The Bleacher Report
Don't look now, but Kentucky has won two bowl games in a row, with wins over
Florida State in 2007 and East Carolina in 2008.
So the expectations for 2009 and this Kentucky football team
are probably higher than ever. With Tennessee making a coaching change, and
Georgia replacing their entire backfield, this could be a year for Kentucky to
crack into the top 3 in the Eastern division.
KENTUCKY WILDCATS
2008 Regular Season Record: 6-6; Win over East Carolina in the Liberty
Bowl
Three easiest games in 2009
1. Eastern Kentucky 11/7
2. Louisiana Monroe 10/24
3. at Miami (OH) 9/5
The Wildcats have one of the easiest out of conference schedules you can
find. All 4 out of conference games are at home, the toughest being a game
against Louisville.
Kentucky also has Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee coming to Lexington, a 1-2
record against those three would be a positive.
Three hardest games in 2009
1. Florida 9/26
2. at Georgia 11/21
3. Alabama 10/3
The Bleacher Report
For a team that didn't even
make this year's NCAA tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats received as much, if not
more, coverage during and after the tournament than the recently crowned
national champion North Carolina Tar Heels.
That's what happens when
you're Kentucky and you hire John Calipari as the new men’s basketball coach.
In 1998, Kentucky, under
first-year head coach Tubby Smith, ascended to the top of the college basketball
world by winning their seventh national championship.
But the problem for many in
the Bluegrass State is the Wildcats haven’t been back.
Since the last banner-hanging
ceremony, Kentucky has advanced to five Sweet 16s and three Elite Eights.
They’ve captured four regular
season SEC titles, along with four SEC Tournament championships.
In that time frame, eight
Kentucky players—Kelenna Azubuike, Keith Bogans, Joe Crawford, Chuck Hayes,
Jamaal Magloire, Randolph Morris, Tayshaun Prince, and Rajon Rondo—have all
cashed NBA paychecks.
Current players Jodie Meeks
and Patrick Patterson have both declared for this year’s NBA Draft. To date,
neither player has hired an agent; therefore, both are eligible to return to
school.
Certainly, most programs in
the country would be thrilled to have Kentucky’s résumé of the past 11 years.
Most programs aren’t
Kentucky, though.