Expectations for the upcoming football season

Oct 13, 2025
89
115
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What are yours? Does Kentucky improve immediately? Will it take a couple years? Is it even possible for Kentucky to be anything more than middle to bottom of the SEC? How's our incoming class (freshmen and transfers) looking vs the rest of the conference?
 

Goingfor9

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2003
16,280
3,144
113
We go bowling. ESPN has us 9th in the sec behind 8 UT and 7 Bama. Based on our roster, if we don’t go bowling, it’s gonna be a failure of year. I mean, we have a nice coaching staff in place we have players like we have never had. I think we need to have elevated expectations when clowns put up, we’re gonna win five games or four games. I don’t think they’ve been paying attention to what the coach has been doing. The immense success that he’s had.
 

UKfan2151

All-American
Oct 1, 2003
14,449
9,486
113
I'm not expecting major success in his first season here, but I do think we'll show improvement over where we've been the past couple of years. This season will be all about Stein putting his stamp on the program. By next season, I think we'll be a really dangerous team with a much improved record that will surprise some opponents. I think by season 3 he will have us in the playoffs and we'll probably remain a playoff capable team for the rest of his tenure here. Yes, I think Will Stein is that good and will take UK football to a level many think is impossible.
 

FilsonCat

All-Conference
Apr 5, 2007
3,459
4,189
113
Tough schedule and the SEC isn't ever easy. I am looking for the little things and how we play vs winning every game. Game preparation, the quality of play calling, and how we execute with the roster we have are big components of the lens to view this season. We'll have a good idea the direction the program is headed in after we get to see the team in game action. Well coached teams look well coached, even if it may not jump out at you in the win loss record at the end of the first season.
 

DudahUK

Heisman
Jul 23, 2020
7,079
11,251
113
We go bowling. ESPN has us 9th in the sec behind 8 UT and 7 Bama. Based on our roster, if we don’t go bowling, it’s gonna be a failure of year. I mean, we have a nice coaching staff in place we have players like we have never had. I think we need to have elevated expectations when clowns put up, we’re gonna win five games or four games. I don’t think they’ve been paying attention to what the coach has been doing. The immense success that he’s had.
You are an idiot. Notice only one talking head has us going to a bowl game? Our schedule is ridiculous. It’s not a failure at all of we don’t go bowling and lmao at the poster that said anything less than 7 wins is a failure. Y’all are too ignorant to respond to.
 

RedwoodHigh

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2025
824
1,187
93
(9) NINE SEC GAMES will make harder to have even a 6-6 record. Throw in Louisville game & 4 - 8 or 5-7 look reasonable.
The new 9 game SEC schedule is brutal & Ky got the short straw,
 
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TheBlueMist

All-American
Feb 5, 2004
2,097
5,070
113
Things I expect...
  • A rosier view of our football future after year 1 with Stein
  • Nice talent in town on visits
  • Good use of timeouts
  • Nice clock management
  • Being competitive
  • Win one or two we shouldn't
  • More passing yards than we are accustomed to seeing
  • A nauseating amount of talk about Stein the UL player during the UK v. UL game


Things I don't expect
  • A bowl game
  • Beating football bluebloods
  • 1990's Air Raid offense
 

Hush4872

Junior
Oct 9, 2025
113
255
63
My expectations for year one would just be to get the fan base excited and keep us engaged. Not setting an expected win total for this year. Though I think it's likely we hit the over 4.5.

It would also be nice to see the staff not make the same bewildering in-game mistakes Stoops was making his entire tenure, but there will probably be some snafus with a first year hc. Hopefully he learns from them and improves. I think he will.
 
Jul 2, 2025
288
885
93
I expect an offense that doesn't milk the clock every possession. 11 Wildcats on the field on a play. I expect our defense not to give up points in the last two minutes of a half every game. I expect to lose some games, I expect to win some games. I would like for us to upset some teams. I hope we don't get blown out in many games if any.
 
