8/16/2020 football Edit

Kentucky Football: Cole Cubelic explains his SEC ranking for the 'Cats

Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated

Publisher

Justin Rowland has been CatsIllustrated.com's publisher since 2015. He covered college football recruiting at programs nationwide for 15 years prior to that.

Winning the SEC East will be an uphill climb for Kentucky because of the division's strength at the top but ESPN and SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic seems to be as high on Mark Stoops' 2020 team as anyone.

The football commentator and line guru released his preseason SEC power rankings on Saturday and while he has the 'Cats behind both Florida and Georgia, he has Kentucky third and fifth overall when both divisions are taken into account.

Placing Kentucky ahead of the likes of Texas A&M and Auburn, teams many expect to be formidable competition for Alabama in the West, created quite a bit of understandable excitement for Wildcat fans on social media.

Cats Illustrated reached out to Cubelic to find out why he seems to be higher on the 'Cats than some others — for example, those who participated in the Amway Coaches Poll, where Kentucky ranks No. 29 and in the "others receiving votes" category, behind Tennessee as well.

"I believe UK will have a physical advantage versus most opponents based on how this offseason has gone," Cubelic said. "Plenty of weapons in the backfield and a vastly underrated front seven that allowed the Cats to finish fourth in pass defense nationally last year."

The physical advantage seems to be a tip of the cap to Kentucky's offensive line, which returns the likes of Drake Jackson, Landon Young, Darian Kinnard, and Luke Fortner from a unit that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award.

Cubelic is known for having a unique appreciation for offensive linemen as an analyst.

"Based on how this offseason has gone," as he said, seems to be a reference to the uncertainty and schedule tweaks prompted by COVID-19. Kentucky returns most starters on both sides of the ball and that experience and maturity could be especially handy during a season like this.

Kentucky has a .500 record in SEC play over the past four seasons combined, including 5-3 two seasons ago with a team that many believe this year's squad could challenge for the honor of Stoops' best during his tenure in Lexington.