Against my better judgment, it’s time once again to go out on a limb and look into the future. The upcoming college football season promises to be a unique and exciting one, with the numerous changes occurring in conference realignments, seemingly thousands of players in new uniforms, and the first 12-team playoff in history.
Predicting an entire slate of football games must be taken with a huge grain of salt. There are always injuries to key players, and surprise teams that will emerge during a long college football season, but we’re going to make this attempt anyway.
You can always look back at this particular column and snicker and poke fun at my picks. As always, be wary of relying on these prognostications when it comes to wagering any money on them. In late August, they merely represent a somewhat educated guess at best.
It is especially difficult to portend what the 2024 season may have in store for the Kentucky Wildcats, simply because the team’s offense is a relative unknown.
We won’t know just how effective new quarterback Brock Vandagriff will be until we see him in action, but there has been positive buzz about the Georgia transfer during the preseason. Despite his 5-star status coming out of high school, Vandagriff is still unproven at the
collegiate level, but his ceiling must be rather high, or Georgia would’ve never recruited him.
The new UK signal caller will have several targets who will help him immensely in the passing game, including speedy receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key. Both have a world of potential that has yet to be fully realized, but look for the pair to be integral pieces in the UK offensive scheme. Receivers Fred Farrier II, a transfer from UAB, along with North Texas transfer Ja’Mori Maclin, have received rave reviews this summer as well. A pair of tight ends, Josh Kattus and Jordan Dingle, also return.
Mystery surrounds the running game.
Just how well will the revamped offensive line perform? Secondly, how well will the new running backs play? An interesting name – and undoubtedly a difficult one to pronounce — to keep an eye on is North Carolina State transfer Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. Freshmen Jason Patterson and Jamarion Wilcox will also get snaps in the backfield. Ohio State transfer DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum was expected to be an impact running back, but he’s likely to miss the first two to four games after suffering a broken hand.
The more well-known commodity on the Kentucky roster is the defense, which should be the strength of the team. There are several standouts to watch on the defensive
side of the ball, including several who will likely be playing on Sundays in the future.
The player receiving the most notoriety is junior defensive tackle Deone Walker. The 6-foot-6, 345-pounder is primed for an All-American season. A pair of linebackers, senior JJ Weaver and Georgia transfer Jamon Dumas-Johnson, could be in line for All-SEC honors, along with junior cornerback Maxwell Hairston.
The special teams should also be a team strength, led by kick and punt returners Brown and Maclin, with both having the ability to break a return at any time, and senior placekicker Alex Raynor. Another kicker to keep an eye on is freshman Jacob Kauwe, who was reportedly nailing 60-yard field goals with relative ease in the preseason.
With all that said, let’s take a gander at how the season may or may not pan out over the next several months for the Kentucky Wildcats.
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The pigskin will be flying this evening in the opener for the Cats as they host Southern Mississippi at Kroger Field, which I still prefer to call Commonwealth Stadium. Like many of you, using corporate names for stadiums and arenas across the country is a turnoff. But I reckon if they’re willing to spend all of that money to get their
names in front of consumers, corporations such as Kroger will continue to do so.
But I digress.
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GOLDEN EAGLES IN REBUILD MODE — The kickoff to the UK season is always an exciting time, and it usually means a cupcake will be coming to Lexington to get things underway. Not sure I would call Southern Miss a cupcake, but the Cats are favored to win by 28 points, which seems like a lot of points to be giving up if you’re going to put your hard-earned cash on the line. Kentucky may just blow out the overmatched Golden Eagles, but keeping in mind all of the new offensive pieces still being a bit of a mystery, let’s say UK 34, USM 10.
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SEC OPENER ALWAYS A KEY GAME – The Cats should be amped up for this matchup at home on Sept. 7 against South Carolina, especially considering the Gamecocks have won two in a row in the series. It’s early to call a game a must-win, but this one is critical for the Cats.
They get it done but it won’t be easy.
