Kentucky Football continues to improve through recent years

Growing up in Lexington, I was raised to support the Kentucky Wildcats. When people think of UK, the first thing that comes to mind is our dominant basketball program. However, being a Kentucky fan means supporting all aspects of the school, including the notably non-dominant football program.

Year after year, I have watched the football team repeatedly lose games. After watching my team crash and burn in two consecutive 2-10 seasons in in 2012 and 2013, I stopped following college football entirely. I’m sure many Kentucky fans were also tired of the repeated defeats.

What brought me back was the 2016 season where we achieved a winning record and qualified for a bowl game.

But even after improving, our Cats would repeatedly lose big games. We all remember the defeat against Florida last year. Many thought that would be the game where we would stage an upset, where we would beat them for the first time in 50 years. However, the ending score read 28-27 to Florida, with a loss by just one point. Even in the more successful 2016 and 2017 seasons, UK failed to win either of their bowl games, leaving fans disappointed.

However, over the last couple of years, I have watched the Kentucky football team blossom into something worth watching.

This year in particular we have a strong team. With standout players on both sides of the ball, Kentucky is a team to be reckoned with. Despite our recent loss to Georgia, I feel that the Kentucky season will continue to be successful.

There are many great players on the team, but the two that stand out the most are Benny Snell, the Junior power back that has carried the team to victory on more than one occasion, and Josh Allen, the Senior linebacker who has showed his prowess with numerous tackles and sacks. Both have had a large influence on Kentucky’s form.

Unfortunately, both of those players will most certainly be declaring for the draft, meaning we won’t have them for the next season. However, we must have faith that the Kentucky football program will continue to succeed even without our star players. The entire team’s success is not based off of two players. Although they contribute a lot, they are not wholly responsible for our current success. Kentucky has many quality players in all areas of the game, all of whom are influential in their own way. Football is a team sport, and it can’t be played by two people.

Even after losing two stars, we will continue to have great players. Our quarterback, Junior Terry Wilson, will probably be staying for another year, so the passing game will continue to succeed. And our rushing prowess looks like it will continue to dominate with the recent commitment of Wandale Robinson, a 4 star recruit out of Frankfort, Kentucky.

So everyone should support and cheer on the Wildcats. The next game will be against Tennessee and will take place on Sat, Nov 10. Even though the game is away, you can still head over to Tennessee in order to cheer on your team. Even if you can’t make it, cheering from your couch is heavily encouraged.