Will Levis is now with the Tennessee Titans but one SEC analyst still thinks UK can win 10 games next season.
Could Kentucky football have a better record in 2023 than it did in 2022 despite losing quarterback Will Levis, running back Chris Rodriguez, three starting linebackers, two starting cornerbacks and others off last year’s team?
It doesn’t seem logical to think a team with those losses that won just seven games last season could improve but SEC analyst Michael Bratton — who picked UK to finish fifth in the SEC East in 2022 — thinks coach Mark Stoops’ team is going to do exactly that and do it in a big way.
Bratton is all-in with UK this year. Not only does think Kentucky will win more than seven games, but he thinks the Cats are going to have a third 10-win season under Stoops.
“I’m jumping on the bandwagon for the Big Blue Nation,” Bratton said on That SEC Podcast. “Last season was a complete dud, one of the worst seasons under Mark Stoops since he got that thing rolling.
“I think they have upgraded massively at quarterback with Devin Leary. I love what I see from him. Liam Coen back in the fold, arguably the best play-caller in the SEC East given what he’s done in his brief stint there. He made Will Levis an NFL Draft pick.
“Ray Davis, the transfer from Vanderbilt. They have three outstanding receivers. They’ve been adding, seemingly, an offensive lineman every week. I have confidence they can shore that up.
“They have a criminally underrated defense. They even added a kicker the other day. That was one of their weaknesses, so now they have options at kicker as well. I think Kentucky is going to win 10 games for the third time in six seasons.”
Las Vegas oddsmakers have the over/under on Kentucky’s 2023 win total at 6.5 — the same number set for Missouri, South Carolina, Auburn and Mississippi State.
3 Responses
I certainly hope that the over on 6.5 wins would be a no brainer, but until we see the team play real games against real opponents we will not know the answers to key questions that loomed in the stale air after the 2022 season.
1) Will UK restore the OL to the Blue Wall of days gone by?
2) Will UK show that it understands the 1/3 of the game role that special teams play, or will UK continue to treat special teams as a red headed step child, and
3) Will Coen inject an imaginative life into an offense that was ineffective last season by presenting a game with a legitimate run-pass mix with a passing game that includes the tight ends, and takes advantage of the terrific talent UK has at wide receiver.
For me, the 2023 season hinges on how UK answers these three questions.
We will see in about 14 weeks.
Can’t wait for the excitement to begin…Look we may not win 10 games but when was the last time people were talking a 10 win season..I will take it…Go Cats
7 wins will be more than acceptable with our schedule – 8 or 9 would represent a large cherry on top – 10 W’s and I’ll kick in for the bronze statue !!