This is Mark Stoops’ third year as head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.

His first year, the Wildcats went 2-10, showing no change from 2012. Things improved during his second year. Kentucky was able to notch five wins in its first six games of the season. But momentum is fickle, and Stoops’ team finished out with six straight losses.

Many Kentucky fans feel that now would be an appropriate time for their team to make it back to a bowl game, something the team hasn’t accomplished since 2010. After all, that would mean improving on last year’s record by one win, at the bare minimum. Stoops seems to have laid the foundation for this to happen. He has many talented players on his roster, and now he just has to make sure the chemistry, the mentality and the execution are present.

So will Wildcats football finally see some postseason action in 2015? Or will the program be disappointed all over again?

THE CASE FOR KENTUCKY

Kentucky’s star players tend to fly under the radar, not least because they belong to a conference that seems to produce an All-American every other day. But members of the Wildcats offense, like Patrick Towles and Stanley “Boom” Williams, have started to gain recognition this offseason. They will play leading roles in this team’s quest for bowl game eligibility.

Here are a few other reasons why Kentucky could make it to a bowl game this season:

  • Non-conference play for the Wildcats is extremely manageable this year. All the games should be near-automatic wins except for Louisville. And even Louisville looks vulnerable.
  • Patrick Towles has improved his accuracy and consistency. Last year, he had great games and not-so-great games. This year, he has the ability to turn all those not-so-great ones into great ones across the board.
  • Towles also thinks Kentucky is going to the SEC Championship in December, so making a bowl game should be easy, right?
  • Stanley “Boom” Williams will bring the Wildcats offense to life with his running ability.
  • The Wildcats have one of the best kickers in the conference in Austin MacGinnis.
  • Vanderbilt still looks like a team that’s unable to beat Kentucky.
  • Florida’s offensive line troubles could also make them a team who is unable to beat Kentucky. This could be the year the Wildcats snap the Gators’ lopsided win streak.
  • Kentucky has the home advantage on some crucial matchups this year, including against Florida, Missouri and Tennessee. The fact that Stoops hasn’t been able to score a road win makes these games all the more valuable.
  • The SEC East is inconsistent and unpredictable.
  • One of Kentucky’s crossover games is against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are the preseason pick to finish last in the SEC West.

THE CASE AGAINST KENTUCKY

Recent history is against the Wildcats. Since the last time they went to a bowl game, their total win-loss record stands at 14-34, which is far worse than .500. And while Kentucky has produced some great football players, but it just hasn’t commanded the respect that most other SEC programs have.

Here are a few other reasons why Kentucky may not go to a bowl game in 2015:

  • While Florida looks vulnerable this year, Florida also still stands in Kentucky’s way. At this point, it’s as much a psychological thing as a football thing. The Gators will be clinging to their win streak like their lives depended on it.
  • If Kentucky is unable to beat Florida or Mississippi State, their bowl game dreams may be in trouble because all other conference opponents look scary. South Carolina is seeking revenge, Georgia and Tennessee are division favorites, and Auburn is ranked in the top 10 preseason.
  • Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith are gone from the defense, leaving a group of defensive players with unquestioned but untested potential. Overall, the defense can’t continue to give up 40-plus points to good offenses, even with its own capable Air Raid.
  • Kentucky hasn’t been having very heartening practices lately, and Stoops seems to suggest in his comments to the media that a switch up in the depth chart may need to happen. Saturday’s scrimmage was another step back, according to the coach, and while it had been planned as the last scrimmage before the season, that may no longer be the case.
  • Kentucky has gone through a lot of losing in recent memory. Kentucky had the potential to make it to a bowl game last season, but let the year slip through its fingers. Changing mindset from losing to winning is challenging, but the Wildcats have to in order to play with true confidence.

THE ODDS

While we don’t think the Wildcats will be making a Cinderella rush at Atlanta in December, we do think Stoops is poised to end the bowl-game drought in Lexington.

Kentucky has the added advantage of almost always being the underdog in the SEC. They are easily underestimated, which gives Stoops the element of surprise. Last year, the Wildcats knocked off the Gamecocks. One can’t help but wonder who Kentucky will be knocking off this year on their way to the postseason.