The Football Cats are Teetering on the Brink

[LonnyDemaree]

The talent level is stockpiling to the extent that Head Coach Mark Stoops and some of his staff recognize as being top-shelf talent. But the person and or persons that recognize it best because they spend more time with the athletes than anybody associated with the Wildcat football team are the strength and conditioning coaches. Those among the BBN that have serious doubts in that evaluation or the trust in that overall summary should check out the credentials of those experts.
Those experts in the persons of head strength coach Corey Edmond and top assistant Mark Hill worked together at Oklahoma University 2002 - ’03 where they developed thirteen All-Americans and sent twenty-eight players to the NFL draft. During that period the Sooners were National Championship contenders. Edmond has twenty-three years in the capacity of award winning strength and conditioning coach. Hill and Edmond played together at Chattanooga and coach together at Arizona University. Hill did some impressive things as the head strength and conditioning coach at Indiana University before coming to UK this year.
Edmond said people don’t understand the importance of working with someone with the same mindset and this is why he has managed to recruit Hill to work with him. “He was playing football in Germany when we first hooked up in 2000 at Oklahoma,” Edmond explained. “My job is becoming a lot easier when players see their teammates and realize they have to get to work if they want to compete. The talent level is as such in the stockpiling process. It’s now like a lawnmower that’s loaded with gas and you are pulling the cord in the attempt to get it started. And once you get it started it takes off almost in a self-propelling fashion.
Would you think there would ever be a position on the Cat football team that would discourage a player from coming to UK and to an Alabama, instead? “When they see a Chris Westry or Derrick Baity at cornerback they would choose to compete elsewhere,” Edmond said. “Those guys a REAL players on the hoof.” In addition coming in is four-star Jordan Griffin from Jonesboro, Georgia who blew up during the recruiting process and the Cats had to fight off Georgia among others. Also Davonte Robinson a Herald-Leader “Class of Commonwealth” honoree. Most recruiting smart minds feel if Robinson had attended camps instead of running track in the summer, he would have blown up to a possible 5-star player. D. J. Eliot described Robinson as a ‘Bauller’ (his spelling) meaning a heck of a player.
Let’s attach some descriptions to some of the Cats:

Downhill Thumper – Jordan Jones is a physical linebacker who attacks and plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

Run the Arc – Denzel Ware is an edge rusher that uses speed to run outside of an offensive tackle and then flattens his path to pursue the quarterback.

Dancing Bear – Regie Meant a huge defensive lineman with the agility of a ballerina.

Space Player – Ryan Timmons and Jeff Badet typically excels in open areas due to speed and athletic ability.

Oily Hips – True Sophomore Josh Allen has the ability to change directions quickly and efficiently.

High Motor Guy – Mike Edwards is a player who displays tireless effort and until the whistle on every snap
.
Bubble Butt – Offensive linemen George Asafo-Adjei and Jervontius “Bunchy” Stallings possess a powerful lower body that provides speed and explosion.

Sand in the Pants – Linebacker Kobie Walker has outstanding potential and toughness but is undersize in the lower-body.

Phone Booth – Offensive tackle Cole Mosier has below average feet that performs best in short areas.
These descriptions go on and on but these are a few of the 2016 additions of these Wildcats.

A Look at a Schedule Change?

Kentucky should take a look at canceling Louisville and look to create a home and home with Ohio State University. No I’m not crazy or on something. The Cats would be better served allowing their collection of Ohio players to compete with the Buckeye’s. This is an everything to gain and nothing to lose situation – display your product in the area you are prolifically recruiting in. Just some food for thought and spin it whichever way you want.

