We are one week away from the start of the 2025 Kentucky football season. Finding optimism following a 4-8 season can be difficult, but the time to buy in is now. Run The Damn Ball is Back When Kentucky runs the ball for 200 yards per game, the Wildcats win at least seven games. Mark […]
We are one week away from the start of the 2025 Kentucky football season. Finding optimism following a 4-8 season can be difficult, but the time to buy in is now.
Run The Damn Ball is Back
When Kentucky runs the ball for 200 yards per game, the Wildcats win at least seven games. Mark Stoops has built a roster to do just that. They went to the transfer portal and beefed up the Big Blue Wall, and got a couple of proven workhorses in the backfield. Dante Dowdell is one of the best short-yardage backs in America, and Seth McGowan is bringing plenty of juice as a runner and a pass-catcher. A year after they only had one option, the Wildcats have two quality running backs, and they like what they’ve seen in the preseason from a third, Jason Patterson.
Bush Hamdan Might Have the Right Offense in Place
After going through five offensive coordinators in five seasons, Mark Stoops wanted continuity from his offensive play-caller. The question BBN asked: Is Bush Hamdan the right one? The offense was abysmal during his first season, but he did not arrive on campus until after the roster was built in the transfer portal. It’s hard to gauge how effective he can be as a play-caller, but a guy who’s smarter than most at this stuff, Cole Cubelic, believes the system will work with Hamdan.
“One, I’ve seen Bush make it work. Two, I’ve seen other guys run a very similar offense. This is all the App State-Boise State tree. What they’re doing at Missouri right now, would you say that it works? Yeah. It’s the same offense. It works,” Cubelic told KSR at SEC Media Days.
“So I’ve seen it work at a lot of places. It’s just you got to have a guy that knows how to operate it. It’s not a quarterback-difficult offense. It’s just knowing where to go with the ball and when. And it’s got to get past that first progression. If Zach Calzada can be comfortable with that, I think it’s an offense under Bush Hamdan that can go.”
Bet on the Kentucky Defense
Say what you want about Brad White, but the long-time Kentucky defensive coordinator has raised the floor for this unit. It’s unclear if they have the star power to reach previous heights, but they should not be a liability against SEC foes.
The same secondary that shut down the most prolific passing attack in the SEC last fall at Ole Miss is all back, and their talented underclassmen have more experience. There are questions about how well the linebackers can fit the run, but they have a big defensive line in front of them that actually has depth this fall.
Kentucky is Healthy
Kentucky lost so many players last spring that they couldn’t practice. They essentially lost two defensive tackles for the year, while their star played with a broken back. The other stars of the defense, D’Eryk Jackson and Maxwell Hairston, each missed a month of football. Brock Vandagriff and Chip Trayanum were supposed to be building blocks of the offense. The former retired after taking so many hits, while we didn’t really see the latter because of an injury he suffered in the preseason.
You cannot blame the entire 4-8 2024 campaign on injuries. That just sounds like an excuse. But we’re all smart enough to know that they spent most of the season playing with one arm tied behind their backs. There may be a few guys who missed some preseason practices because of a few minor bumps and bruises, but this team is ready to go.
The Kicker has a Big Leg
How do you replace the most accurate kicker in Kentucky football history? By bringing in a kicker who can knock ’em down from 60 yards out. Strength does not equal accuracy. If Jacob Kauwe can’t get it done, Zach Schreiner is a career 78.5% kicker that can split the uprights.
Kentucky Players Have Something to Prove
What this team lacks in star power, it makes up for with experienced veterans who have played a lot of college football. Most were overlooked as high school prospects, yet they persevered to star in the lower ranks. There is proven production on this roster by players with something to prove. The beasts of no nation have different stories, but they all share an ability to overcome adversity.
Mark Stoops is a Great Underdog
Mark Stoops didn’t take the easy street to success. He had to grind through hard times at Kentucky before the Wildcats finally broke through. Those teams were fueled by the haters and doubters. Once they “made it,” things got sideways. This year, Stoops has no shortage of doubters. He’s been backed into a corner and punched out of it before. It’s time to see him do it again in 2025.
Category: General Sports
