UK was supposed to play its first game this week. What might it have looked like?
“Behind a lights-out performance from Terry Wilson in his first game in nearly a year, the University of Kentucky pummeled Eastern Michigan, 42-14 in its 2020 season opener at Kroger Field.
“Wilson looked spry in his return from a torn patellar tendon, suffered last season during the Wildcats’ matchup with these same Eagles after a horse-collar tackle brought him to his knees. He scored twice on the ground and just edged running back A.J. Rose — 113 yards to 108 — to lead the Cats in rushing, and threw for 228 yards and a touchdown on 19-of-24 passing without an interception in UK’s lone tune-up before Southeastern Conference play begins at Florida next Saturday.”
The particulars would no doubt have been different, but that’s the kind of story lede you should have been reading this weekend. Instead, UK won’t start its football season for three more weeks, and that’s if COVID-19 doesn’t force it or its actual first opponent, Auburn, to postpone those plans.
What’s nice, at least, is this year’s Kentucky team is comprised predominantly of parts that were key to the Wildcats’ 8-5 season last year, and those parts will be supplemented by an entire group of 2019 freshmen who redshirted as well as a 2020 group of newcomers who are projected to make immediate contributions.
There’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to this squad. We won’t know what it will be fully capable of until the games get underway, but that won’t stop us from trying to guess some of the things we should learn about this edition of the Wildcats once play begins.
Go-to targets
By far the group with the most to prove this year, Kentucky’s receivers bring back a grand total of 48 receptions in 2020, 23 of those accumulated by Josh Ali. Of course, they were handcuffed by the run-dominant offense last season.
Bryce Oliver has made big plays in practices this fall but the staff craves consistency from him. He is one of only three returning receivers — Ali and Clevan Thomas are the others — to record a touchdown reception in 2019. That trio, in addition to Allen Dailey, will vie for the bulk of snaps.
Ali, on paper, jumps out as the most likely to put together a standout season after ending last season on a high note. He’s taken on a greater leadership role in the locker room and will look to lead further with his play.
“I’m always going to lead by example, but I’m starting to be more vocal,” Ali said recently. “the guys are listening to me, and I’m not the type to just tell everyone what to do. I’m the type to come together and let them tell me what they think is best and we come together in agreement.”
With whom Wilson — himself a huge subject of interest in game one — develops the most rapport will be something we learn fast.
Newcomers’ impact
It’s sounding like this year will be much different than last when it comes to contributions made by new additions to the roster.
UK in 2019 redshirted its entire freshman signing class, playing none of its members more than four games (the maximum allowed by the NCAA without burning a year of eligibility). Even when those players got onto the field, it often only was in late-game situations where outcomes were decided.
Fresh legs will be deployed often in 2020 given the roster fluctuations that could occur week to week depending on the results of COVID-19 testing, as well as the bruises an all-SEC schedule could yield compared to one padded with lesser foes. Even if this were a completely normal season, though, several new faces were likely to see action.
This is certainly a case, too, where opening at Auburn will reveal more about where the much-ballyhooed freshmen really are than opening against a Mid-American Conference opponent would have. Only one true freshman, Taj Dodson, took snaps against Florida, UK’s first SEC game, last year (it was also the final game in which he appeared last season), and that was with two warm-up games under his belt. If, say, Vito Tisdale or Mike Drennen sees significant action against the Tigers, one can reasonably assume that they’re far enough along in their development to be counted on over the course of a trying season.
Value of continuity
Kentucky under Stoops is 5-2 in season openers, and all of those games were against non-Power Five opponents.
UK has covered the betting spread in a season opener under Stoops only twice: in 2014, when it defeated FCS foe Tennessee Martin, 59-14, as a 21.5-point favorite, and last season, when it barely covered against Toledo (38-24 win, 13.5-point opening line favorite).
It makes sense that Kentucky, and many teams, would have a hard time meeting Vegas’ expectations right out of the gate, if only because college football can be a fickle sport and something like an untimely turnover could swing a bettor’s day.
This group, though, is the most knowable Stoops has had. The majority of its personnel has played prime minutes of big-boy football and should be positioned for a stronger burst out of the gate than in recent years. Had it opened against Eastern Michigan as scheduled, it’s hard to think the MAC visitors would have had a prayer to win, and UK likely would have covered the spread, to boot.
The gambling element could be dicier against an SEC opponent like Auburn, but the continuity from last year to this one should still provide a similar lift in game one, especially in the trenches; Kentucky has most of its starting offensive line back while the Tigers are replacing their entire front five plus two defensive tackles who were selected high in the most recent NFL Draft.
How much value those existing parts have after a couple seasons of conditioning? We’ll find out soon enough.
2020 UK football schedule
Home games in all capital letters. Additional kickoff times and TV details to be announced later.
Sept. 26: At Auburn, noon (SEC Network)
Oct. 3: MISSISSIPPI, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Oct. 10: MISSISSIPPI STATE
Oct. 17: At Tennessee
Oct. 24: GEORGIA
Oct. 31: At Missouri, Noon (SEC Network)
Nov. 14: VANDERBILT
Nov. 21: At Alabama
Nov. 28: At Florida
Dec. 5: SOUTH CAROLINA
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 7:40 AM.