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Goingfor9

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2003
16,280
3,144
113
You are an idiot. Notice only one talking head has us going to a bowl game? Our schedule is ridiculous. It’s not a failure at all of we don’t go bowling and lmao at the poster that said anything less than 7 wins is a failure. Y’all are too ignorant to respond to.
Relax mouth breather. Go ahead lower expectations. Send us back to the bottom of the SEC. We have the best roster maybe we’ve had ever it’s a possibility. ESPN has a ninth in the SEC. Any team that’s top 10 in the SEC in this new SEC they’re gonna get a bid. I don’t know what you one person with has us going to a ball game I mean, nobody cares about Kentucky enough to project whether they will go to a ball game or not. I mean this football mentality has dragged our basketball program into this defeatist mentality. You called me an idiot.? for saying I think we’ll win six games and go to a ball game. These types are the same people that want Barney to stay and continue to stay and stay and stay and stay.. listen with our roster compared across all the SEC if we don’t go to a bowl game which is winning six games no one saying anything about seven. We don’t go to a ball game if we can’t win six games next year then yes it will be a failure.. why? Because Stein needs all the time that he can get with his new team.. going to even toilet bowl extend the season which means a little bit more money. It would be huge for recruiting.. I mean as evident that Stein can bring in big-time recruits having a game broadcast in late December. Our football program could really takeoff. But yeah as an individual season, I think we should have collective goals to make at least a bowl game. It’s not healthy for our fan base to call one another idiot especially for something positive like a little bit elevated expectations like seeing us go to a bowl game in steins first season. What the heck is wrong with some of these people. We should’ve fired Barney 15 years ago.. but I’m gonna tell you from reading wildcat lair posting there and being a member here since 2000 our football fans need to step it up a notch.

I was talking to my father-in-law last year and he’s a huge Kentucky football fan. He’s a Kentucky football fan before anything else.. and why? He says because he just likes to see us make good plays. Score a touchdown get a defensive stop.. turnover/ he likes those things. If we lose he doesn’t care too much as long as we have some great moments of excitement. He admitted what I’ve always believed a lot of Kentucky football fans to be.. It’s starting to contaminate the basketball program.. I mean back to Barney 15 years ago I was fighting with football fans over Barney. They thought he was some kind of God. Listen never made a new year six never made a playoff. I mean our highest ranking and best season we have to vacate..

Barney has managed to get our basketball fans specially the younger ones to accept sweet 16 seasons as success. And I mean, they are a success if every three years you’re getting to a final four. Every other year, making an elite 8. This is the Kentucky standard in basketball. Just attitude of calling idiot and lowering expectations is killing. Our basketball program. Football is always been on life-support. I even thought it was a stupid move to fire stoop at this point.. he’s competitive hell if we head beat Texas, he’d still be the coach. But Barney made a move another unilateral higher. And it’s possible he struck Gold possible. No one seen this guy coach. No one seen this guy run a program, but that’s why I say season will be a failure if we don’t make. A bowl game.. there’s too much talent on the team.
 
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DudahUK

Heisman
Jul 23, 2020
7,079
11,251
113
Relax mouth breather. Go ahead lower expectations. Send us back to the bottom of the SEC. We have the best roster maybe we’ve had ever it’s a possibility. ESPN has a ninth in the SEC. Any team that’s top 10 in the SEC in this new SEC they’re gonna get a bid. I don’t know what you one person with has us going to a ball game I mean, nobody cares about Kentucky enough to project whether they will go to a ball game or not. I mean this football mentality has dragged our basketball program into this defeatist mentality. You called me an idiot.? for saying I think we’ll win six games and go to a ball game. These types are the same people that want Barney to stay and continue to stay and stay and stay and stay.. listen with our roster compared across all the SEC if we don’t go to a bowl game which is winning six games no one saying anything about seven. We don’t go to a ball game if we can’t win six games next year then yes it will be a failure.. why? Because Stein needs all the time that he can get with his new team.. going to even toilet bowl extend the season which means a little bit more money. It would be huge for recruiting.. I mean as evident that Stein can bring in big-time recruits having a game broadcast in late December. Our football program could really takeoff. But yeah as an individual season, I think we should have collective goals to make at least a bowl game. It’s not healthy for our fan base to call one another idiot especially for something positive like a little bit elevated expectations like seeing us go to a bowl game in steins first season. What the heck is wrong with some of these people. We should’ve fired Barney 15 years ago.. but I’m gonna tell you from reading wildcat lair posting there and being a member here since 2000 our football fans need to step it up a notch.

