Listening to UK head coach Rich Brooks after Wednesday afternoon's practice, it sounds as though Mike Hartline has been able to hold off Will Filder thus far for the No. 1 quarterback spot.
Brooks on Hartline (right): "I think he's handling it pretty good so far. He doesn't do everything right, but nobody does. Even Andre (Woodson) didn't do everything right in practice. But he's certainly mentally into it, and he makes some very good throws and some good checks at the line. He's done a lot of good things so far."
Brooks on Fidler (left): "Fidler still needs to be more consistent. His decision-making needs to be a little bit more up-tempo. He's throwing the ball well, but it isn't coming out on time all the time."
With a little more than two weeks before the Aug. 31 opener at U of L, if Fidler is going to make a move, now's the time. The Cats obviously like his throwing skills, and the Henderson County product is trying to make up ground after missing most of spring drills while coming off shoulder surgery.
But considering the practice reports, the guess here is that Hartline would have to falter badly down the stretch of camp for Fidler to make a strong run at No. 1. Don't see that happening.
This football season will be a defining moment for the Brooks era – He has surprised us after such a rocky start but made us proud to be life-long Cats fans and to celebrate the last two year bowl victories. However, the SEC east is especially loaded this year and even a couple of wins may seem challenging. I continue to be disappointed in the non-conference schedule of the W. Ky , Norfolk, and Middle Tn. What does it prove to beat these schools except a “W” toward a bowl bid that misrepresents true quality wins . GO CATS!
The name of the game in college football is BOWL GAMES, so when you play in the SEC, and specifically in the SEC East, there are plenty of chances for “true quality wins”, so why make it twice as hard to get to a bowl game by scheduling hard games in your nonconference schedule.
If you truely want UK to build a CONSISTANT winning football team, then you will allow them to play the game, without complaining about their out of conference schedule. The goal for a building program is to get to bowl games year in and year out, and when you consistantly play 4 to 6 RANKED opponents in your conference schedule, then you dumb down the OOC schedule. Recruits want wins and bowl games, so to play the game Kentucky needs to do it right. In the SEC we are never going to have to worry about our OOC schedule, our conference schedule ALWAYS seems to put us with one of the toughest schedules around.
Charles, why in the world are you disappointed at our OOC schedule? What, think we should load up with 4 games against Ohio State, Oklahoma, Southern Cal and Virginia Tech? That would be INSANITY, we ALREADY play one of the toughest schedules in the country with Tenn, Florida, Georgia on there year in and year out. Like it or not we are still building a winning tradition, part of that building is NOT scheduling tough OOC games. Norfolk State, Middle TN, and WKU will give our YOUNG OFFENSE wonderful opportunities to gain experience and confidence for the grind of 8 tough SEC conference games.
There is maybe 5 schools in all of then 120 D-1 football programs who schedule 2 tough OOC games. Most do 1, like we do with UL. Some do NONE – check out LSU’s schedule, or Indiana. If we continue building our program the right way I hope we can have a schedule every year which will feature 1 game at home against a BCS-conference opponent, 1 game on the road against a BCS-conference school, then 2 manageable games at home, then 8 SEC games. Please note those 2 BCS-conference schools do NOT have to include UL, it would be just fine to rotate them off and replace them with someone like a Purdue or Virginia for a few years. But for now Charles patience, just go to those 3 winable games and enjoy our young kids making big plays and putting big numbers up on the scoreboard, I know I will!!
EVERY team in the country has easy games (easy wins) on their schedule. The reason our non-conference schedule is so poor is because that is the only way we can get the easy wins. The SEC is so tough it doesn’t allow middle of the road teams (or bottom tier till the last two years) the opportunity for easy wins. Our SEC schedule is plenty tough enough without a good non-conference schedule.
Excluding UF, UGA, and UT, the cats have as good a conference schedule that they could hope for. South Carolina, Arkansas, and Vandy all at home, and a good team wins those. Mississippi State on the road, and again, should be a win. Even Alabama in Tuscaloosa should be manageable.
With the three home OOC cupcakes, a seven-win season should be a given. The UofL game could make eight.
The way to build the program should be scheduling four easy wins every year and just beating the weakest SEC teams. That gives you a bowl every year.
The problem has always been that UK has been so bad that the weak non-conference teams and weak SEC teams have always proven to be a little too difficult, year in and year out.
I think things could be changing though, thanks to UofL. Their success has so far proven the impetus to UK caring enough about football to actually try and win. The Big Blue Nation cannot stand by while little brother shows them how it’s done.
Here come the Cats!
I agree with you Charles about this being a defining season for Brooks and UK football. I feel the exact same way about UofL football.
Another bowl and winning season for the Cats would really propel them into perennial top40 status with occasional jaunts into the top25, IMO.
On the other hand, anything less than 8 wins for UofL would doom them to the same level for the foreseeable future, with top10 rankings a thing of the past.
That’s why this year’s Governor’s Cup is such a coveted prize. The winner will feel very good about the next ten years of their program, while the loser will begin to feel like the good times are over.
Ralph, great observation that “The winner will feel very good about the next ten years of their program, while the loser will begin to feel like the good times are over.”
Ten years might be a little long, but I know what you mean.
Louisville fans are already on Kragthorpe, and a loss to Kentucky would intensify their fears things are going in the wrong direction. And if Ketnucky loses, I’m sure UK fans will fear that the program will take one step back after two steps forward.
Thanks for the compliment.