Kentucky Wildcats: 2010 Exit Survey

2010 CFBZ Prediction: 4th in the SEC East 
2010 Actual Finish: 5th in the SEC East (6-7, 2-6)

Rich Brooks finished the last of his seven seasons at Kentucky in 2009, leading Kentucky to four straight winning seasons and four straight bowl berths at the end of his run. Joker Phillips took over the helm this year and is tasked with trying to get Kentucky over the hump in the SEC East and turn them into a contender. In Joker's debut season their were some good moments for the Wildcats (opening the season with a win over Louisville and beating SEC Champ South Carolina top that list) and there were some struggles (going 2-6 in the SEC and 1-5 on the road). After only one year on the job the jury is still out on Joker but we do know that he has some big shoes to fill on offense with Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb departing. We caught up with the Kentucky based SB Nation blog A Sea of Blue to get their take on 2010 and a sneak peak into 2011.


1. Kentucky finished the year 6-7 and 2-6 in the SEC. Do you consider Joker Phillips inaugural season a success, a failure or somewhere in the middle?

Somewhere in between, I would say. It's impossible to call a losing season overall a success, and 2-6 in the SEC just not good.

I think mostly that Phillips earns a pass on this season because most people understand that it was his first season as head coach, and head coach is not the same as offensive coordinator. Short of failure, perhaps, but certainly a disappointment. The defense was just plain incompetent, and the offense was too hot and cold.

2. What were your favorite moments of the year?

Number one would have to be defeating South Carolina in Lexington. Kentucky has suffered long at the hands of Steve Spurrier, and that long losing streak against the Gamecocks has been one of the major targets of UK football fans. It was especially satisfying to come back from down 18 at the half to win in the game's closing minutes.

Number two would be defeating Louisville for the fourth straight time. Louisville is a huge rival, and they had a 4-game streak against Kentucky between 2003 and 2006. It was really nice to get revenge for that.

Finally, seeing Randall Cobb break the single-season all-purpose yards record at UK. Cobb has been a Godsend for Kentucky football, and that feat just cemented his well-deserved legend here at UK.

3. If you could have a "re-do" for one game, which would it be?

Ole Miss in Oxford. Kentucky had every chance to win that football game, and blew it. That would have possibly put the Wildcats on a great trajectory for a special season, and we allowed it to slip away with turnovers.

4. Which players surprised you the most with their performance last year?

That's easy -- Mike Hartline. Hartline went from a player who couldn't throw a spiral one time out of 10 to the SEC's second-leading passer. It was a transformation that almost nobody in the Big Blue Nation expected, but it made the difference between a bowl season and maybe a four-win season.

5. Star receiver Randall Cobb and QB Mike Hartline must be replaced next season. Who will step up to take their place?

Good question. Morgan Newton would seem to be the odds-on favorite to take Hartline's spot, but many, including me, fear that Joker Phillips is going to give short shrift to the talented Ryan Mossakowski, who is a better pure passer and the more highly rated of the two coming out of high school. At least we do have options at quarterback, but Newton failed to impress in the loss to Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass bowl.

For Cobb, there are no clear successors at the spot. La'Rod King showed great promise as our #3 receiver this year, but it seems a stretch for him to replace the multidimensional Cobb. Brian Adams and Matt Roark both made a few plays this year, but most Wildcat fans are skeptical about them as starters. Highly touted Aaron Boyd has been a disappointment, and hardly ever saw the field this year. It's hard to imagine him stepping up, but he has the talent if he ever gets the work ethic right.

Incoming freshman Demarco Robinson is an intriguing and overlooked prospect, and he has the kind of skills that could make him an impact player somewhat in the mold of Randall Cobb. He isn't a QB like Cobb was in high school, but he is an explosive athlete who can catch, run, and play the return game.

The player I really hope does well is junior wideout Gene McCaskill, who suffered an injury last year. He showed great promise before he was hurt, and if he comes back 100%, he could be a big playmaker at the wideout spot.

