Kentucky Football: Best and worst case scenario for 2018

Kentucky football sometimes gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the SEC. What are the best and worst case scenarios for the Wildcats in 2018?

There are plenty of questions for Kentucky entering 2018, but they have Benny Snell. If all else fails, coach Mark Stoops is going to hand the ball off to his star running back and let him carry the Wildcats across all proverbial finish lines.

The Wildcats been to two-straight bowl games, both losses, and seem to have had their growth muffled over the last two seasons. Mark Stoops inherited a 2-win program from Joker Phillips and has never regressed in terms of overall record in his five seasons since.

How will 2018 treat the Kentucky football team?

Best case scenario

• Sep 1 – vs Central Michigan – W
• Sep 8 – @ Florida – W
• Sep 15 – vs Murray State – L
• Sep 22 – vs Mississippi State – L
• Sep 29 – vs South Carolina  W
• Oct 6 – @ Texas A&M – L
• Oct 20 – vs Vanderbilt – W
• Oct 27 – @ Missouri – L
• Nov 3 – vs Georgia – L
• Nov 10 – @ Tennessee – W
• Nov 17 – vs Middle Tennessee State – W
• Nov 24 – @ Louisville – W

Result: 7-5

The season doesn’t come down to just one game, but it sort of does. Kentucky isn’t contending for the SEC East this year. Outside of an upset over a Top 5 Georgia team in November, every other game has equal importance to the fanbase, except for the Florida game.

Kentucky should have beaten Florida last season. Defeating the Gators this year, especially given the new energy breathed into the program by Dan Mullen, would be the icing on top of a well-remembered season.

Worst case scenario

• Sep 1 – vs Central Michigan – W
• Sep 8 – @ Florida – L
• Sep 15 – vs Murray State – W
• Sep 22 – vs Mississippi State – L
• Sep 29 – vs South Carolina  L
• Oct 6 – @ Texas A&M – L
• Oct 20 – vs Vanderbilt – W
• Oct 27 – @ Missouri – L
• Nov 3 – vs Georgia – L
• Nov 10 – @ Tennessee – W
• Nov 17 – vs Middle Tennessee State – W
• Nov 24 – @ Louisville – L

Result: 5-7

A loss to Florida would once again add insult to injury and put the pressure on Stoops for the remainder of the season. Reaching seven wins for consecutive seasons is good, but the floor for this program might be just a bit higher. The odds of the Wildcats picking up a stunning upset seem good in theory, but Kentucky has only one win over a program inside the Top 20 in the past decade.

That makes the rivalry game against Louisville the swing game. Upending No. 11 Louisville and Heisman-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson was a special moment for Kentucky that year, but even with Jackson gone, their rivals are still going to be ready for the big game. If Stoops fall just shot there will be discussions about his long-term future this offseason.