1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

Stop me when you’ve heard this before. An SEC team with the best defensive player and the best running back in the league is unbeaten after September.

But it’s not Alabama.

Welcome to Kentucky football, everyone. Someone stow those basketballs for a few more weeks.

“We didn’t even dance or celebrate,” UK coach Mark Stoops said after the Wildcats improved to 5-0 with a win over South Carolina. “We were kind of like, all right … we expected to play that way.”

Think about that concept: Kentucky expected to play well, win an SEC game and move into October unbeaten in what can only be described as the unimaginable story of the season in the now so predictable conference.

Alabama unbeaten? Of course. Georgia? Sure. Even LSU.

But Kentucky?

This was a program that once decided its best defense was an onside kick (hello, Hal Mumme). A program that couldn’t keep pace in the SEC East Division at its lowest point (the past five years), and in 2011 had losing streaks of 26 years to Tennessee and 25 years to Florida.

The Tennessee streak ended in 2011; the Florida streak early last month — after 31 years of suffering. So maybe we should’ve seen this coming.

This isn’t some passing fancy with Mumme producing the first pick in the NFL Draft, or a one-off with Guy Morriss and the eventual gut-punch of Dash Right 93 Berlin. Or its more common name: The Bluegrass Miracle.

It’s not a two-year tease with Rich Brooks, or a brief ride with his hand-picked successor Joker Phillips. This is real and lasting.

These guys aren’t dancing and singing and jumping up and down about leaving September in the rearview while towing the weight of an unbeaten season. Their eyes are on the road ahead.

This is an uber-successful defensive coordinator (Stoops) with significant recruiting chops growing into a head coaching job by embracing self-assessment and change and finding new paths to winning.

It’s an athletic director (Mitch Barnhart) who didn’t panic after a rough start to the Stoops tenure that really wasn’t. But when you’re coaching in this meat grinder of a league, when social media cranks up and begins to set a narrative, 12 wins in your first three seasons might as well be the end of the world — even though you started from ground zero.

Barnhart stuck with Stoops, who continued to recruit SEC-level interior linemen and skill players, and three years later, has a team that’s physical, athletic and mentally steeled.

These guys aren’t dancing and singing and jumping up and down about leaving September in the rearview while towing the weight of an unbeaten season. Their eyes are on the road ahead (more on that later).

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

If you don’t think these Wildcats are built to handle it, you’re not watching what’s unfolding. You’re missing the best defensive player in the SEC – it’s not even close, people – in LB Josh Allen (above). He could have left Lexington last year, showed up at the NFL Combine and ripped through enough physical tests where one of the 32 teams would’ve selected him in the first round.

But he came back to Kentucky because he says he made a promise to Stoops to be there when it finally turned for the Wildcats. When the rest of the SEC took notice, and realized Kentucky was no longer an easy W or a stat game.

When he would hear a roar from the sidelines as the offense rolled down the field behind the best tailback in the league, Benny Snell Jr. – it’s not even close, people – and with the comforting realization that there no longer was zero room for error on defense.

When Kentucky football finally could escape the gigantic shadow of Kentucky basketball and build and maintain an identity with a fan base that forever has lost interest when October arrives and Midnight Madness is but scant weeks away.

Kentucky football is real and rolling. Next stop: November.

2. The road ahead

So here we are, and just when it looks like one big road win (Florida) and two impressive home wins (Mississippi State, South Carolina) should be enough for everyone to embrace all things Big Blue, along come another big road test.

But it’s more than this weekend’s critical test at Texas A&M, it’s the entire month of October potholes that could prevent the Wildcats from opening November with a winner-take-all SEC East game against defending SEC Champion Georgia in Lexington.

Texas A&M and dual-threat QB Kellen Mond will push the Wildcats’ defense like no one has this season. The last dual-threat quarterback to test this defense was Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald, who was pounded into the worst game of his career: 16 carries, 20 yards; 145 yards passing.

If your argument is Mond is a better thrower than Fitzgerald, check out what the Kentucky defense did to South Carolina QB Jake Bentley: the worst game of his 3-year career (3 INTs, completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes).

The game against Texas A&M will be the most difficult of the month, a 4-week stretch that includes games vs. Vanderbilt and at Missouri following a bye week after the Texas A&M game.

Get through that stretch – Missouri won’t be easy, either – and Georgia waits on the other side with a legitimate shot at the unthinkable: a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

3. Big Blue hype, The Epilogue

Maybe the most important aspect of Kentucky’s rise this season is the timing of it all.

Even if Kentucky doesn’t win the East Division, Stoops could lead this team to something only a guy named Bear could accomplish: an 11-win season. Bryant’s UK team of 1950 won a school-record 11 games, and the program has won double digit games only one other time (10 in 1977, also the last time Kentucky finished above .500 in the SEC).

A big season would have Stoops at the top of most mega Power 5 job openings – except there aren’t many (if any) that will be attractive enough to leave Kentucky. Stoops could have a big season, and Barnhart would have the ability to lock him up with a long-term deal that could keep him in Lexington for a long time.

That, more than anything, might be the most important collateral tentacle of a magical season.

4. The Jalen Factor

Weeks from now, after this Alabama train pulls into the College Football Playoff unbeaten as the clear favorite to win it all (again), don’t be shocked when Nick Saban points to Jalen Hurts as one of the main reasons.

What Hurts has done – stayed at Alabama in an unselfish, reserve role and didn’t ask to be limited to four games to save a redshirt season – has kept this team focused and on edge.

When you have a quarterback who led a team to back-to-back national championship games – and but for a game for the ages from Deshaun Watson would have won a national title – humbly agree to stay and play in a reserve role, everyone on a team full of 4- and 5-star players who have already won a national championship falls in line without question.

