Who should UK want for its SEC-only slate? Ranking the league from first to worst.
Southeastern Conference football had made its COVID choice. One for all and all for one. No outside guests allowed. League games only. There will be 10 of them. If the virus allows.
As of now, there are eight conference opponents on Kentucky’s 2020 schedule. Perhaps the SEC will rip up the template, a la the Atlantic Coast Conference. Instead, the guess here is it will add two more league foes for each member. Since the league says it is sticking with divisions, Kentucky will add two additional West foes to Mississippi State and Auburn.
With that in mind, let’s rank the 14 SEC teams for 2020. First to worst. And for good measure, we’ll add a Kentucky angle.
1. Alabama — Nick Saban has the materials for another successful rebuild. So put the Tide on top. Kentucky last played Alabama in 2016. Alabama won 34-6 in Tuscaloosa. That was Bama’s 37th in the series. Kentucky has won two. The first was in 1922. The second was in 1997.
2. Georgia — The rich get richer. Quarterback Jake Fromm defects to the NFL. No problem. Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman hops on board. Then Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels follows suit. UK has dropped 10 straight to the Bulldogs. Combined score of last three: Bulldogs 97, Wildcats 30.
3. Florida — Coming off an 11-2 season, the Gators are a popular East pick to unseat Georgia. Just not my pick. Kentucky won 27-16 in Gainesville two years ago. It led Florida 21-10 at home last year before losing 29-21.
4. LSU — The defending national champions must replace Joe Burrow, but Ed Orgeron lives to prove the critics crazy. Kentucky hasn’t played LSU since a 41-3 loss in 2014. It hasn’t played the Tigers in Lexington since the epic 43-37 overtime win over Les Miles’ No. 1-ranked team in 2007.
5. Texas A&M — Phil Steele’s surprise team for 2020. Jimbo Fisher has recruited so well he has been sanctioned by the NCAA. Since joining the SEC in 2012, A&M has played UK just once, the 20-14 overtime win in 2018.
6. Auburn — Gus Malzahn returns just 10 starters, but one is quarterback Bo Nix. The original schedule has UK at Auburn on Oct. 3. Its last visit was memorable. Rich Brooks’ team won 21-14. It last played the Tigers in 2015, losing 30-27 at home.
7. Kentucky — National pundits haven’t seemed to notice Mark Stoops has 15 starters returning. This is his eighth season in Lexington. That’s a plus considering the unusual conditions for 2020.
8. Tennessee — Jeremy Pruitt was left for dead after the Vols lost to Georgia Southern in its 2019 opener. He’s very much alive. UT finished with five straight wins. Pruitt is 2-0 against UK, including a 17-13 win in Lexington last year.
9. South Carolina — Always a year away from being a year away, the Gamecocks slipped to 4-8 last season. That includes a win over Georgia. And it snapped a five-game losing streak to Stoops. It hasn’t won in Lexington since 2012.
10. Mississippi — Lane Kiffin returns to the SEC. He inherits eight offensive starters, but defense has been the Rebels’ downfall. UK lost a 37-34 thriller to Ole Miss in 2017. It hasn’t played in Oxford since a 42-35 loss in 2010.
11. Mississippi State — Can Mike Leach succeed in Starkville? Color me skeptical. Stanford import K.J. Costello helps the quarterback cause. Just 1-8 vs. Dan Mullen at MSU, UK was 1-1 vs. Joe Moorhead, now offensive coordinator at Oregon.
12. Missouri — Eli Drinkwitz is Mizzou’s new coach. His challenge is daunting. The Tigers have lost five straight to Kentucky. And being a first-year head coach in this crazy 2020 is not a plus.
13. Vanderbilt — Derek Mason’s tenure regressed in 2020. The Commodores finished 3-9. They’re looking to rebound. Stoops has beaten the ‘Dores four straight and five of the last six.
14. Arkansas — Sam Pittman is 2020’s best unknown hire. But the Razorbacks need players. Plenty of players. UK defeated visiting Arkansas 24-20 last year. It hasn’t visited Fayetteville since a 2012 weather-shortened 49-7 loss.
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 8:21 AM.
