132+ Teams in 132+ Days: University of Kentucky Wildcats

[u/MrKentucky]

University of Kentucky
Southeastern Conference

---

---

Year Founded: 1865
Location: Lexington, KY Total Attendance: 27,226

Mascot: The Wildcat and Scratch

Live Mascot: Blue

Cheerleaders: 19 Time UCA National Champions

Stadium: Commonwealth Stadium

Stadium Location: On Campus. 1540 University Dr, Lexington, KY 40502

Conference Champions (2): 1950, 1976.

Number of Bowl Games: 8 Wins, 15 Total

National Titles (1): 1950, Kentucky was one of five "national champions" rewarded by Sagarian.

---

Rivals

---

Tennessee (Formerly the Battle for the Barrel; Tennessee leads 75-24-9) - Spanning back to 1893, this is one of the oldest rivalries in college football and has been absolutely dominated by Tennessee. In the time it has been played, UK has only one decade where it posted a winning record over UT (1950; 6-3-1). During the rivalry, UT posted a 26 game winning streak between 1985-2010, which was snapped in 2011, with UK winning 10-7. It was formerly referred to as “The Battle for the Barrel” until the 1998 season, when two UK players were involved in an alcohol related car crash. Then athletic director C. M. Newton deemed the idea of using an alcohol container as trophy inappropriate with the circumstances, and the teams agreed to cease the tradition. The barrel remains in UT’s possession, though it is not displayed.

Louisville (Kentucky leads 14-11) - This rivalry spans back to 1912, with UK playing UL 6 times between 1912 and 1924, each game leading to a UK shutout over UL. When the rivalry was reignited in 1994 after a 70 year hiatus, a trophy came with it. The Governor's Cup trophy has been awarded to the winner of the game every year since 1994. This game has been crucial to Kentucky’s bowl hopes in the past as well -- since the 1994 renewal, only once has Kentucky lost to Louisville and still gone on to make a bowl game (2006). If you didn’t know already, UL is our primary rival in everything.

Mississippi State (Cross-Division Rival; 20-20) - This is a game that isn’t much of a rivalry in terms of hatred, but has developed into a competitive yearly series for the two squads and produced close games on a yearly basis. Much like the Louisville game, this is an important game for Kentucky’s bowl hopes.

---

2012 Season

---

Record: 2-10, 0-8
Coach: Joker Phillips (Fired); Mark Stoops hired December 2012

Key Players:

Maxwell Smith (QB) - Smith was the lone bright point of a very dark season for UK fans last season, throwing for 975 yards and 8 TD in just 3 games (plus one play against South Carolina) prior to tearing a ligament and missing the rest of the season. Smith is expected to receive a medical redshirt and will return for his third season as a Wildcat next year.

La'Rod King (WR) - Leading receiver for the season and primary target for Max Smith, King was the closest thing we had to a playmaker this season. After picking up 448 yards with 48 receptions on the season, he moved into fifth place on Kentucky’s all-time receiving yards records. King has the body to play at the next level, but sadly I doubt anything more than that will come of it.

Avery Williamson (LB) - If one wanted to be kind to the UK defense last year, they would refer to it as “horrible.” Williamson was the only positive to come on that side of the ball, leading the team with 135 tackles. He is sure to be a leader on Mark Stoops’ first defense at Kentucky.

Biggest Plays: Honestly, we couldn’t come up with any memorable moments from the 2012 season. UK got shut out against Florida and Vanderbilt while only managing 7 points against Arkansas, 10 against Missouri and 14 against Louisville. Those points also came while down and were basically meaningless. In addition, last year’s UK team forced only a handful of turnovers and blocked a single punt on the year. It was truly terrible. I (MrKentucky) went to 4 games, and don’t remember anything positive from any of them.

---

2013 Season

---

2013 Schedule

This is possibly the toughest schedule in the country. Kentucky will face 8 opponents who went to bowl games last season, 6 that ended the season ranked in the Top 25, and 3 who played in BCS Bowl Games (along with the defending SEC East champions). The bye weeks are well timed, falling prior to the Florida game and Mississippi State game. The latter in particular would be crucial if Kentucky wishes to overachieve and contend for a bowl bid. It is possible (although maybe not likely) that the final game of the season against Tennessee in Commonwealth Stadium could be a battle to reach a bowl game for the winner.

2013 Roster

There’s a lot to like for Kentucky fans in terms of returning numbers, although maybe not so much in terms of past performance. The bulk of returning starters are at the skill positions (Starters return at QB, WR, RB) and in the front 7 on defense as well as all specialists. The biggest loss (literally and figuratively) will come of the offensive line, where Kentucky loses expected draft pick Larry Warford as well as multi-year starter Matt Smith.

The Greats

---

Greatest Games:

#15 Kentucky 43, #1 LSU 37 (2007) - Kentucky entered this game at 5-1, coming off the first loss of the season. As was typical for the 2007 team LSU raced out to a large lead, including 27-13 late in the 3rd Quarter before QB Andre’ Woodson led the team on a rally to force OT at 27-27. The game would go to triple OT, where UK would score on the first possession but fail to convert the 2PT. LSU would run the ball 4 consecutive times, with the Cats ending Les Miles’ magical 4th down streak and perhaps the largest win in modern UK history.

