ESPN "Experts" Already Downplaying UK... [Archive] - Kentucky Sports Forum

jammin' jamey

10-13-2007, 10:26 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3062421

ESPN.com's Chris Low gives us his instant analysis: The wildest race in all of college football this season just might be in the SEC's Eastern Division. How do you pick a favorite at this point with Kentucky upsetting No. 1-ranked LSU tonight? Florida travels to Lexington next weekend in what should be another classic. The Gators, as talented as they are, can't afford a third SEC loss and expect to stay in the race. South Carolina and Tennessee each have just one SEC loss, and they square off in two weeks in Knoxville. There's also the Florida-South Carolina matchup on Nov. 10 in Columbia, and Kentucky and Tennessee meet in the Nov. 24 finale in Lexington. So stay tuned. It's almost a given that the East winner will have two losses this season with it coming down to the tiebreaker.

(He's already giving it to Florida, picking them to beat UK next week and the Cats to fallout of the race due to a tiebreaker!!! Here's more of his "expert" analysis...)

The Tigers (LSU), who are as talented as any team in the country, would probably need some help at this point to claw back into the national championship race. But if they win out -- and gain some pop with a second win over Florida in the SEC championship game -- who knows?

jammin' jamey

10-13-2007, 10:33 PM

http://www.kentucky.com/295/story/202281.html

"In terms of the oddsmakers, ours wasn't as big of an upset as an Appalachian State beating Michigan or Stanford beating USC," Rich Brooks said. "I just like to think that we've got a good football team and if we play well enough, we can beat any team in the nation. "All I know is we're trying to get in the SEC race and be a factor in the championship, and we made a significant step in that direction tonight. Those people who didn't think we're a real contender, maybe that changed tonight."

The media will not give Kentucky respect. The Wildcats have to "take it". As of right now, I'd say most "experts" still think that South Florida is the best story in college football this season - give me a break!

vundy33

10-13-2007, 10:39 PM

GO CATS!!! C-A-T-S CATS! CATS CATS!!! I picked this...I have all the faith in the world in my cats!!

FreakNasty

10-13-2007, 10:43 PM

vundy33

10-13-2007, 10:46 PM

I had them going 9-3 with wins over Kent State, EKU, Louisville, South Carolina, Flordia, Miss St, Vandy, Georgia, and Tennessee. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong and we'll have a BETTER record!!

jammin' jamey

10-13-2007, 10:53 PM

I agree with the winner of the SEC East having two conference losses....

UK still has holes (rushing defense the biggest), but they are deserving of their record so far.... I had them winning 5 in preseason, and have no problem in saying I was wrong....

Anyone that doesn't give UK credit for beating LSU is a fool IMO...

I agree that the SEC East winner will be have 2 losses. I think UK will take care of Florida, only if their rushing defense handles Tebow. The upcoming road game Georgia could be tougher than what people expect as well.

FreakNasty

10-13-2007, 11:10 PM

I agree that the SEC East winner will be have 2 losses. I think UK will take care of Florida, only if their rushing defense handles Tebow. The upcoming road game Georgia could be tougher than what people expect as well.

I disagree about Florida.... I think it's UK's toughest remaining test because of Tebow and his running ability... and like you said, Georgia is tough, I really like the Moreno kid they have.... and Tennessee has been much better since that embrassing loss at Florida... and Vandy is not a slouch....

Long way to go, but UK certainly has a legit shot in the SEC EAST, and if it not for a couple mistakes in Columbia would be in the top 3 in the country...

OffTheHook

10-13-2007, 11:17 PM

I agree that the SEC East winner will be have 2 losses. I think UK will take care of Florida, only if their rushing defense handles Tebow. The upcoming road game Georgia could be tougher than what people expect as well.

I agree with ya Jamey. Cause LSU's QB gave us heck coming out of the back field all freakin day. **** I think he picked up 3 or 4, 3rd and looongs with his feet. You know Tebow is a lot better than he.

GRIZZ

10-14-2007, 12:32 AM

I agree with ya Jamey. Cause LSU's QB gave us heck coming out of the back field all freakin day. **** I think he picked up 3 or 4, 3rd and looongs with his feet. You know Tebow is a lot better than he.

Tebow likes to run it up the gut, you very rarely see him break it off the tackle. Our rush defense for the most part up the middle has been pretty stout. I just hope we can correct our poor tackling behind the line of scrimmage. We let too many 5 to 6 yard losses turn into positive yards. Shoot, hang on, grab cloth, balls, ankles, just something until help gets there.

vundy33

10-14-2007, 12:44 AM

Tebow likes to run it up the gut, you very rarely see him break it off the tackle. Our rush defense for the most part up the middle has been pretty stout. I just hope we can correct our poor tackling behind the line of scrimmage. We let too many 5 to 6 yard losses turn into positive yards. Shoot, hang on, grab cloth, balls, ankles, just something until help gets there.