I was talking to my father-in-law last year and he’s a huge Kentucky football fan. He’s a Kentucky football fan before anything else.. and why? He says because he just likes to see us make good plays. Score a touchdown get a defensive stop.. turnover/ he likes those things. If we lose he doesn’t care too much as long as we have some great moments of excitement. He admitted what I’ve always believed a lot of Kentucky football fans to be.. It’s starting to contaminate the basketball program.. I mean back to Barney 15 years ago I was fighting with football fans over Barney. They thought he was some kind of God. Listen never made a new year six never made a playoff. I mean our highest ranking and best season we have to vacate..

Barney has managed to get our basketball fans specially the younger ones to accept sweet 16 seasons as success. And I mean, they are a success if every three years you’re getting to a final four. Every other year, making an elite 8. This is the Kentucky standard in basketball. Just attitude of calling idiot and lowering expectations is killing. Our basketball program. Football is always been on life-support. I even thought it was a stupid move to fire stoop at this point.. he’s competitive hell if we head beat Texas, he’d still be the coach. But Barney made a move another unilateral higher. And it’s possible he struck Gold possible. No one seen this guy coach. No one seen this guy run a program, but that’s why I say season will be a failure if we don’t make. A bowl game.. there’s too much talent on the team.
lol. You tnink I’m going to read that novel? And mouth breather? Wow. Got me.
 
Jan 10, 2015
19,170
32,642
62
Man look...our basketball team has a better shot of making the elite 8 than our football team does of doing better than making a bowl
I guess we shall see this year. No one gave Indiana a shot 2 years ago and they made the playoffs. Then this past year they went out and made the playoffs again and won the whole damn thing. If IU can turn it around after being a doormat since anyone can remember why can't UK turn it around and at least start by making the playoffs...
 

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
4,103
7,293
113
I guess we shall see this year. No one gave Indiana a shot 2 years ago and they made the playoffs. Then this past year they went out and made the playoffs again and won the whole damn thing. If IU can turn it around after being a doormat since anyone can remember why can't UK turn it around and at least start by making the playoffs...
Dude lol.. Indiana? Stop it Bro
 

JDHoss

Heisman
Jan 1, 2003
16,544
40,207
113
We could be a much improved football team and still finish 4-8, so I'll say 4-8 to 6-6, with 6-6 exceeding my expectations. I do expect us to be far more organized in the game management department, and if Minchey can be a guy who makes the right decisions/throws to keep the chains moving, it will go a long way to getting us to 6-6. My biggest concern is that if Minchey goes down, we're sunk.
 

RedwoodHigh

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2025
824
1,187
93
I see 9-3 outside chance at 10-2
9 SEC games + loaded Louisville
Toughest KY schedule ever.
Let‘s just be glad that the Stoops brothers are gone & nobody’s talking about the KFB buyouts that will be costing the citizens of Ky $7million a year till 2031.
Ive watched BarnHeart since Oregon St. He sees himself as the ATHLETIC DICTATOR not the BASKETBALL DICTATOR. Ky has been the running for the Director’s Cup many years in the past 2 Decades. IM NOT A MB supporter. But Ky has been successful in many sports besides Men’s Basketball. From Olympic champs to Volleyball - things are very good.
 

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
4,103
7,293
113
Yes, the IU program that was absolute *** for decades.... You know the one that just won the whole damn thing in just 2 years with Cignetti as the head coach. I'm not going to argue with all night. I have high hopes for Stein and the football program.
I don't want to argue all night either. You are doing the same **** to Stein that everyone did to Pope. You are comparing our situation (more than once) to Indiana's historic football team. That fella is called UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. Some people here crapped all over Pope for S16 season even though we hadn't been there in more than 5 years and ge began with no players. You can't make it up lol