Spring practices are already in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it, which means you’ll have an early jump into the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time. in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you understand what to expect this coming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 college football trailer.
#75 – Kentucky Wildcats 3-8 SU; 6-4 ATS
Fargo’s Take Kentucky is coming off a 3-8 season in 2005 that was pretty impressive considering what the Wildcats went through. Injuries hurt the team throughout the season, especially on the defensive side of the ball, as Kentucky allowed 34.1 points per game, which was 107 in the country and the most allowed by the Wildcats since 2000. With a healthy team, Kentucky has a chance to be the most improved team in the SEC as the schedule is set up nicely in their favor. The Wildcats bring back 16 starters along with numerous players who got good experience a season ago. Head coach Rich Brooks is on the bench once again, but this could be his best team in his four years at the school, barring a repeat of the injury problem that occurred last year. A winning season is more than possible and that will probably be the only thing that will save Brooks from receiving the pink sheet at the end of the year.
Returning starters on offense – 9 High-powered offenses in Lexington have been a thing of the past the past two seasons, but 2006 could reverse that downward trend. Nine starters are back, including one of the best players in the conference most people have never heard of. Running back Rafael Little did it all for the Wildcats last year, leading the team in rushing and receiving while finishing fifth in the country in all-purpose yards. He’ll run behind one of the best offensive lines in the conference when Kentucky welcomes last season’s five starters. The biggest question marks are at quarterback and receiver, but things aren’t grim. Last year’s starting quarterback, Andre Woodson, will be pushed in the fall by sophomore Curtis Pulley, a talented running back who took most of the first-team snaps in the spring. The receiving staff is young and inexperienced, but it’s a very talented group that has the ability to make big plays with his speed.
Returning starters on defense – 7 The Wildcats allowed at least 43 points on five different occasions last season, including three of their last four games. Things will look up this year mainly because Kentucky is in good health and the recruiting woes that have plagued the program for a few years are returning to normal. The forward seven are solid as some key players are returning from injuries, namely senior defensive tackle Lamar Mills. Next to him on the line is sophomore Myron Pryor, who came out of the spring with the highest accolades of any defensive player. The secondary is led by cornerback Bo Smith, who was the Wildcats’ best defender in 2005, but it will be up to a lot of young players to bolster the passing defense. There are numerous playmakers on this side of the ball, and if Kentucky can avoid the injuries that devastated the unit last year, it has the ability to be one of the best defenses in the SEC. Young players are going to play an important role, so their maturation is needed from the beginning.
Schedule Like any SEC team, the schedule is tough due to the strength of the conference, but the Wildcats do get a few breaks along the way. They miss Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas from the SEC West, while three of their five games in the SEC East are at home (Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt). Overall, Kentucky has just five road games and while four of those are sure losses against Louisville, Florida, LSU and Tennessee, at least those games don’t take away from some home wins. Non-conference home games against Texas St., Central Michigan and La-Monroe are about as sure as it gets, so with a few rests coming their way, the Wildcats can come off the board with six wins. The key game is a road game at Mississippi St. that could be the difference between a losing season or one that makes them eligible to bowl.
You can bet on… Kentucky is 6-24 in its last 30 road games and will be tested early on against rival Louisville. The Wildcats played very hard against the Cardinals last season in a seven-point loss and it wouldn’t be surprising if they played them hard once again. Kentucky has posted ATS winning records in three of the last four years and this team has a chance to be better than all those editions before. The linemakers probably don’t give the Wildcats much credit early on (getting as many as four touchdowns against the Cardinals in Game 1), so that’s where the best value might lie. The conference opener at home against Mississippi could be a good spot if it gets points, as Kentucky went solid 4-1 against number one last season at home.
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