[Terry Blue]

I,ve been saying for years Lonny that at most play UL every 4 years as part of a regional rotation taking on all comers like OSU, W.Va and Notre Dame. I,m tired of helping UL build their program while doing nothing for ours. Playing the type programs of an OSU would be a win win for us

[Darrell KSR]

I,ve been saying for years Lonny that at most play UL every 4 years as part of a regional rotation taking on all comers like OSU, W.Va and Notre Dame. I,m tired of helping UL build their program while doing nothing for ours. Playing the type programs of an OSU would be a win win for us

Ditto. I wouldn't even play them that often, but anything to reduce the number of times we play them, I'm all for it. I think the time has passed where that would hurt Louisville, though. We blew it and propped them up until they made the ACC.

[Terry Blue]

Yeah we did our job for them so we can reduce the games. Won,t happen thougj, not politically correct

[kingcat]

U of L is the superior program at present. We need to make a case for ourselves first...but then again, I hate the series and doubt Petrino will ever lose to the Cats.

[Terry Blue]

He,s lost to us when he was at Arkansas
We could and probably should have beaten them last 2 years. Services say we re recruiting better. Can our coaching approach Petrino, we,ll see

[Darrell KSR]

Petrino is a heck of a coach. Miserable human being, but you want his quality on game day Saturdays.

[suncat05]

Beating Louisville in football has become the same "not gonna happen" event that playing Florida in football has become. We're not going to beat either. One we can't subdue even when we have a 3 TD lead on them, the other we haven't beaten in 29 years, and counting.
And people wonder why UK football fans are fed up? I don't wonder at all. I know a losing proposition when I see one.

[Terry Blue]

Comparing UL to Fla in football is like comparing Rosie O,Donnelly to Kate Upton. Justtater of a year or so till we beat Lil Bro

[suncat05]

Well, let me help jog your memory for you........Louisville beat Florida about 3-4 years ago in a bowl game, and these are still the same two football teams that we haven't beaten collectively now in a total of 34 years......,.29 years for Florida, 5 years for Louisville. Or is it 6 years since the last time we beat Louisville? It's been so long I can't keep track of all the mounting losses to them now. Honestly.
And based on what I saw out of Kentucky last season, we're not going to beat either one anytime soon. I just don't see it.
And let's not forget either that Florida has finally found a QB in Jake Del Rio, and a kicker in that Piniero kid they have now. We've had the two best opportunities that we've had in years to beat Florida and we still couldn't do it. I am having to agree with that damn Gator fan I heard at my daughter's orientation day in Gainesville when he said Kentucky hardly ever has a good football team, just go ahead and mark that game down as an automatic "W" for Florida. Because he was right. The only real weakness Florida has is their O-line, and those guys are still way better than our D-line at this point.
I admire your hopefulness TB, I just don't agree with based on the facts that are currently present before us.

[catmanjack]

While UL did beat Florida that Forida team was an average one at best, and yes I know they beat UK every year.
That was the perfect match up for UL as Florida could not throw the ball worth a crap.
Also any UL team that had Hurtt players should have an * by the win/loss record.

[Terry Blue]

I give credit to the few wins they,ve had over name teams but they come into those games fired up out of their minds and the top teams wish they were somewhere else or completely underestimate them

[suncat05]

But the final score still says Louisville beat Florida in a bowl game. That is what the historical summary will say. Doesn't matter whether Florida had the better team in that game, or not, the final score sums up the story.

[catmanjack]

Yes that is correct UL did win.

[kingcat]

We remain in denial when it comes to U of L's football program. It is a top twenty level program and except for a few down seasons, has been for a good while..

We are, and have been, chasing them whether we admit it or not. And that is a sickening reality.

[suncat05]

And why are we chasing them when they should be chasing us? Because a certain basketball centric Kentucky AD for days gone past had the opportunity to hire Howard Scnellenberger to coach our football team. No, he hired Bill Cuury instead because he didn't like Schnellenberger. And the rest is pretty much history. Except we did have a guy named Brooks who attempted to lay a good foundation for Kentucky football with none of the assistance that our current coach is getting.
Oh yeah, that guy Schnellenberger..........where did he end up going? Oh yeah, that's right, he went to.........LOUISVILLE..........and yeah, except for the Brooks tenure, we've been looking at Louisville's wagging tail ever since.

