The House of Blue

Fair enough, hope our D shows up a little better than that though... I have not seen UL's most up to date depth chart, so I honestly do not know much about them other than a few players here and there. Have you had a chance to see something for their team similar to what is posted on the top of this board? I would like to see it if so, when I look it up online it is old, and incomplete...

My opinion on the position comparisons is as follows:

QB: I give a slight edge to UL here. Bridgewater got a lot of experience last year taking snaps and growing in the offense. Although I think Max has a chance to do well for us, there is little doubt which of the two Sophomores has the edge in experience.

RB: I give UK a slight edge in RB here. Mainly because we return everyone, while UL loses its leader in rushing and APY. I'm basing this comparison on the thought that Clemons will be ready to go.

WR: UL gets a slight edge here due to last year's performance. I give King the nod over Parker, but we have to find some other guys this season that will produce like Rogers and Harris.

OL: Slight edge to UK. As bad as UK's line was last season, UL's line didn't fare much better. We return Smith and Warford, with Miller getting experience. UL returns their C and RT and plug the gaps with young players. Sounds pretty familiar, actually.

DL: Edge to UK. UL is really struggling with DT depth and lost several productive guys. UK returns Cobble, Rumph, Ukwu, Davis, and Coleman, all who saw extensive snaps last year.

LB: Slight edge to UL. UK lost all four starters, but Williamson and Dupree saw significant time last year. Might have an issue at Will. UL only lost its MLB, but moved its SLB to MLB, so is basically breaking in two new starters.

CB: Edge to UL. Bushell is a good one and they are returning both starters. UK will lean on Rice, who saw plenty of snaps, but Caffey is still unknown, not having played a game snap at the position.

S: A wash. I like Neloms just as much as Smith. Both guys are good players. The other safety position will be either a walk-on (UK) or a relatively young guy for both teams (Lowery v. Johnson).

With all of that said, I don't know what to expect on Sept. 2. If we see a fired-up UL squad like we did last year in Commonwealth and UK comes in flat like in so many games early in the season, it will be a loss, barring some extreme lucky bounces. If we see the same intensity and execution from the UGA and UT games, and UL comes out over-confident, UL will take an L to begin the season.

Either way, we'll know a lot more about our respective teams on Sept. 3.

That seems pretty fair, although I would like to see a Summer depth chart for UL, get a better idea of their size on the lines.. I notice you didn't address the special teams, and I think that could be a big factor bc the teams are so closely matched. I am not sure what there kicking/punting game is like, but I know there is a bit of a question mark on our return game and punting if I am not mistaken.. But, the key is exactly what you mentioned, INTENSITY!! They need to bring the lumber early and be the aggressor, set the tone for the game and the season!

Only 10 points difference by not putting his foot on the brakes? Well, either way, hope we score more than 7, I feel like our offense is going to be much better than last year and we mustered out more than 7, unless UL D has improved that much....? U got a summer depth chart, I have been askin to see one on this thread (last time I will ask, sorry to be repetitive)?

Our O will be better than it was last year - much better. We'll score more than 7 points. You can mark that down.

UL may win, but imo this will be a close game. 21-17; 24-21; etc.

I'm still not convinced that UL is THAT much better than UK on paper. UL may do well in the Big East this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean UK wouldn't do well either, if UK happened to be in the Big East.

You must be a very casual Little Brother football fan to brazenly predict your team to be excellent to start the season when in Strong's first 2 seasons his teams have been far FAR from that. Study up on your first 4 game results of 2010 and 2011 to better educate yourself and have a more reasonable expectation.

Haven't seen a depth chart. I do feel that Strongs D is going to be that much more improved especially with the added depth and guys who sat out last year. I'm expecting a low scoring game and Strong controlling the game by the run....at least for game 1 to get the jitters out. Definitely have good receivers to go to but Strong will probably play this one close to the vest. The running game is a clock killer which is why I'm thinking that UK only gets around 7 pts. I think 27 for the Cards is probably about the max for the opener along with the youth. You have to respect Minter and his D.

But, the difference is their young players are better than our young players. I think their skilled players are better than UK's at every position. If UL gets up 10+ early, it could get ugly. I say 31 -10 UL. I hope UK pulls it out. I just think UL has got it turned around and UK has gone the other way. Time will tell.

For me, it's the same thing I've said on here before. If UKs offense can move the ball, control the clock and capitalize on scoring opps they have a shot. UL is going to score at least 21 on our defense IMO. That doesn't include special team or defensive points. So, the offense is going to have to produce. If they do it's a pick 'em. If they don't, I think UL wins by 14-21 points.

UK-21 UofSmell-20.

I think we stuff their run game this year. They ran on us last year but our line is stronger and more experienced this year. Dupree is a star, Williamson is very solid against the run. I worry a little bit about McDuffen and Rancifer but we'll see. I look for Simpson and Forrest to get some tackles for loss. My worry is that UofL uses their big tall receivers against our inexperienced Corners and Bridgewater has a field day. If Bud and others can get some pressure on him early it could be a long night for Teddy Ruxpin at the same time. On offense we've got to complete some balls early. If we do that and the running game opens up we've got the backs to stay fresh and put a hurtin on em.

GO CATS!!!!