Kentucky Football: UK's 2019 games in order of difficulty
Kentucky football will be here before you know it.
SEC Media Days are just around the corner and that's when the chatter will really pick up. but for now, Cats Illustrated takes a look at Kentucky's schedule and ranks the Cats' games by difficulty.
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12. UT Martin (November 23)
An SEC school is always going to be an overwhelming favorite against a non-FBS program. Late in the season when depth is tested, that's all the more true.
11. Louisville (November 30)
Scott Satterfield has his work cut out for him. If he fixes the locker room chemistry and finds some leadership the team will be better than it was at the end of last season, but the Cardinals are still widely expected to finish at the bottom of their half of the ACC. That might be the biggest reason for UofL fans to hope for improvement. They return almost everybody on defense, but after allowing 44 points per game in 2018, what does that mean?
10. Eastern Michigan (September 7)
What makes Eastern Michigan especially worrisome is they are the second consecutive quality MAC opponent to open Kentucky's schedule, so if the Wildcats sleep on this game it could be very interesting. UK barely survived against the Eagles in 2017. There are questions after many losses on defense but Chris Creighton's program has forged an identity on that side of the ball with overall improvements each of the last three seasons. It could be tough to pass against EMU and this could be the program's best offense in many years.
9. Toledo (August 31)
Former Kentucky running back Bryant Koback nearly rushed for 1,000 yards a year ago for the Rockets and will play a major role for this team, which should compete for a second MAC championship in three seasons. Quarterback Mitchell Guadagni returns as does a quality offensive line. The defense should be improved and Toledo appears to be a dangerous first week opponent.
8. Arkansas (October 12)
Chad Morris had a one year grace period in 2018 as he cleaned up the wreckage of the Bret Bielema era and transitioned to a new system but the fans won't be too patient from here on out. Arkansas was 2-10 last year, was just as bad down the stretch as it was early in the season, and will break in a new quarterback in Ben Hicks. But there is enough returning that improvement should be expected with a second-year coach.
7. at Vanderbilt (November 16)
The Commodores scrapped and rallied to reach a bowl game, saving Derek Mason's job with wins against Ole Miss and Tennessee to end the regular season, and Vanderbilt was quite competitive for the entire second half of the season with close losses against Florida, Kentucky and Missouri in addition to its wins. But replacing Kyle Shurmur at quarterback will not be easy and most of the top players on the defense depart. Fortunately for Vandy, Ke'Shawn Vaughn is one of the SEC's best running backs and the top three receivers return.
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6. Missouri (October 26)
Drew Lock is out, Clemson transfer Kelly Bryant is in. The Tigers are not bowl eligible but Mizzou already seems to be a trendy pick among those looking for teams who could surprise and make some noise in 2019. Is that justified? Last year Missouri finished 8-5 but anyone who watched the team closely knows most of those losses could have easily been wins. They also finished the regular season with a string of four consecutive SEC wins, and for two years in a row Missouri has ended the regular season strong. Kentucky looks better than Missouri in the trenches but the Tigers bring back a bunch of skill players on both sides of the ball and Bryant is regarded as a winner if less flashy than Lock.
5. at South Carolina (September 28)
Kentucky has fared very well against South Carolina of late with five consecutive wins against the Gamecocks. Is this the year Jake Bentley finally clears that UK hurdle? The Gamecocks return a lot of experience on both sides of the ball but there won't be quite the South Carolina hype that there has been in recent years. South Carolina lost to the best teams on its schedule a year ago, beating the teams it should have. This appears to be a typical 50/50 game between two SEC East teams jockeying for bowl position.
4. at Mississippi State (September 21)
Did Joe Moorhead's window for winning very big in Starkville already pass? The Nick Fitzgerald era is over and done with and that means the job falls to either Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens or returning Bulldog signal caller Keytaon Thompson. This program has had a defensive identity in recent years but with former offensive coordinator Moorhead returning a strong offensive line and skill talent like Kylin Hill, Osiris Mitchell and Stephen Guidry, while the defense is revamped (especially on the defensive line), it will be a somewhat different look.
3. Tennessee (November 9)
There are a wide range a possibilities for how Tennessee's season might turn out, but this can't be denied: This game has traditionally been a problem for Kentucky. It was even last year, although Kentucky's focus and motivation appeared to be as much of a problem as the Volunteers. This year's Tennessee team, in Jeremy Pruitt's second year, returns the vast majority of an offense that simply wasn't very good for most of the season. But Jarrett Guarantano should improve and the entire unit could take a significant step forward. The back end of the defense should be solid but opponents might be able to run the ball against the Vols.
2. Florida (September 14)
The fact that this game is Kentucky's second-most difficult actually may be a positive. The Gators may be a top-10 team according to some preseason polls, and Dan Mullen's first UF team did finish 10-3 with a blowout win against Michigan in the Peach Bowl. But this is still a work in progress. Feleipe Franks returns at quarterback one year removed from a season with a 24-6 TD to INT ratio and the Gators return most starters from a solid defensive unit. But nobody knows whether this is going to be a good team or a very good team because last year those 10 wins generally didn't pass the eye test without red flags.
1. at Georgia (October 29)
The Bulldogs under Kirby Smart have played in the last two SEC championship games and after Clemson and Alabama seem to be right there with Oklahoma as one of the four premier programs in college football. UGA continues to stockpile an obscene amount of talent at virtually every position on the field and Kentucky fans saw last year that when this program gets "up" for a game they are very difficult to reckon with. Of all the games on Kentucky's schedule, this is the one that most would agree appears to be extremely difficult.