Bowl Predictions Part 4 (1/7-1/10)

Here is the final part of our Bowl Season Predictions including the National Championship Game. In case you missed the first, second, and third rounds of bowl predictions just click on the links to catch up on what you missed. As of the printing of this blog Ross is 16-12 and I am 17-11 in our predictions.

Cotton Bowl (1/7 8pm on FOX)
LSU (10-2) vs. Texas A&M (9-3)

Kevin's Prediction: LSU 28 TEXAS A&M 27
As an SEC homer it's really tough for me to pick against the SEC. Especially against the SEC West. Yes, Arkansas lost but Ohio State was playing 5 guys who should have been sitting and Bobby Petrino is a gutless coward who deserves to lose every game he coaches. Back to LSU...there is just something about them. Under CRAZY Les Miles they just find a way to win. They have some pretty impressive victories this year against Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State, UNC and West Virginia. LSU's two losses were to Auburn and Arkansas and they haven't lost by more than 8 points all year long. A&M went through a rough stretch earlier this year when they lost 3 straight (also lost to Arkansas) but they have rebounded to win 6 straight including impressive wins against Oklahoma and Nebraska. This one is a coin flip and in a coin flip you go with the guy with the luck.

Ross's Prediction: LSU 27 TEXAS A&M 24

The Big 12 has enjoyed an underwhelming bowl season (except for the efforts of the Oklahoma schools, really), which casts some doubt on the strength of Texas A&M.  LSU, meanwhile, emerged with 10 wins from the toughest division in college football (the SEC West) -- no small feat, that, and a big reason why I'll back them to get the win here.  But it will be close because that's the only way Les Miles know how to play 'em, with the Tigers pulling out a win after an onside kick, a fake punt, and a flea-flicker on a fourth-down conversion.  Prepare for the latest Miracle now.

BBVA Compass Bowl (1/8 Noon on ESPN)

Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6)

Kevin's Prediction: PITT 27 KENTUCKY 17

Kentucky didn't exactly close the year with a bang as they went 2-3 with their wins coming over mighty Vandy and Charleston Southern. Oh yeah, and Mike Hartline went out and got himself suspended for this game. If Hartline was playing I probably take Kentucky by 10, but he's not. Watch out for Randall Cobb but I think Pittsburgh, despite all of their coaching issues, finds a way to win this one.

Ross's Prediction: KENTUCKY 31, PITT 17

On one hand, you have a member of the SEC East, a division so mediocre its teams have gone 1-3 and lost to teams from C-USA and the ACC.  On the other hand, you have a member of the Big East, a conference that is seemingly perpetually mediocre -- and especially so this year.  Oh, and that team has major head coaching drama.  The SEC East isn't very good -- but even they can beat an also-ran from the Big East that's mired in controversy.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (1/9 9pm on ESPN)

Nevada (12-1) vs. Boston College (7-5)

Kevin's Prediction: NEVADA 27 BC 21

BC's season has been one of streaks. They won two to start off the year, then they lost 5 straight games (all to bowl teams) and then they finished up with 5 straight wins (beating 3 really bad teams and 2 decent teams). All-in-all BC has had a disappointing year from a team that CFBZ picked to come in second place in the Coastal Division. Nevada has feasted on powers like Eastern Washington, Colorado State, Idaho, UNLV, San Jose State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech (where can Georgia get one of these schedules?). But they've also won a few games against teams that actually play football (Cal, BYU, Fresno State and Boise State). I have a tough time picking a team to win that lost to Hawaii but I'm going to do it anyway. Kaepernick wins this one for Nevada in a nail-biter.  

Ross's Prediction: NEVADA 38, BOSTON COLLEGE 20

Nevada got bushwhacked in their bowl game a year ago, but I don't think that will happen to this year's bunch.  B.C. has a quality defense and has had an eon to prepare for the Nevada offense, but I think Colin Kaepernick and Vaia Taua will end their Wolfpack careers on a high note, with a decisive bowl win.