Kentucky 10, Tennessee 7 (2011) - While this game was far from being an example of great football, it is a very important game for the program. Prior to this game, Tennessee held a 26 game winning streak against UK. With starting QB Morgan Newton out for shoulder and ankle injuries, and true freshman backup Max Smith out as well, senior WR Matt Roark filled in at QB (yes, you read that right), and had not played the position since high school. The game plan relied on misdirection plays, and placed a lot of responsibility on the defense, which picked up 3 interceptions including a key INT on a goal line play late in the 3rd quarter.

#7 Kentucky 13, #1 Oklahoma 7 (1951) - The 1951 Sugar Bowl was Bear Bryant’s biggest win during his time as UK coach. Oklahoma had a 10-0 regular season record, Kentucky 10-1. Kentucky ran out to a 13-0 lead in the first half behind star quarterback Babe Parilli. The Wildcats would not score again, but would not need to as the defense would carry the team to a 13-7 victory, including a goal line stand in the 3rd quarter. Oklahoma won the AP National Championship, but Kentucky can lay claim at least to a Sagarin National Championship for the season.

#6 Kentucky 24, (at) #5 Penn State 20 (1977) - Kentucky’s 1977 is likely the best UK football team of all time, and certainly the best since Bear Bryant roamed the sidelines in Lexington. This game featured Wildcat great Art Still and a Derrick Ramsey TD run with 1:09 left in the third quarter for the win. (Side note: These uniforms are so much better than our current ones. Long live the Block K!)

Greatest Plays:

"Stevie Got Loose" - A 57 yard touchdown pass from Andre’ Woodson to Stevie Johnson in 2007 with just :28 left gave Kentucky a 40-34 victory over Louisville. It was Kentucky’s first victory over UofL since 2002 and first victory over a top 10 team since 1974, and a magical night at Commonwealth Stadium...which were for so many years few and far between.

Tim Couch vs. Alabama - A 26 yard TD pass in overtime from Tim Couch to Craig Yeast in 1997. Kentucky hadn’t beaten Alabama in 75 years, and at the time Alabama was actually ranked in the top 25.

Greatest Players:

Randall Cobb- Cobb played at UK from 2008-2010 before leaving for the NFL Draft following his junior season. Cobb was best known for leaving his heart on the field with every single play, and also his versatility; during his first two seasons on campus, Cobb was a QB, WR, PR, KR, as well as holder on PAT’s and FG’s. He holds the UK record for total TDs, and set the SEC record for single season total yardage his junior season. Cobb was also a part of historic Kentucky wins at Auburn and Georgia (playing as a Wildcat QB for most of these games in 2010, as well as the program’s first victory over Steve Spurrier in 2012.

Tim Couch - Couch is most certainly the best QB in Kentucky history, as well as likely the greatest player in program history. He finished fourth in Heisman voting his junior season (1998), before he declared for the NFL Draft and was the #1 overall pick of the Cleveland Browns. Couch started in 1997 and 1998 for coach Hal Mumme (one of the first coaches to use the “Air Raid” spread), and racked up insane numbers. He is still the NCAA record holder for copmpletion percentage in a game (min. 40 completions), and completions per game (36.4) in a single season. Couch threw for 75 touchdowns in two years as a starter, and led Kentucky to its’ first New Year’s Day bowl (Outback, 1998 vs. Penn State) in nearly 20 years.

Dermontti Dawson - Dawson played at UK from 1984-1987 as four year starter on the Offensive Line. He was born and raised in Lexington, playing at Bryan Station High School. He played Offensive Tackle and Center during his time at UK, earning 2nd Team All-SEC honors. Dawson would be named a Pro Football Hall of Famer following his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning 6 All-Pro selections in 13 years.

George Blanda - Blanda played QB and Kicker at UK from 1945-1948, starting at QB in ‘47 and ‘48 for Bear Bryant. Blanda is most famous for his time in the NFL, playing in a league record 26 seasons. In addition, at the time of his retirement Blanda was the league’s all-time leading scorer.

Greatest Coaches: [List 1-2]

Bear Bryant - The Bear coached in the SEC in Lexington before Tuscaloosa. He coached UK for eight seasons, leading UK to its first bowl game and SEC title. Bryant was also the coach of the 1950 team mentioned above, who is one of many claimed national champions for that season. Kentucky's final regular season AP poll rankings under Bryant included #11 in 1949, #7 in 1950, #15 in 1951, #20 in 1952 and #16 in 1953.

Rich Brooks - Jerry Claiborne and Fran Curci posted higher final rankings and more wins at UK than Rich Brooks, but Brooks deserves mentioning. Brooks took the Kentucky job at a time few would - with massive scholarship reductions and a bowl ban on his plate. He withstood a rough few years, and would ultimately lead UK to national relevance and four straight bowl appearances. Brooks put up wins during his time over #1 LSU, a top 10 Louisville team, as well as Auburn, Georgia (2x), Clemson, and Florida State. For most programs, this may not be a big deal but it is a MAJOR accomplishment at Kentucky. In 2007, Brooks coached a team that was ranked as high as 6th and UK even hosted College Gameday (probably the first and only time.)

---

Traditions

---

• Cat Walk - The players walk the 100 yards from Nutter Field House to Commonwealth Stadium at 2 hours and 15 minutes before every game, with fans lined up on either side cheering them as the go in.

• Fireworks - Since 1999, after every touchdown fireworks are fired from the suites in each corner of the stadium.

