Kentucky Wildcats

2005 Season Summary

The hiring of head coach Rich Brooks in 2003 was met with yawns, if not downright skepticism at Kentucky. Brooks, who's college background was as a long time head coach at Oregon of the Pac-10, seemed to be an odd fit at Lexington.

Long term problems

Kentucky's problems extended well beyond Brooks, however, as entering 2005 the football program had posted just two winning seasons since 1990. The Wildcats were unable to get the football program up to the same level as basketball, despite making some good faith efforts and it was a fact of life at UK that the football program was suffering from long-term problems that Brooks was yet to be able to correct after two years on the job.

The program regressed

Brooks was given a pass in his first year as Kentucky went 4-8 straight up and 6-5 against the spread. The season ended in ugly fashion, however, as UK lost their final four games both straight up and against the spread. In 2004, however, Brooks "owned" the program and was under intense fire for a season in which the Wildcats went 2-9 straight up and 5-6 against the spread as the program regressed.

Lack of appeal with mainstream gamblers

The one positive about Kentucky entering the 2005 season was that they had a decided lack of appeal with mainstream gamblers, which meant that UK would be a potentially sound bargain on the betting boards.

Value potential showed right away

Kentucky opened the season against Louisville, who was already being coronated as the Big East Conference champion before a single game was played. Louisville was a whopping 23.5-point road chalk and barely escaped Lexington with a 31-24 win as Kentucky's value potential showed right away. UK next beat 1-AA Idaho State 41-29 in an unlined game.

Appeal dropped even more

At Indiana in their next game as 1.5-point dogs, the Wildcats were blown off the field 14-38 by a lightly regarded Hooiser team. The Wildcats' appeal dropped even more with mainstream gamblers after the debacle against IU as they were 22.5-point home dogs against a highly popular Florida team. The Gators got off to a huge early lead before calling off the dogs, allowing UK to slip through the back door in a 28-49 Wildcat loss.

Rock bottom

Kentucky had looked absolutely inept so far as they headed off to South Carolina, where they were an 11-point dog in a 16-44 loss to the Gamecocks to reach rock bottom at 1-4 straight up and 2-2 against the spread.

Bargain basement cat dogs

Nobody wanted Kentucky at this point, which made savvy gamblers take a second look at the Wildcats, who became bargain basement cat dogs as a result of the mainstream public's distaste for them.

At Ole Miss as 10-point dogs, UK covered in a 7-13 loss. This was followed with a 13-7 home win over Mississippi State as 1-point home dogs. Auburn visited next as 22.5-point chalks and Kentucky got the cash in a 27-49 loss that demonstrated their excellent value on the betting boards, which continued in their next game at Vanderbilt. Vandy was a 12-point chalk and Kentucky scored a 48-43 upset win to ruin the Commodores' hopes for a bowl and to reach their peak as a value.

The bargains ended

In their next game at Georgia, the Wildcats were a 25-point dog against the Bulldogs, who would not be screwing around with an SEC East title within their grasp. UGA scored a 45-13 win and cover.

In the season finale at home against a Tennessee team that had collapsed and was incredibly out of the money for a bowl bid, the Wildcats lost 8-27 as 9-point dogs as the bargains ended with two consecutive losses against the sportsbooks. Still, Kentucky played competitively enough to save Brooks' job, at least for a final year.