UK football notebook: 2009 schedule has one tough stretch run

UK's 2009 schedule ends with 11 straight games

Chip Cosby / Herald-Leader Staff Writer

Spring practice schedule
Practices are open to media and fans. Practices held at the Nutter Training Facility unless noted otherwise. Practices might be moved indoors to Nutter Field House in case of bad weather.
Here are the dates and times:
Wednesday: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Friday: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Saturday: 2 to 4:30 p.m. (tentative)
Monday, April 6: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Wednesday, April 8: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Friday, April 10: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Saturday, April 11: time, location TBA
Monday, April 13: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Wednesday, April 15: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Friday, April 17: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Saturday, April 18: time, location TBA
Monday, April 20: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Wednesday, April 22: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Friday, April 24: 9 to 11:20 a.m.
Saturday, April 25: Blue/White Spring Game, 1:30 p.m., Commonwealth Stadium
2009 UK schedule
Sept. 5 vs. Miami (Ohio) (in Cincinnati)
Sept. 19 vs. Louisville
Sept. 26 vs. Florida
Oct. 3 vs. Alabama
Oct. 10 at South Carolina
Oct. 17 at Auburn
Oct. 24 vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Oct. 31 vs. Mississippi State
Nov. 7 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Nov. 14 at Vanderbilt
Nov. 21 at Georgia
Nov. 28 vs. Tennessee

The University of Kentucky 2009 football schedule was finally completed this week, and it will have a drastically different look from the past couple of seasons.

First off, the Wildcats will open a season outside the state of Kentucky for the first time since 1982 when they face Miami University at Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium. The Cats will take the next week off before hosting Louisville on Sept. 19 and then will play 11 straight weeks to close the season. UK did manage to spread out its non-conference games, as they will play two non-SEC teams during the last half of its schedule.

Like last year, much of the non-conference portion of the schedule seems built for success: The combined 2008 record of Miami, Louisville and Louisiana-Monroe was 11-25. The Cats will replace Arkansas with Auburn as its rotating SEC West opponent.

Here's a quick look at the 12 teams on the Wildcats' schedule next fall, with the 2008 won-loss record in parenthesis.

Miami (Ohio) (2-10): The Red Hawks are breaking in a new coach, former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood. On paper, Haywood appears to have a tough row to hoe to get a program back on track after it lost 27 of 37 games over a three-year period. Miami also has to replace a pair of All-MAC linebackers in Joey Hudson and Clayton Mullins. The quarterback battle should be interesting, as incumbent Daniel Raudabaugh will try to fight off freshman Austin Boucher, who turned down a late offer from Ohio State to sign with Haywood.

Louisville (5-7): This figures to be a make-or-break year for U of L Coach Steve Kragthorpe. The first order of business for the Cards is to get the quarterback situation figured out. Junior college transfer Adam Froman and Lexington Catholic grad and N.C. State transfer Justin Burke figure to get first dibs. Louisville has some nice skill-position talent returning in running back Victor Anderson and receiver Scott Long, but the Cardinals will need to revamp their defense after losing coordinator Ron English, who took the head coaching job at Eastern Michigan.

Florida (13-1): The Gators return a good chunk of their roster from last year's national championship squad and will be gunning for a third title in four seasons. It's always about quarterback Tim Tebow, but Urban Meyer will need to find capable replacements for receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. The defense should be scary, with all 11 starters set to return, led by All-America linebacker Brandon Spikes.

Alabama (12-2): The Tide lost three important offensive anchors in quarterback John Parker Wilson, tailback Glen Coffee and left tackle Andre Smith. But Nick Saban still has plenty of pro prospects left in Tuscaloosa, including receiver Julio Jones, linebacker Rolando McClain and nose guard Terrence Cody.

South Carolina (7-6): Fans in Columbia have started to grow impatient waiting for Steve Spurrier to break through in the SEC East. Spurrier seems to have settled on sophomore-to-be Stephen Garcia as his quarterback, at least for now. Linebacker Eric Norwood should contend for national honors. Perhaps the biggest task for Spurrier this spring will be breaking in five new assistant coaches.

Auburn (5-7): New coach Gene Chizik will try to silence critics who questioned his hiring. Working in Chizik's favor is offensive coordinator Guz Malzahn, who brings his high-octane offense over from Tulsa. The Tigers spent much of last year flip-flopping between Kodi Burns and Chris Todd at quarterback; Chizik will need to settle on one guy. The defense should be its usual stout self led by lineman Antonio Coleman.

Louisiana-Monroe (4-8): The Warhawks won't be intimidated by coming into Commonwealth Stadium. ULM lost a narrow 42-40 decision at UK in 2006 and made road trips to Arkansas, Auburn and Ole Miss last year. The Warhawks' best player is senior linebacker Cardia Jackson, who was named to the Lombardi Award Watch List for 2009.