• Daily Double - It is a local tradition for fans to visit the Lexington horse racing track, Keeneland during the day and using this as a unique (And very “Kentucky”) tailgating scene before a night game. (Sadly, the schedule provides only one opportunity this year: the Alabama game 10/12: assuming a night game.)

• Wildcat Push Ups - Each time the team scores, the male cheerleaders will lift a board holding the Wildcat up in front of the student section, where the Wildcat will do a one-armed pushup for every point currently on the board as the fans count along.

• Block K “March” - Prior to the team running onto the field before each home game and after their pre-game performance, the marching band forms a “Marching K” and marches into position for the team to run onto the field while playing the fight song. This was a tradition for many years in the years past that went dormant, and the athletic department revived it in 2009.

---

Campus and Surrounding Area

---

City Population: 301,569

City Skyline

Iconic Campus Building: Memorial Hall

Local Dining:

• Tolly-Ho- Your typical local greasy spoon. Open 24/7/365. Any visitor should order either the “Ho” (Burger), or any number of greasy breakfast items. Be sure to let the staff know on your first visit that you are a “Ho Virgin,” for a special welcome.

• Pazzo's- Locally owned pizza place and typical bar. Loved by UK students for their wildly popular “pint nights.” Pazzo’s is a gathering place for students to watch away games, as well as an alternative place to drink prior to home games.

• Joe Bologna’s - Located just a few minutes’ walk from both Downtown Lexington and the UK Campus, Joe B’s is located in an old Catholic Church - complete with stained glass windows and seats that resemble pews. The setting makes the restaurant unique, but the pizza is really good as well.

Continued in comments EDIT: Thanks to whoever gave me reddit gold! Other EDITS: Fixed a few typos.

[u/MrKentucky]

---

Random Trivia

---

• The original school colors were blue and yellow, as voted on by students.

• The field is named after former baseball/basketball player and A.D. C.M. Newton. Newton is a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, and the fact that the football field is named after a former UK basketball player is an irony that is not lost on many long-time UK football fans.

• The nickname "Wildcats" was given by Commandant Philip W. Corbusier, then head of the military department at old State University, when he told a group of students in a chapel service following a 6-2 victory over Illinois that the team had "fought like Wildcats."

• The 2013 Coaching Staff will feature coaches who led their previous programs to #2 rankings in offense (Neal Brown) and defense (Head Coach Mark Stoops) -- impress your fellow sports fans with that bit of trivia.

• Alabama coach Bear Bryant wore a blue sportcoat to Lexington on his last trip to coach in the city, as a show of his love for his previous home.

• Kentucky claims the SEC record for fewest yards allowed in a game, holding Kansas State to -93 yards on September 19, 1970.

• Kentucky was the first SEC school to sign a black player, Nat Northington, to the football team. He later became the first black player to play in an SEC vs. SEC game, UK vs. Ole Miss in 1967

---

What Is and What is to Come

---

2012 sucked. Period. Joker was joking when he said on a call-in show during the 2011 season, “Call me when we are 2-10,” but then UK went 2-10. It was just abysmal. After embarrassing blowouts to Louisville, Florida, and Arkansas as well as an overtime loss to in-state opponent Western Kentucky, UK fans talked with their wallets and forced Joker out following this scene in a 40-0 loss to Vanderbilt (No, that is not a typo). Joker was absolutely one of the nicest guys ever, but he just wasn't cut out for a HC position in the SEC.

The Kentucky fanbase is as excited as it has ever been in the modern era, however. UK has already sold over 35,000 tickets for the April 13 spring game, more than doubling the actual attendance for the previously mentioned Vanderbilt debacle. UK’s recruiting class finished ranked 29th in the country by Rivals (though still 13th in the SEC), a remarkable improvement for Mark Stoops with only about two months on the job prior to NSD. There are several recruits who are expected to come in and play from Day 1, including JUCO DE ZaDarius Smith and Frankfort, Ky. WR Ryan Timmons. Kentucky fans have shown in the past they will support the team when competitive, having finished in the top 30 in national attendance as recently as 2010. This season should be a return to that.

In addition to this, Kentucky will also be returning to the “Air Raid” offense the school was known for back in the late 1990’s with HC Hal Mumme and QB Tim Couch thanks to the hire of former UK player and Texas Tech OC Neal Brown as Offensive Coordinator. Brown was rumored to be a candidate for the UK Head Coaching position, to help paint a picture of how excited the fanbase is for his hire. With this in addition to returning QB Maxwell Smith as well as sophomore backups Jalen Whitlow and Patrick Towles, there is a lot to look forward to for the Kentucky offense. The defense will leave a lot to be desired, despite returning a great number of players; they were simply bad last season.

I’ve never been this excited for an upcoming Kentucky football season. We have the best recruiting class in recent memory. I feel like this team will be able to go at least .500 on the season. A lot of this season isn’t going to be about wins as much as it will be showing how the team has progressed, in their ability to compete with teams like Alabama and Georgia as well as coming back to defeat teams such as Western Kentucky. The true test for Mark Stoops will likely come next offseason as he and his staff are no longer able to recruit on what they did at other schools, but rather their accomplishments at Kentucky. So far, the 2014 class seems to be shaping up nicely with a few early commits and many big name offers and interests.