BCS National Championship Game (1/10 8:30pm on ESPN)

Auburn (13-0) vs. Oregon (12-0)

Kevin's Prediction: AUBURN 34 OREGON 28

I've pretty much been a non-believer in Auburn all year long up until the SEC Championship Game. I think I picked them to lose in pretty much every game up until that game. While Auburn is very close to a  one-man team they do have a good supporting cast. Cam Newton has simply been amazing this year. They guy just doesn't feel the pressure. They learned how to win early in the year by holding on to beat Mississippi State and surviving Clemson in OT. They came from 13 down and forced 4 4th quarter turnovers to beat Spurrier and South Carolina in their regular season date. They held off a late rally by a game Kentucky squad. Maybe the game where people started taking them seriously was when they put 65 up against Arkansas in a PS3 like game. Auburn beat a good LSU team in a close game. Georgia jumped up on Auburn 21 to 7 in the 1st quarter but Cam and Auburn didn't blink and came back and won by 3 scores. The best comeback of the season was the one against Alabama. People turned off their TV sets after Bama took a 24-0 lead in the 2nd quarter. But Auburn showed us what they are made of and came back and beat the Tide by 1 point. If there is one thing I've learned about Auburn this year it's not to pick against them. They have a guy with big play power and incredible moxie in Cam Newton on the offensive side of the ball and they have the dirtiest, filthiest, nastiest defensive player in the game in Nick Fairley. Fairley would blindside his grandma after the whistle if he thought it would help his team win a game. Dude speared Aaron Murray in the back of his spine with his helmet five seconds after Murray released a pass (would have been a multiple game game suspension if it happened in the NFL). I really like Oregon ,but I Auburn has proved this year that I can't pick against them (as much as I want to).

Ross's Prediction: AUBURN 45, OREGON 42
I hope you like scoring because this should be a point orgy.  Granted, we've said that in the past and wound up with a defensive struggle (see: Florida-Oklahoma two years ago), but this match-up seems unlikely to produce such an odd result; these two offenses are so potent and so high-powered that it's hard to see them getting slowed for long -- especially against defenses that aren't exactly ironclad.  The thing to watch here will be the pace: Oregon wants to play at a furiously high tempo, and while Auburn is also capable of playing at a high tempo, they may want to slow things down a little to enable their defense to have a shot at making some plays.  Like so many recent title games, this match-up pits one Heisman finalist (Cam Newton) against another (LaMichael James), although Oregon's success will probably depend more on how Darron Thomas fares throwing the ball than anything.  Oregon has been a breathtaking team to watch this year and they've been very good -- but it's too hard to bet against the SEC at this point, or to pick against Cam Newton.  I think he has the best performance in a title game since Vince Young five years ago and leaves us all staring, slack-jawed and wondrous at what we just saw.

Georgia handles Kentucky; Awaits Florida

For the third consecutive week the Georgia Bulldogs have looked more like the team we thought they would be than the team that lost 4 straight. Georgia went on the road to play a dangerous Kentucky team and jumped on them 28-3 and Georgia put it in cruise control to pick up their first road victory of the season. The story of this game was Georgia's defense causing early turnovers and the offense capitalizing on them. Now that Georgia has discarded the SEC East also-rans of Kentucky, Tennessee and Vandy it looks to a much bigger fish, the University of Florida. Florida has long been a thorn in the side of the Georgia Bulldogs and Mark Richt. Believe it or not Georgia actually hold the lead in the all-time series 46-39-2. Despite their lead in the series, Florida has dominated recently and is 2-7 against Mark Richt with Georgia only winning in 2004 (31-24 behind David Greene's 3 TD passes) and 2007 (42-30 behind Knowshon Moreno's 188 rushing yards and 6 sacks of Tim Tebow).

