BTI's Rants and Ramblings: Two Camps of UK Football Fans Right Now

Kentucky football is in a pretty interesting place in its evolution right now.  The recruiting is rolling, NFL draft picks continue happening at an unprecedented rate, Mark Stoops and Vince Morrow are highly popular within the fanbase, and a new offensive coordinator has rejuvenated some excitement on that side of the ball for the fanbase.  But the reality is that coming off a 10-win season in 2018, the last two seasons have been a struggle.  Yes, the performance of Lynn Bowden and the wildness of COVID 2020 allowed many to write off what were often times brutal games to watch.  But I think 100% of the fanbase agrees that stringing together three less-than-stellar seasons following 2018 would pretty well stunt the momentum of the program. But I sense there is now a noticeable fracture in the fanbase on what exactly the UK football program is and can be moving forward under Mark Stoops:

CAMP 1: SKY IS THE LIMIT

This is the group that thinks Atlanta is within reach.  That believes highly that UK is the second best program in the East.  That believes that 8 wins is a MINIMUM for this year and 10 wins is more than doable.  This group doesn't see any reason that UK can't be a football contender with the progress that Mark Stoops has made.  They see wins over Florida, Tennessee, Penn State, South Carolina a bunch of times, Louisville a bunch of times, bowl wins, NFL talent, to mean UK is ready to take that next step.  And they will.

CAMP 2: THERE ARE STILL BARRIERS

This group takes a more reasoned approach as to where the program can go.  They would tell you that Kentucky has only won 8 games in the regular season once under Mark Stoops.  They still haven't beaten Georgia or really gotten that close to beating Georgia.  They would point to 63-3 against Alabama and the Georgia losses to say that Kentucky is still a ways behind the top of the SEC.  They are thrilled with the progress the program has made over Stoops' tenure but think that is the ceiling.  They would take 7-5 or 8-4 seasons as massive success. What I think is interesting is that both camps are very happy right now.  How could you not?  After decades of mostly pathetic football, there is a stability to the program now that is refreshing.  You know that this UK football program is competitive.  You know they are going to give you moments each year that will be memorable.  You know that Mark Stoops is passionate and a great representative for the school.  But the question that splits the fanbase is what can they become?  Is Kentucky already nearing the top of its potential as a football program or are we just getting started bro? I'm not saying this fracture hurts the fanbase in any way.  We're all still big fans and hoping for a big season.  But the question is, what will a 7-5 season mean to the fans?  For many, they would be very happy with that record.  And for many, they would be highly disappointed.  And it will be interesting to see as this season goes on, and if the record starts to float towards a 7 or 8 win season, which way will the majority of the fanbase go.