First look at UK's 2018 schedule: Central Michigan

National Signing Day is less than a week away. Then there's spring football, fall camp and turning the page to 2019 recruiting.

But before you know it, the 2018 football season will be here.

Cats Illustrated takes a way too early big picture look at Kentucky's 2018 football schedule with a look at the strengths, weaknesses and questions for every team the Wildcats will face, plus some intriguing notes that will shape the matchups you'll be watching next fall.

First up, Central Michigan. The Wildcats open their next campaign with the Chippewas.

Central Michigan, September 1st, 2018 (Lexington, Ky)

2017 Overview: Central Michigan was one of the MAC's better teams (6-2 in league, 8-5 overall) but their season ended on a sour note with a throttling at the hands of Wyoming. CMU did not fare well against its Power Five opponents with losses to Syracuse (42-17), Miami (31-14) and Boston College (28-10). They did beat Kansas, but the Jayhawks have been one of the nation's worst teams for a long time.

The best stretch of CMU's season came down the stretch run before the bowl game, with the team winning its final five conference matchups. Central Michigan won five road games in 2017 - an impressive accomplishment.

Shane Morris, once a Michigan Wolverine, passed for 3,237 yards and 27 touchdowns but also 17 picks in 2017. The one-year rental was horrible against Boston College and Wyoming (1 TD, 7 picks) but was very good for most of the rest of the season. That was in spite of the receiving corps struggling with injury issues.

CMU played exciting football in 2017, both for good and bad reasons. The Chippewas forced an eye-popping 31 turnovers but also gave it away 31 times (17 picks, 14 fumbles).

Offseason Questions and Storylines: Defensive backs coach Archie Collins was just announced as Pitt's tenth assistant. That's significant because CMU's secondary (16 TD's allowed, 19 interceptions) was a huge team strength last year. Couple that with the loss of senior defensive backs Josh Cox and Amari Coleman, who combined for nine picks in 2017, and the Chippewa secondary will see a huge overhaul.

How will CMU replace the irreplaceable Joe Ostman? The defensive lineman finished 2017 with 14.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss.

CMU will also have to replace Morris at quarterback. Freshman Tony Poljan saw spot duty in 2017 and is a threat to run when he's behind center.

How will CMU replace so much of its receiving production? Senior receivers Mark Chapman (59 catches, 875 yards, 5 TD), Corey Willis (45 catches, 669 yards, 9 TD) and Eric Cooper (29 catches, 285 yards, 2 TD) are gone, but one of the team's biggest losses is tight end Tyler Conklin (35 catches, 504 yards, 5 TD), one of the nation's best players at his position and a real threat in the passing game.

Previewing CMU's 2018: Running back Jonathan Ward figures to be in line for an increased workload with the quarterback uncertainty. He proved durable in 2017 with 1,017 yards and 10 touchdowns on 179 carries. Ward will catch plenty of passes this year, too. He's a dynamic athlete with the speed to break off chunk runs.

Big picture, this is a team that should lean more heavily on the ground game, given the turnover in the personnel that impacts the pass game but also some of the defensive losses. CMU's staff might opt to slow the game down to put the defense in a better position in 2018. This is a team that ran the ball "OK" most weeks but they weren't a team that blew opponents off the ball.

The offense's success or failure next year will be largely determined by the play of Poljan as Morris' successor. He's an incredible 6-foot-7 and around 240 pounds so he's an absolute load. An accomplished recruit and athlete who also played basketball and track, Poljan was a quality recruit from Michigan two years ago and has potential but big shoes to fill.

There are reasons for optimism in the trenches on defense. Nathan Brisson-Fast, Mike Danna and Mitch Stanitzek could form a solid core on the defensive front. CMU will be very experienced at linebacker but the Chippewas replace both starting safeties and three of four starters in the secondary. They run a base 4-3 defense. CMU paced the nation in turnovers forced last year and that probably won't continue in 2017, as regression from extreme numbers is common in that category. But it's unlikely they will turn the ball over as much themselves.

This is a program that has been bowl eligible six years in a row so winning is not new for CMU. Given the losses on both sides of the ball not many people will probably expect CMU to match or exceed last year's eight win total, but the Chippewas have better depth than most realize and Poljan is both talented and a great unknown at quarterback.

Head coach John Bonamego is coaching at his alma mater and has good job security with a contract that takes him through 2022. He cut his teeth coaching special teams in the NFL.