This will be a different Georgia/Florida game than usual. It's been 31 years since these two teams met on the field and both were unranked. The momentum is in Georgia's corner as they are playing their best football of the year and things seem like they are coming together in Athens. The rest and preparation is in Florida's corner as they have had an off week for Urban to re-vamp the offense and get some players healthy and back with the team. Right now I'm leaning towards Georgia taking this one but I think this one could come down to the wire since both teams are truly fighting with their backs against the wall.

Georgia Notes:
- UGAXIII is now 2-0 since his debut against Vandy.
- Justin Houston picked up 2.5 sacks against Vandy and is leading the SEC with 9.5 sacks. Kentucky coach Joker Phillips said about Georgia "It's the best pass rush team we've seen, no question about that."
- Washaun Ealey ran for 157 yards and 5 TD against Kentucky (tying a Georgia record). Georgia's rushing attack is coming on as they've had a 100-yd rusher in the last 3 of the last 4 games.
- Aaron Murray continues to be one of the most impressive Freshman QBs in the land (not as jaw dropping as Tayler Martinez) but the most impressive thing is his TD to INT ratio. He has 12 passing TDs to just 3 INTs (it should also be noted that he has rushed for 4 TD on the year).
- Kicker Blair Walsh has struggled lately. He's going to need to hit some kicks in Jacksonville for the Dawgs to come out victorious.
- Branden Smith will play for the first time in 4 games. I like the combination Brandon Boykin and Sanders Commings at corner so hopefully Smith will fit in nicely at nickel as we've had trouble covering on 3rd down and long (not sure if it's the LBs playing too shallow or the Safeties playing too deep but we have to tighten down on 3rd down). Look for AJ Green to still get some shots at punt returns despite Smith being back in the line-up.

I will have more thoughts later in the week as the game approaches.

Three Intriguing Match-Ups This Week

On Wednesday Ross posted his "Six Pack Games of the Week" previewing and predicted the six best games of the week. Looking at the schedule I can't help but feel that this week deserves a look a little bit deeper and here are 3 more match-ups out there in college football land to keep an eye on this week.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 Georgia (3-4, 2-3) AT Kentucky (4-3, 1-3) (7:00pm EST, CSS, ESPN 3) At first look this might not look like an interesting match-up but I feel it's the most intriguing match-up in the SEC this week other than LSU/Auburn. Kentucky is coming off of a win at South Carolina and Georgia is trying to resurrect it's season after blowout wins over Tennessee and Vanderbilt. This game is about one of these teams coming out of this game as a legit contender to the SEC East crown. This morning on Gameday both Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard tabbed Georgia as the team that would come out of the pack of the SEC East and travel to Atlanta for the SEC East. I really need to know what they have been drinking. It's possible that Georgia can win the SEC East but there are so many things that have to happen (including Georgia beating Florida and Auburn). Now, onto the game....Georgia has throttled it's last two opponents. But they were Tennessee and Vandy and both were at home. Georgia has not won a game on the road this year (usually a trademark under Mark Richt). Kentucky comes into the game riding high after a home victory over South Carolina. Will the Kentucky team that beat the Gamecocks and came within 3 of beating Auburn show up or will we see the team that got dismantled by Florida 48-14 and lost to Ole Miss. I expect this to either be a blow-out win by Georgia (not likely but in the 3 games they've won they've won by an avg of 39 points) or a game that comes down to who has the ball last (Georgia's 4 losses have come by an avg of 8 points). Derrick Locke will not play for Kentucky so it's up to Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb against Todd Grantham and the Georgia defense.
THE PICK: Georgia 38 Kentucky 31 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 Georgia Tech (5-2, 3-1) AT Clemson (3-2, 1-2) (3:30pm EST, ABC/ESPN) Georgia Tech has posted a 5-2 record by basically picking off teams that aren't very good (South Carolina State, Virginia, Wake Forest and Middle Tennessee are among their victims). That being said, Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech are very dangerous and this game is a critical game for both teams in the ACC. It's critical for Tech to win to have a shot at winning the Coastal with Virginia Tech and Miami coming up in the next two weeks and it's important for Clemson to win because they cannot afford another loss as FSU prepares to defend their spot on the top of the Atlantic division. This should be fun as it's a border-war and a must-win game for both teams. Expect to see a lot of offense. Georgia Tech has to be kicking themselves for losing to Kansas as they would be 6-1 and in the Top 20 if they had not have lost that game.
THE PICK: Georgia Tech 31 Clemson 27


