Team: Kentucky Wildcats
WHERE: Sanford Stadium
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 19
2018 RECORD: (10-3, 5-3 in the SEC East)
RETURNING STARTERS: Offense - 4 (QB Terry Wilson, WR Lynn Bowden Jr., LG Logan Stenberg, C Drake Jackson); Defense - 4 (DT Calvin Taylor Jr., DT Quinton Bohanna, LB Kash Daniel, LB Jamar Watson); Special Teams – 1 (P Max Duffy)
KEY LOSSES: RB Benny Snell, LB Josh Allen.
NOTE TO KNOW: Australian punter Max Duffy punted for 44.8 yards per kick last year, the third-highest mark in Kentucky history.
2018 Summary
Kentucky rode the legs of Benny Snell and defensive prowess of All-American linebacker Josh Allen to post an impressive 10-3 record, capped off by a 27-24 win over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl.
The Wildcats vision of even bigger grander heading into its November showdown against Georgia, but came away on the short end of a 34-17 score.
Kentucky would fall to Tennessee the following week 24-7, but bounced back with easy victories over Middle Tennessee (34-23) and Louisville (56-10) before closing out the year with its bowl victory over the Nittany Lions.
2019 Overview
For a team coming off a 10-win season, this year’s Kentucky squad has its share of questions.
Head coach Mark Stoops has certainly upgraded the talent pool over the past few years, but the fact remains that the Wildcats return just four starters on each side of the ball – at some key positions.
Junior A.J. Rose, redshirt freshmen Chris Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke will be the main men in the backfield behind quarterback Terry Wilson, who completed 67 percent of his passes, but threw only 11 touchdown passes to go along with eight interceptions.
That said, with Benny Snell no longer in the mix at running back, it’s conceivable that Kentucky becomes a bit more pass happy than it was year. One newcomer to watch is redshirt freshman wide receiver Bryce Oliver who caught eight passes for 105 yards and touchdown in the annual Blue-White game this spring.
On defense, Kentucky returns four of its starting front seven from a season ago, but doesn’t return a single starter.
In fact, Cedric Dort is the only returning cornerback on the entire roster, which forced Stoops to dip into the junior college ranks to sign Brandin Echols and Quandre Mosely to help fill in some of the voids.
From a schedule standpoint, the Wildcats have a chance to grab some quick momentum with a home game Sept. 14 against Florida, before back-to-back road games at Mississippi State and South Carolina.
Will Georgia be favored, an underdog or is the game a tossup?
The game’s in Athens, and based on what we saw last year in Lexington when Kentucky had Snell and Allen, it’s difficult to imagine Kentucky having any better success playing at Georgia without the talented pair.
Kentucky is an improving program, no question about that. But right now, the talent level between the two programs just isn’t close enough where the Bulldogs should have much trouble winning what will be the team’s final game before taking on Florida in Jacksonville.
Three questions with Justin Rowoland of CatsIllustrated
UGASports: Been really impressed with what Coach Stoops has done after winning 10 games last year. What must happen for the Wildcats to keep the momentum?
Rowland: "There's no consensus on what Kentucky is going to do on the field this fall. On the one hand, aside from the game against Georgia, the schedule is manageable by SEC standards. They should go 4-0 non-conference and you figure Arkansas and Vanderbilt should be wins. They have beaten South Carolina five years in a row and Missouri four years in a row.
"Also, this is a team that actually returns a lot of contributors on both sides of the ball, from most of the offensive line and quarterback Terry Wilson to a deep rotation on the defensive line. On the other hand, most of the "stars" of last season are gone, including Benny Snell, Josh Allen, a senior-laden secondary and the right side of that o-line.
"One of my questions is whether Kentucky has enough star power to win those 50/50 games they are likely to have against South Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, etc. Lynn Bowden can be a guy like that.The strength of this year's team will be in the trenches on both sides of the ball and that's a great place to start in the SEC.Wilson has to improve at quarterback. He was a solid game manager last year but has to improve his deep ball accuracy, pocket presence and reads, because the offense will have to score more with so many stars on defense gone."