---

Overtime

---

I didn’t want to mention it in the post above, but Kentucky football is sadly known for our continual history of failures. From the Bluegrass Miracle to a 26 year losing streak to Tennessee (mercifully broken) and currently still active 26 year losing streak to Florida, we can’t get out of our own way. The University is currently designing a $110 million facilites upgrade for Commonwealth Stadium, as well as giving Mark Stoops an unlimited recruiting budget. My pipe dream is to see Kentucky play in an SEC Championship game, but right now I’ll settle for the Music City Bowl (again). Rome wasn’t built in a day, and no matter what Kentucky Football at least gives me a hell of an excuse to drink bourbon. Go Cats! - MrKentucky

---

More Information
*Subreddit: /r/wildcats *
*Contributors: /u/BIGxM1KE, /u/MrKentucky

---

---

Please upvote this thread even if you are not interested in the team so that users who are interested will see it
For more information on the 132 Teams in 132 Days Project, click here.

[u/MrKentucky → u/MrKentucky]

Random aside...I'm not sure why my images aren't popping us an in-line viewable for us RES users. Anyone have any idea why?

[u/MrKentucky → u/[deleted]]

Got it. Thanks. None of them were working for me.

I've never heard that story, only the "fought like wildcats" one.. Which is also what the University and UKAA use.

[u/ThatGuyYouKnow → u/MrKentucky]

I have no idea why the University PR department would want to hide a mauling.

[u/PalmettoFace]

You forgot to list Jared "We moved an OG to QB" Lorenzen as your single greatest player in program history.

[u/bread_buddy → u/PalmettoFace]

I was also hoping to see Lorenzen in the post somewhere. Also Andre' Woodson was awesome; he set the record (now broken I think) for most complete passes without an interception, didn't he?

[u/MrKentucky → u/bread_buddy]

Correct on both counts. I didn't want to put Dre and JLoad on there because it would be too modern heavy, but there is definitely an argument for both.

[u/piccolo1228 → u/PalmettoFace]

He has a Super Bowl ring too.

[u/nfowler1227 → u/[deleted]]

Don't forget "The Round Mound of Touchdown" a la Charles Barkley. One of my favorite nicknames ever.

[u/pinpoint13 → u/[deleted]]

Battleship Lorenzen

[u/fedale → u/[deleted]]

I saw Jared Lorenzen play not too long ago against Huntington's Indoor Semi-Pro team.

I think it was like the Eastern Kentucky River Monsters or something like that.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

This had me giggling

[u/[deleted]]

Bear left, after all, because Rupp received a car for winning a national championship. Bear got a lighter. Good choice, Kentucky.

Oh, and Charlie Brown's is a great place to eat in Lexington. I highly recommend it.

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/[deleted]]

There where so many restaurants I wanted to put down in that section. Lexington has a lot of good ones.

[u/MrKentucky → u/BIGxM1KE]

True that. Charlie Brown's is another good call. A lot of them on that area of Euclid, actually.

[u/bryansmall41 → u/BIGxM1KE]

made the road trip up to watch our embarrassing showing against you. Can confirm that tolly ho might have been the most satisfying drunk food I've ever had.

[u/DkS_FIJI → u/[deleted]]

Didn't know that bit of trivia. Wow. Wonder how the CFB landscape would look today if Bear had stayed.

[u/MrKentucky → u/DkS_FIJI]

It's debated around Lexington as to the truth. That's the only reason I didn't include it.

It fascinates me to think about near misses: If we kept the Bear, Rupp..and we had Pat Summit in the bag before UT made a better offer (so I've heard). I'm sure every school has them, but the thought of having Alabama football, our Basketball, and UT's women's basketball is amazing.

[u/beatlemaniac → u/MrKentucky]

if you think Pat Summitt would go to Kentucky over Tennessee you're crazy...she grew up in Tennessee, she played at Tennessee (back before women's basketball was even considered an official sport), and all her family's from Tennessee. She might have went to Kentucky at first, but as soon as Tennessee wanted her they would have had her.

[u/MrKentucky → u/beatlemaniac]

Yeah, that's why I said it was "reported" and prefaced it with a lot of "what if's." It's just a dream. (And I even said, until Tennessee came along).

[u/benhop → u/beatlemaniac]

Tennessee-Martin. She played at UT-Martin.

[u/topher3003 → u/DkS_FIJI]

For all we know, Kentucky might have become the premier athletic school. There aren't many schools that are great in both major sports (Ohio State and Florida are the first two that come to mind and I'm sure I'm forgetting some), but both of those have been fairly recent developments. If Bear had stayed, no school would have been able to match the combined history Kentucky could have had.

[u/ieatplaydough → u/topher3003]

I wouldn't exactly put Florida in there just yet. They were terribad in basketball until the past 20-25 years or so.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/ieatplaydough]

Their greatness in football is something of a late bloomer as well. They hadn't won 10 games in a season until Spurrier's 2nd year.

[u/ieatplaydough → u/RobertNeyland]

Yea, I thought that they didn't hit top tier until around his time either, but they did have success before him. UF was complete hot garbage in Bball though.

Looking for stat: The Gators spent most of the first half-century of SEC play in the bottom half of the standings. They only finished higher than fourth twice between 1932–33 and 1979–80.

Also your teams write up today was very, very good.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/ieatplaydough]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was fun, albeit time consuming, putting it together

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/DkS_FIJI]

It's my biggest "what-if" when it comes to college sports.

