WHAT IF??? Kentucky 26 South Carolina 28

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Comment by Blue Blood 00 on October 12, 2009 at 11:49am

Another thing, when I hear comments like Adolph has made for weeks and weeks, it is hard to read. I've been watching UK for 29 years, and it is not the fact that me or any one else cannot see what our program has been and is right now, it's the fact that a true fan just does not give up the hope that easily that one's program can never get better. I think everyone that knows anything about UK athletics knows and understands that we are a basketball school. What cracks me up is after 3 pretty dang good seasons for as far as UK football standards go, after losing 3 games to ranked opponents and two of them to the #1 and #3 teams in the country. And I for one just don't believe that Texas is a better team than Bama. A better passing team, but after that the rest of the overall goes to the Tide in my opinon. So basically the two best teams in the country and then a top 25 club. But after that, and it really happened after the Florida game, one bad lose to the best team in the country, fans were just waiving the White Flag, gave up, we are just terrible. It's like Coach Rich Brooks said, 15 mins of shame can undo and ruin 3 really good positive seasons and memories. I remember just two years ago, when everyone was tickled to death with our program. They would say, well itleast now we can watch UK, with the confidence that we have a chance to not only play with, but even beat almost anyone on a given Saturday. After that second bowl season of the three it's like, the fans thought that we should just now jump from that level to a top 10 program or we are just pathetic. The fact is there is a lot of fans who just don't understand the situation. I have said it and said it, you cannot turn a football program that has been down for DECADES. Not just down but never in the last couple of decades, outside of the good Ramsey years have they even been known as a winner. And people expects after a couple of bowl trips that we should be competing right now at the level of the top SEC schools, and if we are not than we are still just the same old failure, we have been for years. That is just plain down right stupid, and that is putting it nice! It's funny that after a dissapointing start to this season, and even if the whole season remains to be a dissapointment, that after a couple of games so far, certain people can already say and know what the whole story of our program is and is going to be in the future. Just because it has been this way in the past. Come on, let's use our heads a little bit. We are not going to compete for SEC titles after only 3 winning sesons. We have yet to put together a winning SEC season. AGAIN, it takes time. But if you can honestly sit there and tell me that you cannot see any difference in the way this program sits now and the way it did during the lets stay kind of relavent. The Curry, Mumme, and Morris years, and I will show you someone who does not know anything about football. You can't just look at the records to come to a decision on wheter the program is in better shape now than it was. You have to look at things overall. There was no time during any of those Coaches tenure's that they had top to bottom, the talent UK now, not only has but starting to keep on it's roster. In those days when they put together a fair season, like the bowl game years of Couch and Bonner, those teams had several good players, but overall the talent level of those teams were not even in the same league as the overall talent of these teams. After the Couch's, Yeast, Abney's, Pinner's and so on, you had a very under average roster. In those days you might have a few good players that was good enough to compete on the SEC level, then after the 1st string there was a major drop off in talent, and that was just from the 1st string to the 2nd. Now, there will always be on any team your several key guys that cannot be equally replaced, but the biggest part of this years squad, there is not a big gap if all on a lot of the 1st to 2nd string. What is even better is the biggest part of our 3rd string players, is seperated by experiance more than talent. We have several positions on the field that you could flip a coin and there is not a big difference between the starter at that position, and the backup. And a lot of the 3rd string has even more talent than the guys ahead of them, the only thing is they are just young. This is a simple fact! When Coach Brooks came, he had 3 guys who could run under a 4.5 40. Now he has over 20 some players who runs under a 4.5 40.
The last point I can make to those who understand football. At a program like ours who is just now trying to turn the corner, you just do not lose as many good quality players that we have lost over a two year period and suffer NO SET BACKS what so ever. The point of the matter is, this years team, has overall, from the main top to the main bottom, more talent than Woodson's last year. The difference is that Woodson's last year they had more experianced big time playmakers. But as far as the overall roster, from the 1st guy to the last, our talent level has only gotten better. And I think they have proved that. You just do not lose guys like a Woodson, Little, Tamme, Burton, and Johnson on offense. Guys like a Pryor, Jarmon, Jenkins, Woodyard, Kelly on defense and just replace that same production over night. Now when you have been on top for years, you can do that. But it will take time for us to get over that next hump, and it is the most difficult step of the steps it takes to turn it around. Give them time for these new crop of talent to gain experiance and time for this team and the next few years teams coming to see who is going to develop into the next line of playmakers. There is plenty of young talent on this roster that is getting the needed experiance this year, and there is plenty of good talent coming in, that this program is just not going to stay in nuetral. And for the point that I said, I think that this team has already proven that the talent overall is better now, is the fact of what I was talking about just now. When could a UK team in the past lost that many players, that were not only good college players, but now are playing on Sunday's in the NFL, and come back the very next year and put up a winning season, winning another bowl game, and then this is the real test, the first year of these losses, you lost all the key playmakers at the key offensive positions, and the second year you lost 3 of the front 4 of the best D-line you had put on the field in many years, and still come back and outside of the Florida's and Alabama's you have young guys with basically no signifigant experiance who can play with most teams in the SEC, excluding the few top teir teams. No my friends the old UK that so many claims there is no difference in now and then, and we are going to remain the same and not get any better, would not be able to lose that many quality players at such key positions and even be able to compete at all. But you will see as the season goes on, that this team, has enough talent that they will stay in games, and give thereselves chances to win. Then in about 2 -3 more seasons of this new found talent coming in, Not the same old NEXT year stuff people has been saying, the difference is in those days we were not consistantly adding SEC talented players, now we are, and all it will take is that one big season to push this program over the top, from lower middle of the pack to lower top, and then the talent level will rise a little more, from a roster full of 3 stars players and a occasional 4 star, to a roster full of 3 and 4 star talent, with an ocasional 5 star kid, But there will be those so called fans who will say next week if we lose to Auburn, and especially if we lose badly that, everything I said was wrong and they are right. Again that will prove there knowlegde about things, because there is nothing that this season can do to spell out the future of our program. It takes time, and it takes baby steps, and if you cannot see that we have made those baby steps than you just don't get it.
I think this program will get to a spot where they can compete with the top teir teams of our conference year in and out, and will have seasons every couple of years when some extra better classes come through and develop into a team that can compete to the very beginnig to the end. That is about as good as I can ever see it for our program. I don't see us being a top 25 team every year. But I do see the things in place and the talent falling into place that we can get to a level that we are right there every year, if not a top 25 team, right there on the outside looking in, and every so often a team that will finish seasons, as ranked teams, and a few teams who might compete from the first week all the way to the last for the SEC. Not every year, but every now and again, with most of the time, keeping a good quality program, that is a ligitament year to year top 25 club. But if we do get to that point, there will still be fans who are gripping, saying well they will never compete for a Title, just a pretty good bowl game every year! We have to understand our limitations, exept them., and remember to have fun with a program that I see not struggling long, but getting better and better but topping out right around the top of the middle of the SEC, instead of the main lower level. But if that happens, then these fans will act like all along they just knew we could do it. I know it's a what have you done for me lately world, but you have to have enough sense to realize what is really going on before, tagging a program for good. GO BIG BLUE!!!!!!