[uk-4-the-win]

heard this song and dance before ........ Stoops and cats need to show it.

[Darrell KSR]

We remain in denial when it comes to U of L's football program. It is a top level twenty program and except for a few down seasons, has been for a good while..

We are, and have been, chasing them whether we admit it or not. And that is a sickening reality.

OMG--I just typed 36 football teams out, with descriptions, and my Firefox "updated." The gist of my lengthy post was that I fully agree that many do not give Louisville the just due they are owed, but as much as you think people are in denial when it comes to UofL's football program, I think you're brainwashed into thinking they are a far better PROGRAM than they are. Top 20, my grandmother's underwear. They ain't touching that area.

Of course, historically, they aren't in the top 50 in victories, winning percentage, anything. So we're going to try to prove they are top 20, by recent success only, which is a pretty poor indicator of reliability. But just going from 96 years of football doesn't necessarily tell the story, either, in fairness to Louisville.

So I'm just going to go with what I see, in terms of success on the field, fan support, program viability (ability to withstand dips, changes, etc. on a long-term basis), etc. Subjective? Sure. But if you're going to identify them as a "top" program, unless you use numbers, it's always subjective. So here I go.

I'll do my best to recreate what I posted--from the SEC, I listed 10 teams that were no-brainer better PROGRAMS than Louisville's:

1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. LSU
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. Tennessee
7. Arkansas
8. Missouri
9. Texas A&M
10. South Carolina

You think Bobby Petrino wouldn't leap out of a flying airplane wearing only volleyball kneepads to join those schools, all things being equal? Tch, tch. (He'd do it for more in the SEC, too, but I'm sticking with no-brainerness).

I left out Ole Miss, and Miss. State, but those are probably 2 teams that are better football PROGRAMS than Louisville's as well. In the SEC, there are two football PROGRAMS that Louisville is better than--Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

From the B10:

10. Ohio State
11. Michigan State
12. Michigan
13. Nebraska
14. Wisconsin
15. Penn State
16. Northwestern
17. Maryland

Pac-12. I struggled to be "no-brainer" with this one, and I probably stopped short as a result.

18. Oregon
19. USC
20. Stanford
21. UCLA
22. Cal
23. Washington (15 Pac-10 championships)

Not including any Oregon States, any Arizonas, any Arizona States, any Colorados, etc. (Part of that is due to my lack of knowledge of the inner workings of those programs, I admit. So out of an abundance of caution, I'm leaving them out). I struggled, but left out Utah as well. Sue me.

Big 12

24. Oklahoma
25. Oklahoma State
26. Texas
27. Texas Tech
28. TCU
29. Baylor
30. West Virginia

ACC

31. Clemson
32. Florida State
33. Miami (hey, 5 national championships cannot be overlooked)
34. North Carolina-CH(eaters). I shouldn't list them because of their fraud, but I'm going strictly as a PROGRAM, and their nearly 57% winning percentage all time, more than 200 wins more than Louisville, their 31 bowl games, their 9 ACC titles, just puts them there.
35. Pitt
36. Virginia Tech

Oh, add

37. Notre Dame

That's relatively off the top of my head. You may quibble with something; fine. It's subjective. But I'd concede Louisville is a top 40 PROGRAM, and at times, a top 20 TEAM--and even better than that, at times. But they don't recruit at a top 20 level, they don't have fan support at a top 20 level, they don't have accomplishments at a top 20 level--they just aren't a top 20 team.

Have they achieved top 20 accomplishments, say, in the last 5-10 years? Yeah, I'd say that. I just found a "victories in the 2010's" list, and Louisville is tied for 20th (18th-19th-20th) with Missouri and Georgia, and one ahead of Notre Dame.

But calling them a top 20 PROGRAM is different, a slight of hand difference, and a mischaracterization of what a football PROGRAM entails.