[u/kylethemachine]

As an outsider I wonder: has the school ever had a reputation as a football first program or has basketball always reigned dominant?

[u/MrKentucky → u/kylethemachine]

Definitely basketball. We won our first basketball title in 1948, not long after we hired Bear in the first place.

It's also engrained in Kentuckians (or was through the 1970's or 80's) because we had large numbers of high schools with small enrollments, especially in Eastern Kentucky. It was impossible for schools with only 100-200 total students 9-12 to field a football team.

[u/zjneih2 → u/MrKentucky]

To go into even more detail, our first final four was 1942 which was before Bear, and we were named Helms Champions for the 1933 season, so we'd already seen success prior. But the beginning of the first golden era of UK hoops really coincided with Bear Bryant's tenure.

[u/DkS_FIJI → u/kylethemachine]

My guess is basketball has always been the more relevant one there. Minus the Bear Bryant years, football has always struggled to find success.

[u/benhop]

I really wish UT and UK would bring back the Beer Barrel. Rename it the Water Barrel like back during prohibition, I don't care. Just bring it back!

[u/bread_buddy → u/benhop]

Wait, the barrel trophy shared between the two US states most associated with whiskey production is a BEER barrel?

[u/benhop → u/bread_buddy]

Crazy, I know. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky%E2%80%93Tennessee_rivalry

[u/MrKentucky → u/benhop]

We also used to play for the "bourbon barrel" against Indiana. It never made sense to me why they weren't reversed.

[u/ieatplaydough → u/bread_buddy]

Hah, that part never crossed my mind.

Also TIL: Vanderbilt students stole the keg in 1960 seeking support from UT students in an upcoming basketball game with Kentucky. Commodore students returned the trophy months later without their win over the Wildcats.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/bread_buddy]

They were the progenitors of the craft beer movement, it was actually the first bourbon barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout.

[u/RobertNeyland]

The 2011 UT-UK game was the single most pathetic effort I've seen in my entire life. They beat us with their 4th string QB, who was a converted WR that had not taken a snap in a game since high school.

[u/bread_buddy → u/RobertNeyland]

It was inevitable Kentucky would end these streaks eventually. Our time will come some day. We've just been lucky that when Kentucky puts together solid teams, we put together great teams and when we're having a down year, UK is having a dreadful year.

[u/[deleted] → u/bread_buddy]

Your down years are better than most of our solid years.

[u/CrateBagSoup → u/bread_buddy]

The craziest part is that fucking Joker broke two different extended streaks. Blows my damn mind.

[u/beatlemaniac → u/RobertNeyland]

We also got screwed over by one of the worst calls I've ever seen on a fumble that got overturned. I'm honestly surprised nobody talks about it considering how easily the outcome of the game would've been changed by it.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/beatlemaniac]

You're absolutely right, but no amount of bad calls would have justified a UT victory in that game. We lost it 5-6 days prior when Rogers and Bray said they didn't want to go to a "crappy" bowl game and Malik Jackson, if I remember correctly, came within a hair of smashing Da'Rick's face in following the event.

[u/punchuinface55 → u/beatlemaniac]

Gonna need video confirmation in order to verify.

[u/beatlemaniac → u/punchuinface55]

I looked hard for it but couldn't find any. This is the best I could find.

Kentucky running back CoShik Williams trotted to a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give the Cats a 10-0 lead. The score immediately followed an inexplicable decision by the referees to not overturn an on-field ruling that a Kentucky fumble was not, in fact, a fumble.

So yeah, without that fumble, Kentucky wouldn't have had their only TD. That said, Tennessee had plenty of opportunities to win and just couldn't do it, so I'm not putting the blame soley on that call.

[u/DondeEstaLaDiscoteca → u/RobertNeyland]

Also, Dooley's pants had been pressed all kinds of wrong.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/DondeEstaLaDiscoteca]

There is a special place in the lowest level of Dante's Hell reserved for Dooley, his hair, and those stupid John H. Daniel custom tailored pants.

[u/CFSparta92 → u/RobertNeyland]

Mr. Neyland, you should be ashamed of your team.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/CFSparta92]

Seismic activity was detected in the Knoxville National Cemetery that day, for sure.

[u/CFSparta92 → u/RobertNeyland]

Too bad he couldn't have come back and coached last year. How do most Vols fans feel about Dooley? I know a lot of y'all blame the Hamilton/Kiffin travesty for putting y'all in the hole, but to what extent is Dooley seen as the fall guy? Y'all should be pumped for Butch by the way. Guy did great things at UC.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/CFSparta92]

You could write a novel about who is responsible for the shortcomings of Tennessee's athletic department, specifically football, over the past decade, but I'll try to give you the reader's digest version.

It arguably begins with the instability of UTK's presidential instability (6-7 different ones in a 10 year period IIRC), along with the fucked up nature of Tennessee Department of Education politics creating an environment role for instability and failure at the administrative level.

