BTI's Rants and Ramblings: What Tier is UK Football and What Tier do we Want to Be?

Kentucky's fan got a little taste of the high life in 2018 with a 10-win season and big-time wins over Florida and Penn State.  We got to feel what it was like to be seriously relevant in college football.  The game against Georgia, even in a loss, was a pivotal moment in UK history.  But we've followed that up with 8-5 and 5-6 seasons so a little bit of that excitement has been muted.  Changes were made and the recruiting success has continued so once again we head into a season with the question "can Kentucky compete with the big boys of the SEC"? So I thought I would try and take account of where the 14 SEC programs are, where Kentucky currently lies, and where do we want to do and realistically can go?  So I went with a 5-tier system.  Here is how I think the SEC stacks up now: Tier 1: Alabama *Alabama is on a tier of its own, even in a league like the SEC.  They are year in and year out the best team in the league and in the entire country.  Their reign of consistency might be as great as any in college football history.  Sure, an occasional Georgia or Auburn come up and trip them but that machine can't be taken down for long. Tier 1.5: Georgia, LSU, Florida *This group is constantly nipping at the heels of Alabama and are consistently national title contenders.  They have incredible history, pedigree, recruiting bases, good coaches, the whole works.  They would dominate any other conference in the country but unfortunately they are in a league with Alabama. Tier 2: Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State *These are programs that can put it together for Top 10 seasons every now and then.  They are never an easy pushover on the schedule.  In a blue moon they might even challenge Bama and can consistently play with the tier above them.  But they also have a little more inconsistency than others and can through in an 8-4 season every now and then.  Coaching turnover more of a an issue too. Tier 3: Missouri, Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina *These are the perennial bridesmaids.  The programs are steady but lack the something that the bog boys have.  Might be recruiting base or smaller fanbases.  These programs always think they can play with the big boys and might occasionally even beat the big guys but stringing together great seasons doesn't happen very often.  They are the little annoying dog always nipping at the heels of the big programs but never quite biting them good. Tier 4: Tennessee, Arkansas *This is an interesting tier because these are 2 programs with some rich history.  National title winning programs.  But something has gone amiss.  The fanbase expectations and belief system of where their programs lies doesn't match the actual production on the field.  They could move to Tier 3 pretty easy but always do something that bombs those hopes. Tier 5: Vanderbilt *This is Vanderbilt's tier.  Always by itself.