[16BBall Fan]

8/31-   Southern Miss.
 9/7-    South Carolina
 9/14-  Georgia
 9/21-  Ohio
 9/28-  at Ole Miss.
10/5-   BYE 
10/12- Vanderbilt
10/19- at Florida
10/26- Auburn
11/2-   at Tennessee
11/9-   BYE
11/16- Murray State
11/23- at Texas
11/30- Louisville

*   Kentucky has 8 home games.
** Kentucky has first SEC game in week 3 vs. Georgia.

[Van Hagar]

Just a knee jerk, first look reaction. I would say four very probable wins (Southern Miss, Ohio U., Murray St. and Vandy), four very likely losses (Georgia, at Ole Miss, at Tennessee and at Texas), and four games that determine how your season goes (South Carolina, Auburn, Louisville, at Florida). At this very early stage, with the transfer portal still on fire, I’ll go with another 7-5 season

[Cactus Jack]

Schedule actually aligns nicely outside of the @Florida, vs. Auburn, and @Tennessee stretch in three straight weeks.

Not-So Bold Predictions:
Will avenge the loss to South Carolina.
Will lose to Florida in The Swamp.
Will play Ole Miss close in The Grove, but find a way to lose. Despite this, fans will still overrate the road trip and stadium experience in Oxford.
Will lose to Auburn.
Will finish 7-5.


Bold Predictions:
Will beat Georgia, Tennessee, or Texas, lose to another by less than two scores, and be utterly blown out by the third. 

- Georgia in Week 3 is early enough to be interesting. The Dawgs have Clemson in Week 1 and follow up the UK game with a bye then Alabama.

- We're due for a win against Tennessee. The Vols will be coming off a bye, but are @Oklahoma, @Arkansas, vs. Florida, and vs. Alabama in the weeks leading in.

- Texas has Florida and @Arkansas in the two weeks prior, then has their rivalry week game at Kyle Field the following week. They play Oklahoma, Georgia and Vanderbilt, then have a bye in the weeks before the Gators. This could be another trap game, as Kentucky is exactly the type of team that beats the Longhorns even though they are "back". Kentucky comes off of a bye and Murray State leading into their trip to Austin.

[Van Hagar]

Your point about when you play an opponent is I think one of the most overlooked things in college football. Have they had tough games leading in? Do they have a big game the next week? Are they coming off a bye? Remember a few seasons back when UK’s 10-win Benny Snell and Josh Allen team lost to a vastly inferior Tennessee team? It was the week following a verrrrry physical loss to Georgia. If that game had been any other week on the schedule, we win by double digits. So your research on our opponents schedules is spot on. And after seeing it, I feel better about our chances to maybe pull off a shocker at some point next year.

[Bluecat]

With the collapse of conferences and now ACC seems to be having issues, how long before we see college football go away from conferences and do divisions? The SEC was already tough and now we add Texas and Oklahoma to the conference. It makes for awesome games week to week but man they beat each other up. Of course the playoffs will move to the new format next season so that will be interesting.

[Cactus Jack]

Wanted to revisit and see if any opinions had shifted since this thread was started.

Last I'd checked, Vegas has UK's regular season win total at over/under 6.5.

I'm hoping for 7 or 8+ wins but starting to wonder if 6 is the most likely outcome.

Still think we beat Southern Miss, Ohio, Murray State, and Vanderbilt. That's four.

Probably beat South Carolina for five.

Past that, would need to win two of: Louisville, @Florida, Auburn, @Tennessee, @Ole Miss, @Texas, and Georgia to reach seven wins.

Trying to remain optimistic, but the South Carolina game is no lock and losing to all seven of the remaining teams isn't out of the question, especially if there are key injuries or the wheels fall off early.

Right now, I'm thinking there's a higher (or at least equal) chance that we win six rather than eight.

[Red Dog 80]

I'll be optimistic and say seven wins, eight if healthy and a lot of good luck.

[jetpilot]

Dang 6.5 wins is the perfect betting line. SC game early is huge and could set the tone for the season. If there is a gun to my head forcing me to bet I would have to go under 6.5. I'm getting very negative vibes and hoping I'm off base.

[plantmanky]

Dang 6.5 wins is the perfect betting line. SC game early is huge and could set the tone for the season. If there is a gun to my head forcing me to bet I would have to go under 6.5. I'm getting very negative vibes and hoping I'm off base.

It might only be 4 wins.

[jetpilot]

^^^I'm afraid you might be right plantman. I hope we are both wrong.

[Cactus Jack]

Covering the ~10 against South Carolina after an abbreviated opener plus another lackluster performance from a Florida team that's already reeling would go a long way toward improving my outlook on the season. 

The folks in Gainesville aren't at all happy, but Napier has a HUGE buyout, but their road doesn't get any easier. 

I don't think this is a bad Kentucky team, just one that's playing a pretty tough schedule.

[jetpilot]

^^^Same here CJ, plus waiting to see how good the RB from Ohio State is. He could be a game changer hopefully.