UK’s streak is over. Reasons to worry, reasons to chill.
Kentucky spent a summer stewing over a series of costly close losses the season before.
Games like the one-point loss to Florida at Kroger Field ate at them and motivated them through the off-season, tight end C.J. Conrad said several different ways before the start of this season.
“We used that to motivate us on a daily basis,” the senior said this summer of the loss to Florida. “Not just that, but the other games we should have won. “So we’re really, really motivated this year. … We’re really excited to prove we’re going to be a different team this year.”
Conrad and the Cats kept true to their word, ending a 31-game losing streak at The Swamp in September and starting their season with five straight victories.
They might not have the entire summer to dwell on what could’ve been at Texas A&M on Saturday night — how they could’ve become the first Kentucky team to start 6-0 since 1950 — but it’s likely the loss won’t sit well with Kentucky during its upcoming week off.
UK will have a bye week to wait before getting back on the field to face Vanderbilt at Kroger Field on Oct. 20.
Reasons to worry
Kentucky’s Cinderella-esque run to open this college football season has been great for program momentum. It’s brought national attention and a No. 13 ranking along with commitments and high interest from key recruits. Could one loss kill some of that?
▪ UK Athletics announced on Saturday morning that the SEC East showdown against Georgia already is a sellout, but will the crazy, boisterous crowds at Kroger Field dwindle with one loss on the road? Will fans turn their attention — and their ticket buying — to basketball?
▪ While this feels like a different team, there’s still a history of Mark Stoops teams starting strong and fizzling out down the stretch. Fans will have a chance to wring their hands and worry that this is still that kind of Kentucky program for an extra week.
Reasons to chill
▪ As mentioned above, Kentucky has a team of veterans on both sides of the ball and players like Conrad, Benny Snell, Josh Allen and Kash Daniel and others aren’t likely to allow things to get too comfortable in practice during the bye week.
Kentucky having so many vocal leaders who also are key playmakers has been a story of the season and it likely will continue to be even after a loss. In fact, the Cats might be even more motivated than before.
▪ Kentucky wasn’t just facing any defense, the Cats were facing the top rushing defense in the Southeastern Conference, which was holding opponents to 85 yards on the ground coming into this game. UK still has Benny Snell and A.J. Rose and can get things going again through them.
▪ Kentucky has had a stout defense all season, one of the top scoring defenses in the country. UK still has Allen, Daniel, Darius West, Derrick Baity, Jordan Jones and others.
▪ The Cats need just one more victory to become bowl eligible and there are still six games left in the regular season and some pretty big bowls left to play for.
▪ With just one loss, Kentucky is still very much in contention for the SEC East title with a favorable schedule the rest of the way where the Cats could be favored in all but one game.
The remaining UK opponents’ records are as follows Vanderbilt (3-3), Missouri (3-2), Georgia (6-0), Tennessee (2-3), Middle Tennessee (3-2) and Louisville (2-4).
This story was originally published October 6, 2018 at 10:38 PM.