When he runs it up the gut, we'll have my good ole' pals Braxton and Micah to bust his ***! UK>>> :flame::yikes:<<<Tim Tebow

BlackcatAlum

10-14-2007, 12:50 AM

Check out the results of the ESPN fan poll. Shows what they know. :Clap:

alfus21

10-14-2007, 01:04 AM

Check out the results of the ESPN fan poll. Shows what they know. :Clap:

Better yet, shows what "we" know :)

BlackcatAlum

10-14-2007, 01:06 AM

Better yet, shows what "we" know :)

You know our heart said Kentucky, but our head said LSU.

alfus21

10-14-2007, 01:12 AM

You know our heart said Kentucky, but our head said LSU.

No doubt about that one blackcat. :D

GRIZZ

10-14-2007, 01:24 AM

When he runs it up the gut, we'll have my good ole' pals Braxton and Micah to bust his ***! UK>>> :flame::yikes:<<<Tim Tebow

Woodyard is my pony to knock the snot Tebow. I know we were down 4 starters today, I believe 2 on the defensive side, any word if everyone will be good to go next Saturday?

Beef

10-14-2007, 01:36 AM

Probably too early yo tell but I heard Brooks on the radio say that he thinks everyone should be back. He gave them the whole game off to try to ensure that they will be back in the Blue and White on Saturday.

TidesHoss32

10-14-2007, 08:53 AM

I shook my head and went "uh oh" when Little was ruled out...however, you have got to give it to Derrick Locke. Derrick Locke and Stevie Johnson are the best big game surprises of the year..Locke is a stud, and Johnson will catch practically anything within 6 yards of diving distance, lol...I was dissapointed in Burton, because it seemed to me like he heard footsteps all night or something, but Stevie Johnson made some great grabs..that grab he made for the TD was no easy catch! But my gameballs would go out to Locke and Johnson..both played fabulous games...oh yeah, and so much for LSU being 8 for 8 on 4th downs (or perfect for the season)..So UK ended two streaks on one play, lol..what a game..amazing!!

TidesHoss32

10-14-2007, 09:01 AM

And another thing..in the other threads, about the "experts"..man you cant listen to those guys on ESPN..they get paid to do what we all want to do, lol...Corso goes with the obvious pick 80% of the time, Herbstreit goes with the obvious pick 95%..and as far as Lou Holtz and Mark May, Holtz picked Notre Dame to win 10 games this year! (Hows that workin out for ya Lou?!?!?!), and Mark May is another that picks the obvious almost every time..Jeez, I miss Trev Alberts on that show, lol...

PLAYBOY5

10-14-2007, 09:02 AM

I think Burton looked like he played scared and thank God for Johnson. IMO, he is our #1 BIG GAME WR! Locke is a stud and will be great by the time it is his turn to carry the load! Woodson once again, tried every way in the world to lose the game when he let the ball hit him in the numbers on the snap, lol..but guess what...WE JUST BEAT LSU AND THE #1 TEAM IN THE COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!! GO CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Batpuff

10-14-2007, 09:17 AM

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3062660&sportCat=ncf

blackcat

10-14-2007, 12:26 PM

We'll play as the underdog all year, and just keep winning.

phs1986

10-14-2007, 12:31 PM

Shows how much the "experts" know..... The CATS brought it yesterday!!!

DEVIL89

10-14-2007, 01:02 PM

All I have got to say is did you see the hit that Dicky Lyons Jr. put on that DB on Johnson big catch, he lifted him off the ground, NOW THAT IS HOW YOU HIT A DB!!!!!!!!!!

More Cowbell

10-14-2007, 02:28 PM

I'm sure the experts will continue to pick against UK all season. Everyone thinks that the defense is just too bad for UK to beat good teams, but I say it's good enough.

I stand by what have said all week, South Carolina didn't beat us last week, we beat ourselves. At worst, we are even strength with the Gamecocks, although I really feel that we are better than them. If they don't get 2 free TD's, we would likely be undefeated right now.

jammin' jamey

10-15-2007, 10:49 AM

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3062660&sportCat=ncf

Ten days earlier, a lot of people figured the Wildcats were exposed as impostors when they lost at South Carolina. Saturday night, they had their credentials re-established.

That's nice to see from an ESPN analyst, however, the particular author of those words in the link provide (Pat Forde) is a former columnist of the Louisville Courier-Journal, so that doesn't count as a true "Bristol Boy". JMO.

More Cowbell

10-15-2007, 12:54 PM

Ten days earlier, a lot of people figured the Wildcats were exposed as impostors when they lost at South Carolina. Saturday night, they had their credentials re-established.

