Why Kentucky Wildcats football fans are setting themselves up for major heartbreak
Mark Stoops has done a terrific job as the Kentucky Wildcats' head football coach. Hired in late 2012, Stoops has gone 66-59 during his decade as the Wildcats' head coach. That might not get Stoops into the College Football Hall of Fame, but it's an impressive accomplishment considering how difficult it's historically been to sustain […]
Mark Stoops has done a terrific job as the Kentucky Wildcats' head football coach.
Hired in late 2012, Stoops has gone 66-59 during his decade as the Wildcats' head coach.
That might not get Stoops into the College Football Hall of Fame, but it's an impressive accomplishment considering how difficult it's historically been to sustain success at Kentucky.
But Stoops has likely hit his ceiling at UK.
The teams that Stoops has had at Kentucky — his 10-win teams in 2018 and 2021 — still couldn't get it done against some of the top teams in the SEC.
The Wildcats, for example, couldn't beat Georgia at home in 2018. They also couldn't beat a not-very-good five-win Tennessee team in 2018.
It was much of the same in 2021. A really good Kentucky team still couldn't get it done against Georgia and Tennessee.
Entering the 2023 season, Kentucky fans once again have high expectations. In fact, Wildcats fans are apparently already booking rooms for Atlanta in anticipation of winning the SEC East.
Kentucky Sports Radio's Drew Franklin suggested to On3 this week that UK fans are booking hotel rooms for the SEC Championship game weekend.
“I mean if you think quiet buzz is already booking hotels for the SEC Championship, maybe,” said Franklin in response to a question about the quiet buzz around Kentucky. “Two years ago Will Levis only had one target in Wan’Dale Robinson and they went down to Athens and played Georgia as well as anyone. Last year Georgia comes to Lexington, a Kentucky offense that was struggling, Levis struggling, that’s why the coordinator lasted only one year, but they still gave Georgia a big game then.”
I'm not here to throw shade at Kentucky — again, I think Stoops has done a great job in Lexington — but booking hotel rooms for Atlanta after the way Georgia has dominated the division the last two years (UGA has won the SEC East in five of the last six years) is absolutely crazy behavior.
And I'd say the same thing if Tennessee fans were booking those rooms — it's Georgia's division until it's not.
But back to Kentucky. The Wildcats haven't beaten Georgia since 2009. Kentucky has only beaten Tennessee three times since 1984. And all three of those wins came during strange seasons for the Vols (2011 under Derek Dooley, 2017 in the season where Butch Jones was fired, and 2020 during Jeremy Pruitt's final season).
Kentucky, historically, can't get past Tennessee and Georgia. And with both teams coming off better seasons than the Wildcats, why do Kentucky fans feel like an SEC Championship game appearance is imminent?
Kentucky might have a great season. They might win 10 games again. Or maybe they finally break through against Tennessee and Georgia. Again, I'm not trying to suggest that the Wildcats are in for a nightmare season or they shouldn't have SEC Championship game aspirations — that's why you take the field each fall Saturday in the SEC. But it certainly feels like Kentucky fans are setting themselves up for major heartbreak with these high expectations instead of just enjoying the ride in 2023.
Featured image via Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