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 #7 Michigan State (7-0, 3-0) AT Northwestern (5-1, 1-1) (12:00pm EST, ESPN) Michigan State is one of the pleasant surprises in college football this year. The play of the year might be the fake field goal to beat Notre Dame. The win over Wisconsin in Week 5 looks even bigger now that the Badgers have moved on to topple Ohio State. Northwestern has had two weeks to think about their 3 point loss to Purdue. I'm tempted to pick Northwestern but after looking at who they've beat I just can't bring myself to do it (Minnesota by 1, Central Michigan by 5, Vandy by 2, Rice and Illinois State). The Spartans move on and face Iowa next week in the huge Big 10 Showdown.
THE PICK: Michigan State 31 Northwestern 21

Pre-Season Preview: Kentucky Wildcats

2009 Record: 7-6 (3-5 in SEC)
2009 Bowl: Music City Bowl (lost to Clemson 21-13)
Final 2009 AP Ranking: N/A
Head Coach: Joker Phillips (First Year Head Coach)
Non-Conference Schedule: at Louisville (9/4), Western Kentucky (9/11), Akron (9/18), Charleston Southern (11/6)

2009 Offensive Statistics
Scoring: 26.1 points per game (8th in SEC)
Rushing Yards/Game: 191 (5th in SEC)
Passing Yards/Game: 140 (last in SEC, 114th in Nation)
Total Yards/Game: 331 (10th in SEC) 

2009 Defensive Statistics
Scoring: 22.7 points per game (7th in SEC)
Rushing Yards/Game: 182 (11th in SEC, 100th in Nation)
Passing Yards/Game: 177 (7th in SEC, 17th in Nation)
Total Yards/Game: 360 (8th in SEC)

2009 Misc Stats
Turnover Margin: +0.15 per game (7th in SEC)
Penalties: 38 yards per game (1st in SEC, 6th in Nation)

Returning Starters
Offense: 5
Defense: 7
Kicker/Punter: 1

Phil Steele All-SEC Pre-Season
RB Derrick Locke (First Team; Third Team as KR)
PR Randall Cobb (First Team; Second Team as WR)
OG Stuart Hines (Second Team)
DE DeQuin Evans (Third Team)
LB Danny Trevathan (Third Team)
P Ryan Tydlacka (Third Team)

Athlon Sports All-SEC Pre-Season
AP/PR Randall Cobb (First Team)
RB Derrick Locke (Third Team)
OG Stuart Hines (Third Team)
DE DeQuin Evans (Third Team) 

Top Returning Statistical Leaders
Passing: QB Mike Hartline, Sr (79 of 133 for 802 yds, 7 TD, 6 INT, 133 ypg)
Passing: QB Morgan Newton, Soph (75 of 135 for 706, 6 TD, 3 INT, 78 ypg, 2 rushing TDs)
Rushing: RB Derrick Locke, Sr (196 carries for 908 yds, 6 TD, 4.6 ypc, 75 ypg)
Receiving: WR Randall Cobb, Jr (39 rec, 447 yds, 4 TD, 3.3 rec/game, 573 yds rushing, 10 rushing TDs)
Tackles: LB Danny Trevathan, Jr (80)
Sacks: DE DeQuin Evans, Sr (6)
Interceptions: CB Randall Burden, Jr (2)

2010 Pre-Season Rankings
Athlon Sports: #51
Sporting News: #58

2010 Pre-Season SEC East Prediction:
Athlon Sports: #5
Phil Steele: #5

2010 Bowl Prediction
Athlon Sports: Papajohns.com Bowl (vs. West Virginia)
Phil Steele: Papajohns.com Bowl (vs. Cincinnati)

Rich Brooks retired from Kentucky last year after 4 consecutive winning seasons. This year it's up to First Year Head Coach Joker Phillips to keep the momentum moving. Kentucky has some really good skill position guys in Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke but the question will be if they have enough talent surrounding those guys to compete in the tough SEC East. We sought out the online home of the Big Blue Nation, A Sea of Blue, to see how they were feeling about Joker's inaugural season.