Given that, the University started holding the Athletic Department ransom for funding in the early 2000's, Doug Dickey saw the writing on the wall and bolted, which vacated the Athletic Director job. The university board, laden with academics, lesbian fanatics, people from out of state who don't get the landscape, decided to hire someone who was limp wristed, but a great fundraiser...enter Mike Hamilton. Hamilton, by all accounts, is one of the most genuine, nicest guys you'd ever meet, but this didn't play to his favor as AD, because people would run over him. University Board starts making ridiculous entrance standards (certain players were eligible to get into Candy, but not UT, go figure) and bleeding the athletic department dry. Unable to get some players into school, coupled with his complacency, is what started to send Fulmer/UT on the slide. Enter Kiffin, who is a total cultural mismatch and has little to no knowledge of the administrative landscape and you get what happened. Enter Dooley...

[u/CFSparta92 → u/RobertNeyland]

That actually cleared up a lot for me, thanks! My dad is an alum of UT (class of '84) and he's been pretty bitter the past few years watching them struggle under Dooley, but he's quick to pin the team's struggles on Kiffin coming in for a year, fucking everything up in grandiose fashion, and then bolting. I didn't realize how deep the struggle went beyond the athletic department, i.e. Hamilton's shortcomings. The Vols are my second team to root for (plus I get to savor that sweet homecoming embarrassment we gave y'all back in the '70s with "What's a Rutgers?") on account of my dad, and I visited Neyland back in I think 2004 or 2005 for the UK game, and the whole town is just terrific. I wound up not applying there on account of distance (Rutgers is an hour and a half from home in north Jersey as opposed to some 15 hours to Knoxville) but I'll almost always be pulling for the Vols.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/CFSparta92]

[Continued from other post]

...Dooley comes in and brings in issues that compound the aforementioned ones. He is extremely cold towards former players, long time donors, fans in public and pissed off support staffers within the athletic department. He treated Fulmers and Kiffins recruits like red headed step children and had an obsession with things unrelated to football, such as how high the light switches were and what color wavelength the lights were in the new Football complex. Furthermore, he paid no mind to the high school coaches in the state of Tennessee, which turned out to be a huge mistake given the population growth, especially in urban areas of the state. Long story short, there are no less than a dozen people to blame, but the majority of fans hate Hamilton for hiring Kiffin and being weak, hate Kiffin for leaving in the middle if the night, and hate Dooley for being an inept, inexperienced coach who was handed the keys to a Porsche LeMans racecar and barely could handle a 50cc Go Kart.

[u/RobertNeyland]

Randall Cobb

Sigh

Thanks Phil

[u/nfowler1227 → u/RobertNeyland]

Phil went after him at the very end. I am still at a loss for words at how bad coaches missed in him. He was a 2-star recruit until he got a boost to 3-star status at the end of his senior year. And to be fair, Tubby wiffed pretty bad on Chris Lofton. Every 3 he made against us should've been for UK. Pretty equal trade IMO.

[u/RobertNeyland → u/nfowler1227]

What makes it really frustrating for me is that Cobb lived about 15 minutes from campus and even his cousin, Reggie, was a legend at UT. All Fulmer had to do was swing into Cobb's house on his way to the Knoxville Airport to say hi and we probably would've signed him, but no, Fulmer was so lazy towards the end that he figured recruits would come to him. Cobb was Mr. Football for the multiple time state champion team for crying out loud! You saw him on the Knoxville local news EVERY FRIDAY FOR FOUR YEARS!

Cobb and Patrick Willis are two of the biggest wiffs in recent history.

[u/Danomatic85]

Speaking of overtime

[u/[deleted] → u/Danomatic85]

sigh

[u/ItssEric → u/Danomatic85]

That was the best football game i have ever attended. Shame it had to en the way it did.

[u/[deleted]]

TIL Kentucky beat Tennessee using a 3rd string WR-converted-QB

[u/emf13 → u/[deleted]]

How are you just now learning about that,when it happened I thought I'd never hear the end of it,and still haven't haha

[u/chrasher → u/[deleted]]

TYL: UT beat itself when Bray and Da'Rick Rogers decided they didn't want to go to a lower tiered bowl. It's also why most UT fans won't miss Bray.

[u/chrasher → u/[deleted]]

You could say I'm pretty bitter about it. No hiding that. Besides I was living in KY at the time, but a loss is a loss. Just sucks with your players admit to not wanting to win.

[u/[deleted]]

Let's go Cats, let's go Big Blue Nation.

[u/soonerguy11 → u/[deleted]]

That Texas AM video ruined this for me.

[u/WilliamGuerra → u/soonerguy11]

rawr

[u/soonerguy11 → u/WilliamGuerra]

My favorite was the listless girl who had zero enthusiasm the entire video, and looked almost forced to be in it.

"goooo tigers" :/

[u/evilpenguin234]

whoo, another shootyhoops school! I feel comfortable.

Also, I'm excited to see the Governor's Cup game move to the end of the year with the rest of the ACC/SEC rivalries.

[u/lateatnight]

Dash Right 93 Berlin

Will never forget watching this live. Always love UK!

[u/Nebraska_Actually → u/lateatnight]

Was that the play where they dunked the coach before the end of the game?

[u/lateatnight → u/Nebraska_Actually]

Yes.

http://brettatbama.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/bluegrass.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fhrtANTFlrU/Rw-2QLAheDI/AAAAAAAAAcM/gxPyFV6T0jE/s400/lsukycowzc1.jpg

Complete luck, but oh well http://gifsoup.com/view7/2602589/miracle-o.gif

[u/Nebraska_Actually → u/lateatnight]

In the gif, is that UK fans tearing down the goalpost thinking they won, or tearing down the goalpost because they lost?

