Predicting Kentucky’s 2018 Football Season

Is this the year when Mark Stoops’ Kentucky side finally breaks through? After going 2-10 in his first year at the helm in 2013, Stoops has made steady progress with the Wildcats. The team has never regressed under him, peaking with a pair of 7-6 seasons (4-4 SEC) over the last two years. After treading water last year in a situation where they could easily have won nine games, it feels like eight wins is a minimum requirement for Kentucky in 2018.

By Steve Wright

September

9/1/18 Central Michigan – This is a game that Kentucky simply cannot lose to start out the season. Kentucky 31, Central Michigan 13.

9/8/18 @ Florida – Dan Mullen is going to make Florida a much better team. Does he have a quarterback in 2018? If he does then the Gators could bounce back quicker than most think possible. Kentucky 14, Florida 35.

9/15/18 Murray State – Kentucky has won its annual game against an FCS opponent by an average of 29 points since the schedule moved to 12 games. Nothing about this game suggests it will be anything other than a similar result. Kentucky 42, Murray State 10.

9/22/18 Mississippi State – Playing the Bulldogs early in the season is huge as new head coach Joe Moorhead will still be fine tuning his system. Moorhead, however, returns pretty much everything from the team that crushed Kentucky 45-7 last October. If Moorhead can get QB Nick Fitzgerald rolling then this is a team that could figure heavily in the SEC West race. Kentucky isn’t equipped to play against that level of competition just yet. Kentucky 17, Mississippi State 42.

9/29/18 South Carolina – Kentucky has become a serious pain in the backside of South Carolina. Stoops’ teams have won four straight against the Gamecocks, the same Gamecocks that have been picked second in the SEC East preseason polls. There is some serious motivation here to pull off an upset. Kentucky 28, South Carolina 24.

October

10/6/18 @ Texas A&M – The first ever meeting between the two schools coincides with Jimbo Fisher taking over in College Station. Fisher will have the Aggies rolling by early October, making this a difficult road trip to see Kentucky getting anything out of. Kentucky 17, Texas A&M 35.

10/13/18 BYE

10/20/18 Vanderbilt – Kentucky will have its offense in full flow here. There eight returning starts on defense will pressure Vandy QB Kyle Shurmur all game long, producing enough turnovers to keep this one comfortable down the stretch. Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 21.

10/27/18 @ Missouri – The Wildcats have actually out recruited the Tigers over the last few years. The problem is that Mizzou has Drew Lock – and his 44 touchdowns last season – bombing away from the pocket. Expect a shootout that the Tigers steal at home. Kentucky 35, Missouri 49.

November

11/3/18 Georgia – The placement of this game on the schedule couldn’t be any better for Kentucky. The Bulldogs will have just faced Florida, and they have to host Auburn the following weekend. It is the very definition of trap game, but is it a trap that Stoops can spring? Kentucky 17, Georgia 28.

11/10/18 @ Tennessee – If Stoops is to up his win total – or at least break even – then this is a game Kentucky must win. Expect large doses of Benny Snell as the Kentucky defense does a job on a Tennessee squad in full rebuild mode. Kentucky 24, Tennessee 13.

11/17/18 Middle Tennessee – Traditional SEC late season fodder. Middle Tennessee can score though, with program leading quarterback Brent Stockstill entering the 2018 season with almost 9,000 yards to his name.  Kentucky 34, Middle Tennessee 24.

11/24/18 @ Louisville – This rivalry has only been spiced up by a couple of fights in the last few years. Lamar Jackson made the Cards an almost impossible mountain for Kentucky to overcome, but with the former Heisman winner now in the NFL the playing field is much more level. Kentucky 27, Louisville 21.

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