Quarterback Will Levis believes UK has the talent to have a winning SEC record every year -- something UK has done only twice since 1977. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It’s been a strange year for Kentucky football. A 6-0 start with wins over Florida and LSU almost got UK into the top 10 of the national rankings and did put UK into the national championship rankings.
Then losses to Georgia, Mississippi State, and Tennessee put a lot of the fire out.
Fast forward to Saturday night when UK rolled to a 31-3 halftime lead at Vanderbilt and it looked like UK was ready to roll again. However, the Cats then got outscored 14-3 in the second half.
Still, the bottom line is that Kentucky is 7-3 and finished second in the SEC East at 5-3. However, it still seems that this 7-3 season is not being near as appreciated as one might expect considering how seldom UK has won eight or more regular-season games.
“We definitely do appreciate it,” said senior defensive lineman Josh Paschal about the 7-3 start. “Being second (in the SEC East … we are not taking any moral victories but hopefully we can build on this. I am sure the guys next year will come back hungry. It’s good to set that standard to expect more.”
Don’t mistake that for Paschal not wanting a better record for the Cats just like fans do.
“Even with the players, we do not want to be satisfied with 7-3. We are not satisfied with losses. We are thankful for SEC wins. Our goal is to win. We want to win every game,” Paschal said. ”
“Each week you have got to be confident. We are setting new standards for what the fan base holds us to. At the end of the day, that’s what you want to be held to — high expectations.”
Quarterback Will Levis, a Penn State transfer, said he was not aware UK now had only its second winning record in SEC play since 1977 after the Cats got the win at Vanderbilt.
“That should be expected from this group,” Levis said. “We have the team, talent, leadership, and coaching to do that year in, year out. In the SEC it’s tough to do that regardless of who you are, so having an SEC record like that is something to be proud of.”
4 Responses
Let me start this off with a positive spin before all the TROLLS start whining. We were 2-10 when Stoops came in and now we have a respectable program. PERIOD! So go to the Loserville sites and have at it.
Cats have come a long way Beau
Good point Beau!!
I’m with Beau, the Stoops’ construction of a legitimate football program is well underway, but it will require more time. Furthermore, the easy work from that 2-10 starting point to where the program stands today has been accomplished, and the work that remains will be much more difficult.
For me the next step in this process is to consistently post 9 or more wins over the course of several seasons, this being the first in that string. Only when UK accomplishes this step will it seriously compete for the SEC East championship.
I am so pleased with the work that Stoops has done to this point. Yes, I wish this process could occur faster than it is, and yes, I hoped this season would produce 10 or 11 wins. However, the mere fact that as a fan I can even speak such things tells us how far Coach Stoops has led this program, and it screams about the ever rising fan expectations.
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