That's not denial. I've always given the crappy Cardinals their due for their accomplishments. I can't stand Tom Jurich, but he's the best in the business at what he does; putting together a successful athletic program in less-than-ideal circumstances. His posturing Louisville to migrate to the ACC was pure genius. I don't think anybody else in the country could have done that. His hiring Bobby Petrino when the holier-than-thou programs turned their noses up at him showed a possible lack of moral fiber, but a great deal of athletic acumen.

That's my anti-Louisville rant for the day. Quibble away.

[kingcat]

I think Louisville is a top twenty level program. And I believe they have fielded much stronger teams than Miss St and Ole Miss over the last twenty or twenty five seasons. I miss-typed "Top level twenty" but corrected it.

They pass the look test as being on that level..the smell test is really subjective to Cat fans however when it concerns cardinal successes.

I think they are a stronger program than SC too overall since the John L. days.

There are probably thirty or thirty five top twenty level teams in division one. Of course, we are not one of them. And U of L has fielded much stronger teams than we have in their better years although they only lead the modern series 14/8.

They are 3/1 against the SEC in Bowl games since 1990 when they beat 'Bama in the Fiesta bowl. They have also appeared in two BCS bowls since 2006 and were victorious in both. Those were the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl.

Louisville attended a bowl each season from 1998 to 2006, and has a current streak of seven seasons with bowl appearances (2010–2016).

They have missed post season play only three times in the last 15 seasons. Have to disagree, I call that playing at a top twenty level.

Excuse me while I wash this lousy red off my dirty bird hands.

[Terry Blue]

UL has achieved much of their success playing in inferior conferences. USA, Whatever it is that UC is in and BE. ACC is a power 5 conference but still no SEC or even Big 10 or PAC 12. Better than us, yes, top 20 program over last 20 years, no

[Darrell KSR]

It's ok, Kingcat. You've swallowed some red koolaid. You can disagree, but there's no way they're top 20 PROGRAM, and it's not that close, as I indicated. They aren't with the Notre Dames of the world.

It's not fatal, fortunately. You'll get better.

[kingcat]

Just to be clear, I am talking about top twenty level of play only. Attendance, revenue, etc.. I am not taking into account.
Top twenty level of play over the last 15 to 20 seasons was what I wanted to infer. I may have done a poor job of that.

Much like like Boise St. which to me is a crystal clear top twenty level team overall, one could argue playing in Albertsons Stadium and against their conference foes prevents that consideration.

One difference, in their case rankings confirm their top twenty level status

[Darrell KSR]

I find it hard to call Louisville a better football program than Notre Dame, but the measure you chose would do that. You can play fun with numbers and make an argument that I find misleading even without regard to fan support and the many other things that flow into a program definition.

But that's why I was clear that although they weren't a top 20 PROGRAM (capitalized most of the time for obvious emphasis) they clearly were a top 20 team in many recent years. So we're closer than not, but I'm pretty picky about definitions. It would be like saying Team X is a better (basketball) program than Kentucky because they had more wins in Y year. Just doesn't work that way.

[catmanjack]

And they cheat, that's my denial screw UL as I said they cheated with Hurtt and Strong!

We remain in denial when it comes to U of L's football program. It is a top twenty level program and except for a few down seasons, has been for a good while..

We are, and have been, chasing them whether we admit it or not. And that is a sickening reality.

[Terry Blue]

I,D like to win this year but I,D like to win every game. I refuse to put too much emphasis on UL. If it came down to beating UL or beating Fla., I,D take beating Gators

[suncat05]

I,D like to win this year but I,D like to win every game. I refuse to put too much emphasis on UL. If it came down to beating UL or beating Fla., I,D take beating Gators

I 2nd that thought 100%!

[suncat05]

In the end winning a conference game carries a lot more weight than beating any non-confetence foe.

[dan_bgblue]

I 2nd that thought 100%!

And I will take beating the ugly orange above either one of those