Ranking Kentucky's 2017 football games by degree of difficulty
The season is inching closer each day and CatsIllustrated.com will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of Kentucky's preseason preparations once camp begins.
Here we're breaking down Kentucky's 2017 football schedule by ranking each of the Cats' games by degree of difficulty.
12. Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels don't have the horses to keep up with Kentucky, either in terms of first line talent or depth. This was scheduled to be a win and it would be one of the year's biggest upsets if it was anything other than that for Kentucky.
11. Eastern Michigan. The Eagles aren't total pushovers. They reached a bowl game and produced a winning record for the first time in ages last year and they return a productive quarterback in Brogan Roback. But this game is in Lexington and Kentucky should be able to run all over the EMU front. Last year Missouri destroyed this team.
10. Southern Miss (road). Yes, the Golden Eagles walked out of Commonwealth Stadium as a winner last year. But gone is Nick Mullens and several other key contributors from that team, and frankly Kentucky became a very different team after last year's season opener. Going to Hattiesburg won't be easy but Kentucky will be the favorite here and USM has questions on both sides of the ball.
9. Missouri. Just because this game ranks 9th doesn't mean it will be easy. Missouri could have one of the best offenses in the SEC East, if not the best. But Kentucky shut down the Tigers' offense last year and ran all over Mizzou when they had the ball. And that was on the road. On paper UK matches up well.
8. Ole Miss. The Rebels have Shea Patterson and some talent, and they also have nothing to lose with their self-imposed bowl ban (and perhaps a lot more punishment coming). But this is a program that finished 5-7 last year and has real questions this year...and that was before Hugh Freeze's recent resignation and scandal. Ole Miss is a mess right now and it remains to be seen how they'll shut out the noise and ongoing scrutiny.
7. Vanderbilt (road). This game will not be easy. Vanderbilt doesn't play a brand of football that's pleasing to the eyes but they learned how to win a little better last year, they can lean on Ralph Webb, and UK must travel to Nashville.
6. Tennessee. The Volunteers still have plenty of talent. That's what recruiting will do. And they own the Cats over the past three decades. But they don't have Josh Dobbs and they have to replace a lot of other key contributors. They have some real questions heading into 2017 and this game is at Kentucky.
5. Mississippi State (road). Kentucky finally broke its losing streak against Dan Mullen but it won't be easy to win two in a row against the Bulldogs. UK must travel to Starkville, where the Cats haven't won in a while, to take on a team headed by Nick Fitzgerald, a QB who can run all over even a good opponent.
4. Louisville. Last year's victory over the Cardinals on the road will do wonders for Kentucky's confidence in this game, but confidence hasn't really been an issue in this rivalry game. This year's meeting is less ominous because of last year's win but also because this one's at Kroger Field and Kentucky returns a lot. Louisville has questions on defense, on the offensive line and elsewhere, but containing Lamar Jackson will, once again, be very difficult.
3. South Carolina (road). This is where the great debate can begin. There will be some who will be completely against the Gamecocks as the pick here. But it's a convergence of factors. Jake Bentley made that offense a lot better and South Carolina returns a lot on that side of the ball. This will be an early season night game in Columbia and the Gamecocks will be itching to break their three-game losing skid to Kentucky.
2. Florida. Many believe Kentucky can win this game but last year's meeting between the Cats and Gators was ugly in Gainesville. Florida does have to retool its defense in a significant way and, last year aside, Stoops' teams have been competitive with Florida. But the Gators' speed and the ghosts of last year, and the last 30 years, make this an easy call for one of UK's toughest games.
1. Georgia (road). Kentucky nearly knocked off Georgia last season but that was in Lexington. This year's game is in Athens against a UGA program going into its second year with Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs are favorites to win the East (or right there with Florida, at least). Jacob Eason wasn't great last year but he's a year older and can lean heavily on Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.
