The Kentucky Wildcats opened the season with their best start in recent memory. The Wildcats are 5-2 overall with a 2-2 record in Southeastern Conference games. The record already surpasses Kentucky’s four total wins from the past two seasons, which included zero conference wins.

The optimism is high in Lexington in Mark Stoops’ second year with the program. However, the Wildcats may have been “brought back down to Earth” after suffering a 41-3 loss at LSU last week. Despite entering as an 11.5 underdog, Kentucky’s performance was underwhelming to say the least.

The Wildcats were a product of a weak schedule early in the 2014 season. Though their progress should be noted, the team’s first six games include just one game against a team with a winning record (Oct. 4 vs. South Carolina). Kentucky opened its season with wins against UT Martin and Ohio before suffering an overtime loss to a down Florida team.

The Wildcats bounced back with wins over Vanderbilt– the SEC’s worst team, a disappointing South Carolina and Louisiana-Monroe before falling to LSU last week. While Kentucky’s first half of the season may have been a cakewalk, its second half schedule will be much more difficult.

The Wildcats host No. 1 Mississippi State on Saturday and have upcoming games at Missouri (Nov. 1), vs. No. 9 Georgia (Nov. 8), at Tennessee (Nov. 15) and at Louisville (Nov. 29). Despite the team’s quick start, Kentucky needs to win at least one game to secure bowl eligibility. The Wildcats most favorable matchups are all on the road against rival teams hungry to keep their seasons alive.

While Tennessee has struggled through a difficult schedule, they’ve competed in all but two games. For Missouri, its a matter of which team shows up in Columbia on Nov. 1. The Tigers have been inconsistent this season, looking strong some weeks and abysmal in others.

The Louisville matchup is just as meaningful to Kentucky fans as an SEC game. The same goes for the Cardinals, who will be ready for their in-state rivals in the season’s final week. Longterm, Kentucky looks like an improved program that could make some noise moving forward. However, the Wildcats face a tough stretch of games to close out their season and could miss a bowl game for the third consecutive season.