PICK: UK 24, USC 17
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DAWGS TOO MUCH TO HANDLE – Talk about a monumental task. About the only positive aspect about facing the Georgia Bulldogs is that the Sept. 14 game will
be played in Lexington. Despite a 14-game losing streak to UGA and an ugly 51-13 loss in Athens last year, the Cats have kept it relatively close in some of the meetings at home. They lost 16-6 to the Dawgs two years ago, 14-3 in 2020, and 27-24 in 2016. The preseason No. 1 team will be too tough to knock off however, even though the game will be played in Commonwealth.
PICK: UGA 24, UK 13
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BEWARE OF THE BOBCATS – The Ohio Bobcats will charge into Lexington with nothing to lose and a lot to gain on Sept. 21. Ohio U. was 10-3 a year ago after defeating Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. UK coach Mark Stoops is 10-0 vs. MAC teams and that should improve to 11-0 when all is said and done.
PICK: UK 37, OU 13
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OLE MISS HAS HIGH HOPES – This game on Sept. 28 in Oxford could be the one that could get Kentucky into the top 25. If the Cats pull off an upset win against Ole Miss, the sixth-ranked team in the preseason polls, they would make a significant statement that they’re a team to be reckoned with. The optimistic side of me says they can do it, but the realistic side says it will again be close, but no cigar for the Blue and White.
PICK: UM 27, UK 20
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‘DORES CAN BE PESKY – UK found out what a pain Vanderbilt can be the last time the Commodores came to Lexington. Vandy went back to Nashville with a 24-21 win after a TD pass with 32 seconds left in the 2022 game. It was all Cats last year at Vanderbilt however (45-28) and this Oct. 12 contest, should be similar.
PICK: UK 41, VU 13
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SWAMP TIME FOR CATS – UK will be looking to make it three in a row in The Swamp, but the Gators should be primed and ready for revenge on Oct. 19. Not saying the Cats don’t have a chance, but it will be tough to knock off Florida in Gainesville again.
PICK: UF 24, UK 20
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TIGERS HAVE MANY UNKNOWNS – Auburn invades Commonwealth Stadium on Oct. 26, and the Tigers appear similar to the Cats, with a lot of new faces in new places.
PICK: UK 31, AU 20
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KNOXVILLE SPELLS PAIN FOR CATS – Neyland Stadium may as well be called a house of horrors for the Wildcats. Kentucky will head back there on Nov. 2 looking to
exorcise some demons, but handling the Volunteers’ explosive offense will be challenging, to say the least.
PICK: UT 38, UK 20
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NOT ENOUGH HORSES ON RACERS – The Cats get a bit of a schedule break on Nov. 16 when they host Murray State. The Racers last visited Lexington in 2018 and fell 48-16. Should be more of the same in this one.
OICK: UK 44, MSU 13
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‘HORNS LEGIT TITLE CONTENDERS – The first meeting between Kentucky and Texas since a 7-6 Longhorns victory in 1951 will be held on Nov. 23 in Austin. There will be a few more points put on the board in this one, and the Cats certainly have their work cut out if they want to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the entire college football season.
PICK: UT 27, UK 17
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L’S DOWN IN FINALE – Revenge will definitely be on the minds of the Louisville Cardinals when they travel 75 miles east to take on their bitter rivals on Nov. 30.
Says here they come up short again, and the Cats send them back to the Ville with their sixth consecutive loss to Kentucky.
PICK: UK 30, UL 24
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If these picks hold true, and we already know they won’t, Kentucky will finish the regular season with a 7-5 regular season record, a mark that will not please a lot of rabid UK football fans. They have a legitimate shot at going 8-4 or 9-3, but it will take a few breaks to go their way. Conversely, things could go the other way as well and a losing record could be the result, although fans certainly don’t want to hear that in the preseason.
The offense will need to click early and often under new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan, and the defense will have to live up to its promise. As is always the case, the Cats must also avoid any significant injuries to key personnel.
Whatever happens with the fortunes of Kentucky football this year, one prediction I know that will be right on the money is that the 2024 college football season will be unpredictable.
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“There won’t be a running attack in America that is challenged more in practice than this one. If they can figure out a way to consistently run the ball against Deone Walker and Company, they can run the ball against anyone, even when they know it’s coming.” – UK coach Mark Stoops
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“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” – Yogi Berra
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