Comment by Blue Blood 00 on October 12, 2009 at 10:39am

It is a shame that we have to keep losing games to USC like this. Sitting back on my couch watching the game, I thought to myself outside of just a couple players, I would not trade rosters with them. I feel we have a deeper better all around team than them. And we are 2-3 and they are now 5-1. The big difference I see, is that they do a better job of letting their playmakers do what they do best, and that is make plays. So here is the biggest WHAT IF? in my book. What if, Randall Cobb would have been under center the whole game? I know everyone knows that he is a amazing talent, but sometimes I can't help but to think that they really don't know how special of a player he is. I'm tired of hearing the one excuse, that if he plays QB, you take our only experianced and proven wide receiver off the field. I would rather have our best player managing the game.

Comment by Gary on October 11, 2009 at 1:50pm

Adolph, I've been following UK football for "fifty" years and it's been the same WHAT IF'S"! The players change, the coaches change etc., etc., etc. and the result's almost always the same. About once every ten years we have a winning SEC team and go to a decent bowl game but we just can't win consistently in the SEC.

Comment by Adolph Rupp on October 11, 2009 at 10:08am

Ever since I was born (30 years ago), it's been "WHAT IF" regarding UK football. We should all face the facts that KENTUCKY is a basketball school as much as we'd like it to be both. I love football but winning is just not going to happen here.

Comment by Gordon Turner on October 11, 2009 at 7:42am

Nice article Ryan, that was good.

Comment by SaveUK on October 10, 2009 at 7:42pm

Sounds like after games when Gillispie was our coach, "What if"

Comment by C Dogg on October 10, 2009 at 7:13pm

Those are a lot of "what if's" but SC needed all that to barely beat UK. I would add what if Garcia isn't able to dive for the first down and UK gets the ball back. UK could have at least get in FG range. Also, what if the refs don't call that really weak, at best, holidng call on Gonzalez. The refs basically gave SC the ball back with that call and the dubious snap infraction call.