Predictions for every game of the 2020 Kentucky Wildcats football season
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2020 College Football Preview
The Lexington Herald-Leader’s 2020 College Football Preview special section was published in the print edition on Sunday, Aug. 30. Click below to view all the stories from that section that have been published on Kentucky.com.
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To understand the challenge facing Kentucky football against an all-Southeastern Conference schedule, one need only turn to the record books.
Since the SEC was formed in 1933, UK has played 86 football seasons (the Wildcats sat out the World War II season of 1943).
For Kentucky, those 86 seasons of SEC football have yielded:
▪ Sixty-three seasons with a losing record in league games.
▪ Fifteen years in which the Wildcats broke even against conference foes.
▪ Eight winning SEC seasons — and only one since 1977 (5-3 in 2018).
So if the SEC sticks with its plan to play an all-league, 10-game season amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mark Stoops and troops will achieve something rare if they compile a winning mark.
Can the Wildcats do it? Below are my game-by-game predictions:
Auburn
Sept. 26 at Auburn, Ala.
The hope: Auburn returns the second-fewest number (10) of starters in the SEC. Don’t forget, UK won its most-recent game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, 21-14 in 2009.
The nope: Tigers sophomore quarterback Bo Nix (2,542 yards passing, 57.6 percent completions as a true freshman) figures to take a substantial step upward in his second year as a starter — and will have his top three receivers back, too.
The scope: Kentucky 28, Auburn 26.
Mississippi
Oct. 3 at Kroger Field.
The hope: After dropping a 37-34 heartbreaker to Ole Miss in Lexington in 2017, UK will play like it owes the Rebels one.
The nope: New Mississippi head man Lane Kiffin has a creative offensive mind and inherits a promising young quarterback in dual-threat sophomore John Rhys Plumlee plus seven other returning offensive starters.
The scope: Kentucky 31, Mississippi 24.
Mississippi State
Oct. 10 at Kroger Field.
The hope: Kentucky has won its last two games vs. MSU in Lexington and the Bulldogs have only 11 starters back plus a new coach.
The nope: The first-year MSU head man, Mike Leach, will fill the air with footballs. In Stanford graduate transfer KJ Costello, the ex-UK assistant has a capable QB with whom to relaunch the Air Raid in the SEC.
The scope: Kentucky 34, Mississippi State 24.
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Tennessee
Oct. 17 at Knoxville, Tenn.
The hope: By some metrics, UK has become a better program than UT. Since 2006, Kentucky has played in nine bowls, Tennessee eight. Since 2008, the Wildcats have had six losing seasons; the Volunteers have had seven.
The nope: The head-to-head results between UK and UT do not reflect the other contrary indicators. The Vols have beaten the Cats in 33 of the past 35 meetings. This year, Jeremy Pruitt’s Rocky Toppers return more starters (17) than any team in the SEC.
The scope: Tennessee 18, Kentucky 17.
Georgia
Oct. 24 at Kroger Field.
The hope: The week before Kirby Smart’s Dawgs come to Lexington, they will face Alabama in what shapes up to be this year’s SEC regular-season Armageddon. So UK could be a “trap game” for Georgia.
The nope: Georgia returns only 11 starters from last season — but the Bulldogs’ past four recruiting classes have been ranked No. 1 (2020), No. 1 (2019), No. 1 (2018) and No. 3 (2017) in the country by Rivals. That level of talent buys a team a lot of “letdown insurance.”
The scope: Georgia 23, Kentucky 16.
Missouri
Oct. 31 at Columbia, Mo.
The hope: Kentucky has beaten Mizzou five years in a row, and catches the Tigers with a new head coach (Eli Drinkwitz), a new starting quarterback (likely to be TCU transfer Shawn Robinson Jr.) and only 11 returning starters.
The nope: After UK’s “Missouri miracle” two seasons ago — when the Cats rallied from 14-3 down in the final six minutes to stun the Tigers 15-14 after scoring the winning touchdown on an untimed down that followed a controversial pass interference call on Mizzou — this game will be a “holy war” for the home team.
The scope: Kentucky 21, Missouri 18.
Vanderbilt
Nov. 14 at Kroger Field.
The hope: Vanderbilt was projected to have 16 returning starters, including 11 on defense. But Derek Mason’s crew has lost leading tackler Dimitri Moore and three contributing offensive linemen who have opted out of playing due to the coronavirus. That will not make things any easier for Mason (27-47 in six years as Vandy head coach), who may be coaching for his job in 2020.
The nope: If former Kentucky backup quarterback Danny Clark wins the Vandy starting job, at least the Commodores figure to bring a highly motivated QB to Lexington.
The scope: Kentucky 35, Vanderbilt 17.
Alabama
Nov. 21 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The hope: The week before Kentucky travels to Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban and crew face defending national champion LSU. The week after Kentucky travels to Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide play hated rival Auburn. In theory, there’s no better spot on the schedule to play Bama.
The nope: Alabama returns only 12 starters from last season — but the Crimson Tide’s past past four recruiting classes have been ranked No. 3 (2020), No. 2 (2019), No. 7 (2018) and No. 1 (2016) in the country by Rivals. That level of talent buys a team a lot of “letdown insurance.”
The scope: Alabama 26, Kentucky 20.
Florida
Nov. 28 at Gainesville, Fla.
The hope: Kentucky has led Florida in the fourth quarter the past three years and beat the Gators for the first time since 1986 on its most recent visit to “The Swamp” in 2018.
The nope: In senior Kyle Trask, Florida has one of the most polished QBs in the SEC. Since Dan Mullen arrived in Gainesville, the Gators are 21-5 and should only be getting stronger.
The scope: Florida 24, Kentucky 21.
South Carolina
Dec. 5 at Kroger Field.
The hope: Kentucky has beaten South Carolina five of the past six games and three in a row in Lexington.
The nope: With UK facing Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks off back-to-back road games at Alabama and Florida, you have to wonder how much petrol the Wildcats will have left in the tank.
The scope: Kentucky 23, South Carolina 19.
Final Kentucky record: 6-4
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 7:31 AM.
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