What are the major strengths and biggest weaknesses of the team?

Offensively, our strengths are athleticism, particularly in the form of Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb, and an improved wide receiver corps who may enable our passing game to be better than 114th in the land, like last year.

Our weaknesses offensively include a smaller and less experienced offensive line and lack of experienced depth at the running back position. Who will back up Derrick Locke is a real question mark at this point.

Defensively, our strength is the defensive backfield and defensive line. We have some good returning talent, if a bit young in both places.

Our weakness this year will likely be the linebacking corps, which is singularly young and lacks experienced depth. A lack of quality depth in general on defense is also a weakness.

Looking at the schedule who will be the first major test and why?

Believe it or not, at Louisville -- the first game of the season. With a new coach, better recruiting and the intensity of the rivalry, it will be a real challenge for Joker Phillips to get this win to start the season.

After that, our next big challenge will be at Florida. Florida loses Wildcat-killer Tebow, but they always just reload. Staying competitive in that game will be tough.

What team on the schedule do you fear the most?

This year, I suppose the Gators. They look like the best team in the East right now with Georgia close behind. UK has a history of getting hurt down in the Swamp, and injuries are things we can ill afford this season.

Who is the best player on your team that nobody talks about?

Junior Will linebacker Danny Travathan. Danny will anchor the linebacking corps this year, and he has improved every single year at UK. He is fast and a clean tackler who will make it hard on foes to throw across the middle or to the weak side.

Who is the best offensive player on the team?

A tie -- Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke were both multiple-threat players on both offense and special teams last year. They figure to be either at the head of UK's success or failure.

Who is the most impactful defensive player on the team?

I think this year it may well be DeQuin Evans. The senior JUCO transfer improved every game last year, and this year figures to be our best pass rusher on defense.

What player(s) needs to step up this year in order for the team to reach it's full capability?

Whoever winds up getting the nod at quarterback, be it Mike Hartline, Morgan Newton, or Ryan Mossakowski. If we don't improve our passing numbers this year, it could be the first year we miss a bowl in out of the last six.

Who is the top offensive newcomer that can make an impact this year?

Sam Simpson at center. Simpson was a highly sought-after in-state recruit who has the size to help anchor a position that has lately been very good for us. He will probably start out at backup, but he'll see lots of snaps, because centers tend to get beat up a lot.

Who is the top defensive newcomer that can make an impact this year?

I think maybe Patrick Ligon or Tristan Johnson at the defensive ends. They are backups, but they have shown a lot of promise in the spring, and UK badly needs to develop good depth on the d-line. If these guys can deliver in a backup role, UK will be a much better team for it.


Make sure you visit A Sea of Blue this year to keep up with Kentucky and SEC football. You can also follow them on twitter @Truzenzuzex.

Next Up: Ole Miss Rebels

2010 Previews
ACC- Maryland Terrapins
Big 12- Kansas State Wildcats, Missouri Tigers, Texas Tech Red Raiders
Big East- Cincinnati Bearcats, Pittsburgh Panthers, West Virginia Mountaineers
Big Ten- Michigan Wolverines, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Northwestern Wildcats, Purdue Boilermakers
Conference USA- Houston Cougars, Tulane Green Wave, UTEP Miners
MAC- Ball State Cardinals, Bowling Green Falcons, Buffalo Bulls, Temple Owls, Toledo Rockets
Mountain West- Utah Utes
Pac-10- Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, Washington Huskies
SEC- South Carolina Gamecocks
Sun Belt- Troy Trojans
WAC- New Mexico State Aggies