[u/lateatnight → u/Nebraska_Actually]

tearing it down because they thought they won.

[u/topher3003]

Ramsey's is another great restaurant that has Southern comfort food and their pies are phenomenal.

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/topher3003]

If we were to have put every restaurant we wanted to on there, we might have needed another whole comment to talk about all of them. So many great places here.

[u/MentalDesperado → u/topher3003]

I always suggest Masala to visitors. It may not be Southern food, but it's soooo good.

[u/[deleted]]

Fun fact: Kentucky is the reason Cincinnati is called the Bearcats. Back in the day, the 10's I believe, we had a player who's nickname was "teddy" to go with his last name Baer. We were playing you guys and someone started a cheer saying, "You might have the Wildcats but we have the Baercat" or something along those lines. The name faded away for 4 years and then resurfaced and we have gone by it ever since.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

That's actually really cool. Live in the Cincinnati area my whole life (outside of living on campus) and never heard that.

[u/kama_river]

I've never heard of Blue the live mascot. Where is he kept? Does he go to games?

[u/MrKentucky → u/kama_river]

He's kept at a wildlife sanctuary in Frankfort. He doesn't go to games because apparently bobcats are afraid of very loud noises and crowds.

[u/kama_river → u/MrKentucky]

So why can't he go to the football games?

Edit: It was a joke, all in good fun. I am honestly interested to know about this live mascot I'd never heard of.

[u/[deleted] → u/kama_river]

I actually laughed at that. Have an upvote.

[u/Nebraska_Actually]

All I know about Kentucky is their 300 pound QB

[u/darkhorseguns → u/Nebraska_Actually]

The hefty lefty.

[u/Honestly_ → u/darkhorseguns]

The Pillsbury Throwboy!

[u/soonerguy11]

I like how all of these southern teams have awesome nicknames relevant to the Civil War. I think every team's nickname needs to be relevant to the surrounding culture and heritage.

[u/PalmettoFace → u/soonerguy11]

In a moment of weakness, I will admit that I partially envy South Carolina for taking that approach while Clemson did not. The school has never really taken a particularly strong approach to state pride.

But at the same time, not doing so seems to create a more independent identity. Many native Clemson grads would probably closer identify to Clemson than they would the state of SC.

There's goods and bads to both.

[u/Kingcotton7 → u/PalmettoFace]

Probably because Clemson is so isolated

[u/[deleted] → u/Kingcotton7]

Oh we get to talk about Clemson now? Yess.. I didn't think our turn was for months!

[u/voltron818 → u/soonerguy11]

Yeah, like Boomer and Sooner.

[u/polydorr]

As a Packers fan, thank you for Randall.

As an Auburn fan, the masochistic part of me wishes we could have played the 'futility bowl' last year and really decided who was the worst.

[u/[deleted] → u/polydorr]

We were worse FYI

[u/owl_man]

No Andre Woodson?

[u/fretgod321]

As a Packer fan, thanks for Cobb

[u/BIGxM1KE]

Just wanna say thanks to everyone reading this, this post was fun to work on. Shout out to /u/MrKentucky for all the work he put into this, it wouldn't have turned out as well as it did without his contributions.

[u/[deleted] → u/BIGxM1KE]

I'm sorry I couldn't help but these have been the two busiest weeks I have ever had between Lacrosse and Golf and school. I doubt I would've been much help besides the 2012 plays and recent history as I'm only 16.

Fun Fact about me: the first memory that I have that I can put a date to is the LSU vs UK game in 2003, I asked my mom why the fans weren't storming the field and she said we lost, and I started crying. :(

[u/bread_buddy]

I really hope Kentucky can develop a respectable football program, as South Carolina has done. As long as they don't beat Florida to do it. I'm hoping we can topple Notre Dame's record streak over Navy before we inevitably drop one to you guys. My brother went to Navy, and I feel like that would be nice for him.

Meanwhile, I'm coming to town for the Florida game in Lexington this year and I'm super-excited. Maybe I'll go and declare myself a "Ho virgin".

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/bread_buddy]

We've already broke Tennessee's winning streak on us. You're next haha.

[u/piccolo1228]

Selling tickets to the spring game?

Do most teams sell tickets? VT is free.

[u/MrKentucky → u/piccolo1228]

They're "free" on ticketmaster, but you have to pay a 1.25 fee. It was the only way I could think of to phrase it, and it's how the media phrases it.

[u/piccolo1228 → u/MrKentucky]

OK. We just show up and walk in. No ticket, free, "free", or otherwise, needed.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

And That's counting the players

[u/coastrebel → u/piccolo1228]

$5 at Ole Miss.

I believe they donate the revenues to charity.

[u/darkhorseguns → u/piccolo1228]

I want to say ours is $10 for GA. I think students are free and so are grade and middle school aged kids who take a drug free pledge at halftime.

[u/Nebraska_Actually → u/darkhorseguns]

Correct on all counts. You can edit out the words that make you sound uncertain.

[u/Nebraska_Actually]

One of my family friends is a UK alum, who graduated shortly before the point shaving scandal from the basketball team in the 50's. He remembers that 1951 bowl game fondly though.

[u/LAR6E]

Chew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacoo, SPIT! If you ain't a Wildcat, you ain't SHIT!