Where is Terry Wilson at with his development and what does he need to do to improve?
Rowland: "Last year Wilson was actually very accurate on short-range throws and pretty accurate in the intermediate game. At times, he was very dangerous with his legs. Kentucky doesn't win the Swamp without him. In that game he avoided about three sure sacks and moved the chains each time to extend drives and wear the Gators down, throwing two beautiful deep touchdown passes as well. Later in the season Wilson was improved. He was efficient in the comeback against Missouri, electric against a bad Louisville team, and outdueled Penn State's Trace McSorley.
"Actually, his passer rating was better than McSorley's for most of the season. That would shock most people.However, his deep ball accuracy has left a lot to be desired. It was simply errant most of last year, although the outside receivers rarely went up and made a play. Early in the season he was plagued by costly turnovers and I think that caused him to pull back and play a little too conservatively at times. It took most of the year to get beyond that. As defenses realized he was limited as a downfield passer they took away his running lanes.Wilson was playing somewhat hurt last season but I think overall we were just talking about a player who had a pretty predictable course in his first season in the SEC. He was inexperienced but burst onto the scene early thanks to his athleticism. He struggled in the middle of the year as defenses adjusted. Then he countered with his own improvement at the end.
"I don't think there's a big reason to be concerned about Wilson. He is not the worst quarterback in the conference as some pundits have suggested. The passing game has been a problem at Kentucky for a decade. It's not a Terry Wilson issue.The good news for Wilson and Kentucky is Bowden is the best offensive play maker the program has had since Randall Cobb. During much of the Mark Stoops era, Kentucky has struggled to generate chunk plays. With Bowden, Wilson's athleticism and improved experience, and a more explosive back in AJ Rose replacing Benny Snell, there should be a more explosive offense."
What will Kentucky's biggest strengths be this year and where do they need to improve?
Rowland: "The running game should again be a strength. Snell was the all-time leading rusher for the program but there was some give and take with him on the field. He moved the pile and dragged everyone past the chains when it counted, and that helped Kentucky win a lot of games, but because he was a grinder with limited speed and little ability as a receiver, the offense was often plodding. AJ Rose was actually just as efficient as a runner, compared to Snell, when he was in the game last year. If you haven't heard of Kavosiey Smoke you might want to file his name away. He redshirted as a freshman last year and is a running back from Wetumpka, Ala. Those around the program believe he can be a star. He's big, physical and has better breakaway speed than Snell.
"While the o-line has to replace George Asafo-Adjei and Bunchy Stallings, they return three quality tackles, one of the SEC's best guards in Logan Stenberg (who they love to run behind), and Drake Jackson, who may be the league's best center.And for the first time in a very, very long time, the defensive line figures to be a strength. They go a very strong two-deep at the nose, that all-important position in the 3-4 with budding star Quinton Bohanna and Marquan McCall, who was once rated the top-ranked prospect in Michigan.
"Senior end Calvin Taylor, all 6-9 of him, had about 17 quarterback hurries in the first half of last season. Senior TJ Carter has ample experience. Kordell Looney, Phil Hoskins and others are productive players and this unit can conceivably go three-deep. UK has rarely had that luxury. There are also three very good reliable inside linebackers in Kash Daniel, DeAndre Square and Chris Oats.Kentucky is not as settled on the edges and in the secondary on defense thanks to the loss of Allen and most of the secondary. There's really nowhere for the pass defense ranking to go but down and there is definitely a question about the quality and quantity of cornerback talent. UK has had several guys in the 6'3 to 6'4 range there in recent years and that's no longer the case. Last year the pass rush was a strength because of Allen.
"This year, the question is whether the defensive line, which schematically has not been asked to get after the quarterback a lot, can shoulder more of the burden of generating pressure as the back seven finds its footing.Offensively Wilson has to go from game manager to more of a game breaker. He was that at times, but not enough. And part of that is Kentucky's outside receivers have to improve quite a bit. Bowden is a truly great slot and all-purpose weapon but the other receivers have a lot to prove."
