It's not difficult to see that Mark Stoops really likes this edition of the Wildcats. In some of his previous 11 seasons, one got the sense that he was being overly cautious with preseason praise for a good team until he saw some game results. While he's not exactly going out and making grand statements or what would certainly be out-of-character predictions, you can tell he has been impressed by the way this bunch has worked throughout camp. "It’s nice walking into the office on Monday morning and it officially being a game week," Stoops said. "I get asked 2,000 times in the offseason if I’m ready for the season, and I’m absolutely not ready (laughter)... until we get to this point. Now, it feels really good." Something tells me that has a lot to do with seeing 10 guys who have started a game returning on the defensive side of the ball and 17 juniors and seniors on the two-deep depth chart.

The first two-deep depth chart of the season did not feature any major revelations, but it did answer a few questions that we had during camp. Among them: (1) Senior offensive tackle Courtland Ford is going to be sidelined for a bit. No exact timetable yet for the return of the once highly regarded transfer from USC. That's a blow to the Cats' depth on the outside and means that versatile veteran Dylan Ray and juco transfer Anfernee Crease may be important pieces to backup Gerald Mincey on the right side and redshirt freshman Malachi Wood on the left side behind Marques Cox. (2) Redshirt freshman running back Jamarion Wilcox has been cited throughout camp as a dynamic guy who could bring some explosiveness to the backfield, but he was not listed on the first two-deep, even with starter Chip Trayanum out with a hand injury. Those spots currently belong to senior Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and freshman Jason Patterson. And (3) There are a bunch of interchangeable parts on the defensive side of the ball. Junior Alex Afari is the posterboy for jack-of-all-trades, bracketed at No. 1 strongside backer with Tyrese Fearbry and also occupying the No. 2 spot at weakside backer behind D'Eryk Jackson. He may also pop up occasionally in his old nickel spot depending on the matchup.

The oddsmakers in Vegas expect a blowout on Saturday at Kroger Field, but you won't hear Stoops entertaining that notion leading up to the game. The Golden Eagles have 13 transfer portal additions from SEC schools and another P5 addition in former Florida State quarterback Tate Rodemaker, making game-planning a challenge for the Cats. "They have a lot of newcomers," Stoops said. "Like most teams, when we look at the transfer portal, look at the change they have with their OC and DC, and I want to say probably as many as 10 impact offensive transfers, you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get so you have to be prepared for quite a few things heading into the opener." Chip Long has taken over the OC duties and Greg Bignell, who comes to Southern Miss from Eastern Illinois, takes over at DC.

The Cats return an experienced, successful kicker in the form of Alex Raynor, who made 10 of 11 field goals and 48 of 49 extra points last season to earn a spot on this year's Lou Groza Watch List. But UK has also signed one of the nation's top kicking prospects in Jacob Kauwe of Billings, Mont. "Man, he has an extremely strong leg," said Stoops, noting that Kauwe has attempted three field goals from 60 yards during "live" situations in camp, and he made all of them. The Cats may have some opportunities for the youngster to attempt some long-range field goals this season when the drive stalls around the 40-yard line.