the offense will be improved but it's not going to be a top 25 unit or anything like that.
You could easily see Kentucky going 2-0 against Ole Miss and Missouri instead of 0-2. But it stings a little less the way they were able to salvage things. Remember at one point people were afraid Kentucky might finish 3-7 or 2-8. Those fears amounted to nothing. So in short, I do think they could have gone 6-5 or 7-4, but you can't really beat them up given the challenges they faced and this proved to be a resilient group.
That's a very good way to put it. Three straight bowl wins, but it's also not like they won the Liberty, Birmingham, and Independence bowls, either. Three straight quality bowl wins against three quality opponents.
Quarterback play makes a ton of difference, there's no question about that. When Terry Wilson played well in the Swamp, Kentucky won. When Sawyer Smith was playing well against Florida, the 'Cats were winning. Those teams, UGA and UF, are still going to be really good next season. Florida should be more beatable without Trask. Georgia is a tough matchup. As far as a stud grad transfer, I don't think you can ever close any doors. Usually guys transferring end up going to a place where they have a history or connections with coaches. So I would not anticipate that happening.
Possible. On the plus side, it should be a very good line with good backs and good tight ends. But there are questions with no proven quarterback, a new offensive coordinator, and a receiver room with a lot to prove. Top 50 would be a good goal.
That's a spicy take. I think "others receiving votes" would be a good category. It's a hard sell to voters to put a 5-6 team in the top-25, but what you're saying is not as crazy as it sounds because they lost to some excellent teams. The reason I can't go for it is they did not really beat a top-25 team all season. NC State was in the top-25 but that was probably not legit and they were missing several top defensive players.
It's not an overwhelming defense that punches you in the face like the 2018 defense, but they are well coached, sound, and don't give up the really big plays. The best way to put it is the defense gives Kentucky a chance to win most weeks.
There's no question Chris Rodriguez was their best back this season. I think all season the coaches felt like Rose brought something different to the table. He was by far the better receiver and he's more of a slasher who could really hit holes hard. We saw in the bowl what they expected from him. I actually think Coen's offense could have been interesting for Rose but understand a running back not sticking around for a sixth year.
That won't be my prediction. Fans should expect another solid team with the potential to win a lot of games but just on the surface given that UF, UGA, and LSU are on the schedule that would be a little aggressive for me. Missouri was much improved, Tennessee isn't an automatic win, and MSU might improve a lot as Leach's system gets installed. But I will grant you there are a whole lot of winnable games.
I'm inclined to agree the defense will be about as good as this year. Replacing Bohanna will not be easy and they probably also lose Hoskins. The defensive line and the pass rush are two legitimate question marks but it feels like Kentucky has reached a point where they defense is going to be at least solid most years.
It just depends on who they played. The ACC was bad this year. Clemson, Notre Dame, and North Carolina were better, but I don't see anybody else in the league that I would necessarily put ahead of them.
I think there will be a spring practice. That's the good news. It would be brutal to miss that with a new coordinator but I think they'll have spring ball. It wouldn't surprise me if there are bumps in the road early.
They're not at the point where you can say they will "definitely" be better than 6-6 but I think that would be a disappointment just looking at the schedule and who we now know is returning. Agree on quarterback play. Could be the difference in two or three games.
Frankly, almost all of these recent defenses can claim the same thing. A lot of that is the improvement. Some of it is Kentucky almost never had really good defenses before recently.
They need to make some tweaks for sure. The coverage wasn't good enough and there were some real miscues. On the coordinator thing, it's tough for me to say what they should do but I totally understand those saying there should be a coordinator.
That is still going to take some good fortune and some help. It's a solid defense, probably top 25-30 in most other conferences. Getting through Georgia is still going to be very difficult. That defense is going to be elite every season.
He hasn't put up big numbers but I think Josh Ali is proven. The tight ends also look good. There's reason to believe the passing game can be one of the most improved in college football next year but your point about needing an influx of receiver talent is true.
The Wolford hire makes a lot of sense. He's very much like Schlarman. A very intense coach, a family man, someone with a lot of experience in the SEC.
Good point about the lack of opt outs, and now also the number of players who are choosing to return for an additional season.
Definitely agree with that. Stoops made a really good decision hiring then promoting him. White called a good game. Brought pressure at good times.
I think we need to be talking about him a lot more. It's not just going to be a two-way competition between Gatewood and Allen. Scalzo and Sheron are going to get opportunities with a new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach coming in.
I'll have to go with 2018 as his best coaching season just because it was far and away UK's best campaign in decades. But Stoops did a really good job of keeping this team together and getting them to turn in three late season wins when a brutal schedule and so much tragedy could have led other teams to pack it in.
I could see that happening. The power run game is still going to be a big part of what Kentucky does with Coen and Rodriguez will probably be UK's most clear cut number one back since Benny Snell was around. With the offensive line returning three starters and lots of experience now, that's more likely.
They're definitely in the top half of the East at least on paper. I don't think you could justify picking UT, South Carolina, or Vanderbilt ahead of them. Kentucky, Missouri, and Florida will probably be that next tier behind UGA and so what you're saying isn't wild.
See, I feel a little differently. UK certainly shot itself in the foot against Ole Miss, but we know the Rebels were a really good team. They would have beaten a lot of teams. In hindsight losing to Ole Miss 42-41 is not something to be ashamed of. Missouri was improved but the way they just controlled that game with UK being so lackluster leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
I think he should get strong consideration for preseason All-America teams. Still think he was snubbed on the SEC voting. You can't tell me he wasn't one of the top seven or eight linebackers in the SEC.
I can't really argue with you there. Not having to worry about your center play for four seasons will spoil you. I do think Quintin Wilson will be ready.
There's no question that's true. It's actually pretty impressive they have been able to win at this respectable level without any balance.