That's nice to see from an ESPN analyst, however, the particular author of those words in the link provide (Pat Forde) is a former columnist of the Louisville Courier-Journal, so that doesn't count as a true "Bristol Boy". JMO.

Yeah, to be a guy from Louisville who used to write for the Courier-Journal, he usually paints UK in a pretty favorable light in his articles on espn.com. I like reading his stuff on college football more than anybody else on their website.

FreakNasty

10-15-2007, 09:18 PM

Forde is a GREAT guy

TheyKnowMe

10-15-2007, 09:35 PM

Shows what espn knows

ComfortEagle

10-15-2007, 10:06 PM

BTW, the betting lines have Florida as a 7 point favorite right now.

Still no respect.

BlackcatAlum

10-15-2007, 10:33 PM

BTW, the betting lines have Florida as a 7 point favorite right now.

Still no respect.

IMO, UK plays better as the underdog. GO CATS!

More Cowbell

10-16-2007, 12:57 AM

BTW, the betting lines have Florida as a 7 point favorite right now.

Still no respect.

I have no problem with that. Florida is, after all, the defending national champion and a traditional powerhouse, while UK is just trying to build a new football tradition. Florida plays in big games like this all the time, and UK is fairly new to this type of atmosphere. So, it makes sense to favor the Gators.

That said, I'm going with the upset and say the Cats will win!

jammin' jamey

10-16-2007, 11:27 AM

BTW, the betting lines have Florida as a 7 point favorite right now.

Still no respect.

Exactly my point with this thread...

But give the oddsmakers credit: when has Kentucky won a football this season under "pressure"? Not favored with LSU or Louisville: both turned into wins (at home.) You can say the Arkansas game, the Cats may have been a slight favorite, but it was more of a toss-up. Kentucky was pressued against South Carolina and lost. They are feeling the pressure again this weekend against Florida, the oddsmakers like Florida.

No respect is given, you have to take it from "the man".

StrikeoutKing

10-16-2007, 01:29 PM

I have no problem with that. Florida is, after all, the defending national champion and a traditional powerhouse, while UK is just trying to build a new football tradition. Florida plays in big games like this all the time, and UK is fairly new to this type of atmosphere. So, it makes sense to favor the Gators.

That said, I'm going with the upset and say the Cats will win!
Nice post. Being new to the "national attention," I think a lot of people are going to see how UK plays in the spotlight. Sure, they beat Louisville, but that win looks less and less valuable every week. They beat a pretty good Arkansas team, and once they got into the top 10, and played under the lights, on the road, in the SEC, on ESPN, they failed. I'm not surprised Florida is favored. Like, MC, said, Florida plays in games like this all the time. How long has it been since UK has had a game hyped like this one? Or the LSU or SC game? To be honest, I'm surprised the odds have Florida the favorite by only 7. UK has been the underdog all season long, and it seems they wouldn't want it any other way. Why change things now? Let them be under appreciated. Let them take the nation by surprise week after week. We know what kind of team we have. They had a bad game in Columbia. Every team has them. I'll be at Commonwealth Saturday along with 70,000+ other fans showing the country what kind of team, and what kind of fans we have here in the Bluegrass!!!!

More Cowbell

10-16-2007, 08:49 PM

Remember folks, UK was not favored to win at South Carolina by the oddsmakers, who I believe had the Gamecocks as a 3-point favorite. Also, many experts were picking the Cats to lose in Columbia as well. The only way we were the "favorite" was by the poll rankings at the time.

My point is I don't buy all this about UK folding when they felt the pressure to win at South Carolina. Yeah, they felt the need to win that game, but that was no different than several other games that they won. There was certainly pressure on UK to beat Louisville this year, considering we hadn't beaten them in 5 years and this was felt to be UK's best chance to break that streak. There was pressure to beat Arkansas and get off to a good start in the SEC. And there was pressure to beat LSU, both to avoid a 2-game losing streak and to show the country that UK is for real after the embarrassing performance in Columbia.

Bottom line, I don't think UK should be under any more pressure this week than they already have been before. They've dealt with pressure before and handled it admirably, save for one game in which they simply didn't execute well.

DADDY BALLER 20

10-17-2007, 03:21 PM

I agree with jammin' jamey.The Georgia game scares me the most.

jammin' jamey

10-19-2007, 11:27 AM

More "love" from ESPN...http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/COLUMNISTS02/710190484/1002/SPORTS

ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury said on ESPN Radio that Louisiana State would've beaten UK if the Tigers hadn't had such a tough game with Florida the week before. (But if Florida wins tomorrow, will it be because UK faced LSU last week?)

kyr450

10-19-2007, 11:48 AM