Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Kentucky Wildcats Football: 2015 Season Preview and Prediction

By Patrick Schmidt

facebooktwitterreddit

Mark Stoops has recruited well and taken steps to change the losing culture of the Kentucky Wildcats but can his third year in Big Blue Country result in a long-awaited bowl berth?

The second year for Mark Stoops saw his Kentucky Wildcats improve from a 2-10 team that went winless in SEC play to a 5-7 team in 2014 with a pair of SEC wins so will another similar leap take place this year?

Next: New Fight Songs for Every SEC Team

Stoops has raised the talent level on the roster with some nice recruiting classes and is making strides in changing the losing culture in Lexington and a bowl game has to be the goal for his team.

Offensive Outlook

Kentucky has two former four-star recruits to pick from to start at quarterback this year in Drew Barker and incumbent starter Patrick Towles. The two weren’t separated by much at the end of spring practice but the experience lies with Towles after he started last year and completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 2,718 yards and 14 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Barker may have more upside so if he can digest first-year offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson’s air-raid attack, the Hebron, KY. native could grow into the position.

Whoever wins the position will have an intriguing group of skill position players surrounding him. Running back Stanley Williams led the team in rushing with 486 yards and five touchdowns as one of four backs to get at least 59 carries last year.

Jojo Kemp led the team in rushing two years ago as a freshman and returns after rushing for 323 yards and four scores and sophomore Mikel Horten should be more involved in the run game after averaging 5.19 yards per carry as a freshman. Helping them improve on their production is four starters on the offensive line returning to give Stoops much-needed experience on an otherwise young offense.

At receiver, Ryan Timmons returns after leading the team in receptions (45) and yards (536) and is joined by a number of talented, albeit inexperienced options. Blake Bone, Dorian Baker, Garrett Johnson, Jeff Badet and T.V. Williams bring a vast array of skills to give either Towles or Barker weapons with which to work.

Tight end will see a youth movement with true freshman C.J. Konrad winning the starting job after enrolling early.

Defensive Outlook

Kentucky’s defense was 95th in the nation in scoring defense and 13th in the SEC and that was with Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith so Stoops will have his defensive pedigree tested this year.

Replacing a first round pick in Dupree won’t be easy but nose tackle Melvin Lewis, leading tackler Josh Forrest, Ryan Flannigan and Jason Hatcher will try. Lewis is a 340-pound anchor in the middle of the 3-4 defense that will have to slow down the running game this year in a division featuring Nick Chubb, Jalen Hurd and Kelvin Taylor. If Kentucky can get former top recruit Matt Elam to improve his conditioning and endurance, the 6-7, 360-pounder could be a dominant force in the middle of the Kentucky defense.

Forrest is a constant at inside linebacker after leading the team with 110 tackles and finishing second to Dupree with 8.5 tackles for loss. Flannigan should be better in his second year after finishing fourth on the team in tackles last year after transferring from junior college. Hatcher is the real x-factor in the front seven and could be “the next Dupree” if the former four-star recruit can take advantage of his most playing time yet.

The secondary returns most of the players who helped Kentucky finish eighth in pass defense in the SEC last year, including safety A.J. Stamps who returns after having a team-high four interceptions last year. Blake McClain, Marcus McWilson are the other top safeties and senior cornerbacks Cody Quinn and Fred Tiller bring experience to the position. Keep an eye on Darius West and Kendall Randolph who could step into a bigger role with a big fall.

Prediction

This should be the most talented team Stoops has had as he begins his third year at Kentucky and now is the time to turn the talented recruits he’s brought to Big Blue Nation into players who can help the Wildcats avoid another 0-6 finish. After a 5-1 start to last season, Kentucky only needed one win in their last six games to get to a bowl game but couldn’t do it so this year has to result in a postseason berth to prove to the fan base and the university that Stoops has the team on the right track after investing so heavily in him.

As always, the schedule is more than daunting and we’ll see how good this team can be right away with Louisiana-Lafayette, at South Carolina, Florida and Missouri on the schedule in September. An 0-4 start wouldn’t be shocking, but a 2-2 record is possible if the quarterback play is strong.

But crossover games against Auburn and at Mississippi State could either give the team the confidence they need to compete in the SEC or sink their season in mid-October. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that six of the first eight games are at the renovated Commonwealth Stadium and they have eight home games in total, including vs Tennessee and the season finale against Louisville.

There aren’t any cupcakes on the schedule outside of Charlotte and a road game at Vanderbilt, so Kentucky will have to beat a good Louisiana-Lafayette team and an Eastern Kentucky team that won nine games last year. If they manage to win those four games then they have to take advantage of their home slate and win two SEC games to get a bowl bid.

Next: Top 20 Iconic Uniforms in College Football

More from College Football News

Home/College Football News