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The one thing that destroyed Alabama’s most talented team in 2010 was its inability to stay focused and continue climbing the mountain it reached a year earlier. Now watch this Alabama team play.

They don’t have nearly the offensive line of past championship Alabama teams, and they’re not as dominant in the back seven on defense as they’ve been. But they’re annihilating teams on both sides of the ball, and making it look ridiculously easy.

Why? They’re zeroed in on winning and playing unselfishly. Hell, even Saban begged the media to say something negative about his team to keep them in check.

Nick, you don’t need the fourth estate in your pocket. You’ve got Hurts.

Tua Tagovailoa might win the Heisman Trophy, but a piece of that should go to Hurts – whose presence has fueled a perfect mentality for a defending champion and pushed Tagovailoa enough to bring out the best in his game.

5. The Weekly Five

Five picks against the spread:

  • LSU (-3.5) at Florida
  • Missouri at South Carolina (-1.5)
  • Alabama (+35.5) at Arkansas
  • Kentucky (+6) at Texas A&M
  • Auburn (-4) at Mississippi State

Last week: 3-2.
Season: 12-11-1.

6. All about the coaching

The evolution of Feleipe Franks is more than the tangible improvement in numbers. It’s the reshaping of mechanics, mentality and vision.

The very things Florida coach Dan Mullen has built his reputation around.

“When I see (Franks) now, it’s night and day,” an NFL scout told me Sunday. “He still has a long way to go, but I don’t think people realize how poorly he was coached last year. He was afraid of his own shadow. Never looked off a primary receiver, couldn’t see the field and his mechanics were beyond awful.

“I remember thinking, ‘he might not be savable’ — and I don’t think that about almost any player at any position. I really felt bad for the kid. He looks really comfortable right now, and that’s a credit to (Mullen). He has all the tools, can make every throw. Now he’s finally starting to understand the concepts behind every throw. It will be fun to watch him get better this year and next year.”

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Franks had 9 TDs and 8 INTs last season, completed 54 percent of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 113.3. He has 12 TDs and 3 INTs this season, is completing 57 percent of his passes and has a 147.9 rating.

When Florida throws early on first and second downs, Franks has 11 TDs and completes 62 percent of his passes. But when it’s third down and make a play – the toughest spot for any quarterback – Franks still has a long way to go.

He’s 12-of-30 on third down, for 128 yards. That’s 4.26 yards per attempt, where most successful quarterbacks are double that on third down. Worse: if it’s 3rd-and-7 or more yards, he’s 6-of-18 for 59 yards.

That’s a completion percentage of 33, and a 3.27 average yards per attempt.

Clearly he’s still a work in progress, but don’t be shocked when those numbers continue to rise over the next two months.

7. It’s on everyone

It’s easy to place the blame for Mississippi State’s struggles in the passing game on QB Nick Fitzgerald and his adjustment to new coach Joe Moorhead.

But look at the two games in question (Kentucky and Florida) where Fitzgerald and the offense have struggled, and see the underlying problems.

When Mississippi State can’t run the ball with consistency, it forces Fitzgerald – who isn’t the most accurate thrower – to make big plays in the passing game. That means a decent offensive line has to pass protect, and when it breaks down, Fitzgerald and the passing game look worse.

And when receivers drop multiple balls in the past two games – including a potential touchdown against Florida – that changes everything.

Fitzgerald was sacked a combined 9 times by Kentucky and Florida, had 6 quarterback hurries and many more knockdowns. This isn’t a Moorhead or Fitzgerald thing; it’s a blocking and catching thing.

Now here comes Auburn to Starkville this weekend, bringing a nasty front seven that can rush the passer as well as any team in the SEC. If Moorhead hasn’t figured out a way to get the ball out of Fitzgerald’s hand quicker, the passing game could look even worse against the Tigers.

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: I watched Jimbo Fisher grab a player’s facemask during a game and give him a shove, and I’ve heard a lot of talking heads screaming about it. Can this be a problem for Jimbo with the administration?

Cary Jackson
Houston

Cary: If Fisher were in his third or fourth year and his teams had struggled and they weren’t winning, grabbing the facemask of LB Tyrel Dodson could be a significant problem with the Texas A&M administration. But it’s his first season, and the team has shown flashes of being tougher and more resilient.

Where it might hurt him is in the locker room. Dodson tweeted that he was fine with it, but you generally can’t put your hands on players and earn their respect.

This isn’t the 1950s when Bear Bryant’s famed Junction Boys went through hell to win big at Texas A&M. Most players today will take hard coaching, but not physical altercations. To Fisher’s defense, he says he was trying to break up a fight between Dodson and an Arkansas player, and trying to explain to Dodson that the Aggies need him on the field – not kicked out of the game.

That’s all fine and well, but the more a coach puts his hands on players, the more he loses their respect and ability to reach them. And that’s typically followed by losing.

9. Numbers game

3 + 2 = 5: Ten years ago, Auburn and Mississippi State played what could easily be described as the most inept offensive game in the modern era of college football.

Auburn’s 3-2 win at Mississippi State included 431 total yards, 18 punts and a combined 3-of-30 on third down attempts. It was, in a word, disgusting.

Fast forward to this season, and Auburn and Mississippi State head into Saturday’s game at Starkville with two of the worst offenses in the SEC. The Tigers have an NFL first-round pick at quarterback (Jarrett Stidham) and can’t protect him, and are 108th in the nation in third-down conversion percentage (34.7). Meanwhile, Mississippi State has scored one touchdown in the last 96:18 of play (vs. Kentucky and Florida).

10. Quote to note

South Carolina coach Will Muschamp on the Gamecocks’ struggling passing game: “How many drops did we have (vs. Kentucky), six, seven? You can’t catch it for them. They’ve got to catch the ball. That’s what they’re on scholarship for.”