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By: LONNY DEMAREE
At this time of the year every team is undefeated and mulling the possible scenarios that will make them a successful season.
Predictions for UK Wildcat success are over the board. Dating back to last season the SEC Network boys were picking from five wins, to a bowl game, to eight wins that blows the lid off the UK fan base. This season one of ESPN’s finest Kirk Herbstreit predicts UK to be a dark horse for the SEC East championship. There has to be a blueprint to getting past the five-win plateau. The Cats in each of the last two seasons have been one play away in crossing that threshold. So how do the Wildcats break that glass ceiling?
1) Not losing to teams they are favored to be and UK will find out very quickly where they stand when they face the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The early Vegas line has the Cats a seven-point favorite.
2) Boom Williams despite missing two games had 855- yards last season and must elevate that production on the ground to 1210-yards. The running game as a whole must up their numbers from 1855-yards to 2,665-yards. The running game produces good numbers but where those numbers have to be more meaningful is in the red-zone.
3) The Cats have a position on the offensive side of the ball this season that they haven’t had since 2007 when Jacob Tamme last wore Blue and white. C. J. Conrad must exponentially increase from 15 catches to no less than thirty.
4) Receiving yardage has to be elevated from 2513 to 3,590. How can this take place? A very impressive change in the wide receiver coach bring Lamar Thomas. A football three times as heavy than the normal weight of the ball. This puts more emphasis on catching the ball with the hands whereby keeping the ball away from the body.
5) The 2015 opposition running game ran the ball one-hundred times more than the Cats. They Cats have to run more plays.
6) Time of possession has to upgrade whereby having the minutes go from 29:17 per game to 32 minutes a game.
7) More production needed in the return game – 21.8 per kickoff return – 7.4 per punt return. What a novel idea to put one in the end zone on occasion.
8) Decreased the number of sacks.
9) What was the reason for the imbalance of scoring per quarter – first quarter 96 points, 63 second quarter – 66 third quarter – and 64 in the fourth quarter. Perhaps the opposition figured out UK’s offense very quickly. Again, consistency is the call of the day.
10) Bolster the defensive line depth with the use of Tymere Dubose, a player the staff is very high on. And making use of true freshman Kordell Looney, one of the true freshmen expected to play.
All of these ten-things mentioned will have to be on full display in the very first game against Southern Miss. This is a very good team with some offensive pieces on the offensive side of the football that can hurt you. They are a junior - senior laden team that will come into Commonwealth with upset on their mind. Southern Miss quarterback Nick Mullens threw for 4,476 yards last season and UK has a habit of making quarterbacks look good.
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