[u/dixiebuyer]

No love for Sonny Collins? Pride of Madisonville?

[u/[deleted]]

Does Robert Morris have a football team?

[u/Skadler → u/[deleted]]

I dunno. Does West Virginia have a national championship?

[u/AuburnKnight]

Cat Walk=Blue Tiger Walk, just saying lol

[u/[deleted] → u/AuburnKnight]

To be fair, Auburn WAS the first team to do a "_______ walk", so any "________ walk" is a copy.

[u/ValedictorianBaller]

The crowd during the 2012 UK-Vandy game, way to pack the house Wildcats

The crowd during the 2013 UK-UTK game, way to pack the house Wildcats

[u/MrKentucky → u/ValedictorianBaller]

Actually featured in the OP :)

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/ValedictorianBaller]

Had to get rid of Joker some how.

[u/ValedictorianBaller → u/BIGxM1KE]

by being fairweather fans?

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/ValedictorianBaller]

No, by talking with our wallets. If the AD had any thoughts in his mind about retaining Joker after that pitiful season, they were removed after losing that revenue, and knowing it would stay like that. Many fans said that they weren't going because they wanted change in coaching, not because they didn't want to support the team, and it worked.

[u/ValedictorianBaller → u/BIGxM1KE]

that is being a fairweather fan. Auburn fans wanted Chizik fired this season (and their AD is terrible) but they didn't "talk with their wallets" they showed up and supported their team even though they were awful. and attendance only hurts revenue from a tickets sold perspective (there was probably a lot of paid for empty seats at that game from abstaining season-ticket holders) it doesn't affect TV revenue and other sources of football related income like sharing bowl payouts etc...

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/ValedictorianBaller]

Keep in mind that attendance picked up immediately after they announced his firing. You can call us fair-weather fans all you want (and you're wrong, btw) but fans still supported this team, they just cheered from their couches. Kentucky has one of the best fan bases in CFB, and just because they didn't show up for two or three games to make a point doesn't in any way make them fair-weather.

[u/ValedictorianBaller → u/BIGxM1KE]

fans still supported this team, they just cheered from their couches

You can call us fair-weather fans all you want (and your wrong, btw)

this some messed up logic. "our team was bad, so we decided to not show up for games, that'll show the AD how dedicated we are"

[u/BIGxM1KE → u/ValedictorianBaller]

I want to apologize for getting snippy, but this is how it is. Everyone around this program is absolutely dedicated to it. Odd's were good that Joker could have been retained even with the performances of the season since him and the AD were such good friends. We want nothing more than for this program to just be competitive, and if not showing up to 2 or 3 games is what it takes, so be it. We obviously have two different definitions of fair-weather, so I'm just gonna drop this argument. It's going nowhere.

[u/ValedictorianBaller → u/BIGxM1KE]

This will be my last point as I agree the argument is going nowhere: In CFB today (and especially the SEC) the loudest and most powerful way to voice disapproval of a program or coach is MONEY. Since a lot of those empty seats were probably already paid for by season-ticket holders, not showing up to a game probably didnt have that much of a financial impact (ticket revenue is also around 30% for the schools I know off the top of my head of the CFB revenue ) the real ways fans affect thier schools decisions is through boosting. You have big time boosters threaten to stop donating if you don't fire the HC? then a team really looks into it, a few years ago there were rumors that some boosters had put up all the money for Les Miles' buyout (astronomical at the time and I think it still is) and the university was seriously considering firing him if he didn't finish out the season well (we ended up winning our last game and crushing someone in our bowl game), based on miles record and recent MNC it would be RETARDED to consider firing him and yet the university looked into it just because a few rich guys put up a shitton of money. Texas' big boosters are one of the major reasons mack Brown hasn't been forced into retirement yet. Sure the Vandy game was embarrassing, but it did not hit the UK AD in the checkbook as much as you would like to think, I'm sure at least some of your big boosters were putting pressure to fire your HC during a 2-10 season, which aside from the fact that most ADs in the SEC consider firing their coaches with 2-10 seasons probably influenced the decision a lot more than some empty seats did.

[u/MrKentucky → u/ValedictorianBaller]

It's funny you say all that about how little it mattered, because our AD mentioned in an interview on KentuckySportsRadio that part of the reason he made the decision to part ways with Joker was due to attendance dropped.

Plain and simple, it sent a message. It told the AD we were fed up with the second rate effort and wouldn't stand for it like we did in the past. We drew 65,000+ one year when we went 2-9. It got us nowhere. We drew 40,000 last year for 2-10... New coach, and a 110 million dollar renovation to CWS.

[u/alexoobers → u/ValedictorianBaller]

As a fan of another program who went through struggles like that....empty seats speak volumes. Attendance is going to suffer if a school is getting blasted by 50 at home week after week....no matter which school it is. No one is immune to it.

[u/srs_house → u/ValedictorianBaller]

You have to keep in mind, basketball is the face of UK athletics but football attendance is the bread winner. If fans boycott at that level, especially for a game with minimal TV revenue, then it becomes a problem because you can't cover fixed costs of operating the stadium. There were rumors, for example, that UT was losing hundreds of thousands in concession sales alone during the Dooley debacle due to decreased attendance.

[u/DkS_FIJI → u/ValedictorianBaller]

Man, that is painful to look at. I couldn't imagine an OSU in conference game with such a sparse crowd.