The 2006 College Football season produced something many fans aren't used to seeing: a winning season-coupled with their first bowl win in what seems like 1000 years-for the University of Kentucky football team. The occasion was so monumentally satisfying it almost defies description.

Is the above text nothing but over-reactive hyperbole? Perhaps, but consider this: as a UK football fan, I've sat through some of the most heartbreaking (LSU's Bluegrass Miracle), embarrassing (the 1994 Florida Gators/Wildcats final score: 73-7) and just plain frustrating losses (the 2003 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks after 7, that's right SEVEN overtimes!!!) any non-punishment glutton should have to endure... and through it all, faith, or at least a modicum thereof, was somehow maintained.

Some of this (blind?) faith was rewarded last year with an 8-5 record capped off with UK's first post-season bowl victory in 22 years - a 28-20 defeat of the Clemson Tigers. Going forward, the primary question concerning the 2007 season is can UK do something it's not used to and capitalize on last year's football success?

Well, when you consider the returning team the Cats should field, especially on the offensive side of the ball, there are some good reasons to be optimistic:

Reason number 1: Andre Woodson. After a disappointing sophomore season, the Radcliff, KY prospect shattered expectations with an awesome junior campaign.

A look at Woodson's stats from last year confirms this line of thinking:

- Completed 264 passes out of 419 for a 63% completion percentage
- Passed for 3515 yards, tops in the SEC
- A touchdown/interception ratio of 31 to 7. Woodson's 31 TD tosses led the SEC as well
- His last 11 TDs were thrown without a pick

Because of his exceptional 2006 campaign, Woodson begins his senior season on the preseason Madden Award list and on the preseason SEC 1st team.

Reason 2: Keenan Burton... or the best player you've never heard of. Now that Robert Meachem is playing on Sundays, Burton becomes the best receiver in the SEC (with apologies to South Carolina's Sidney Rice and Vanderbilt's Earl Bennet). Although, it seems as if someone forgot to tell the other SEC coaches these facts because LSU's Early Doucett and Bennet were selected to the preseason 1st team All-SEC list, something Lexington Herald Leader's John Clay and I take umbrage with... but I digress.

Burton's 06 stat line:

77 receptions, 1036 yards, 12 TD. Factor in Burton's special teams skill (just ask UofL) and you get a weapon that most teams will have a hard time containing.

Of course, it takes much more than two players-no matter how skilled-to make a successful team. In regards to UK, they certainly have more than two players, especially on the offensive side of the ball. When you add in players like Dickie Lyons Jr (50 receptions, 822 yards, 9 TDs); 1st team SEC tight end Jacob Tamme; and running back Rafael Little, it's easy to see why UK's offense is the talk of the town... at least until basketball season starts.

With that in mind, it also takes more than just an explosive offense to make a winner. Defense plays just as big a role when it comes to gridiron success and the defensive side of the ball for UK is always; well, interesting to say the least... and by interesting I mean bad.

Last year, UK's defense was ranked an incredible 118th... out of 119 teams. This means, at least on paper, the defense was as bad as the offense was good. However, if you look a little closer at some of last year's later games (save the Louisiana-Monroe debacle) there was a marked improvement by UK's defensive squad which held 3 of their last 5 opponents to 20 points or less.

If UK's defense only improves a little (let's say from 118 to the 70-somethings), 2007 could very well be the year UK ends some of the negative streaks they've been on. Hopefully Wesley Woodyard, new defensive coordinator Steve Brown and the rest of the Cat defense are up the challenge.

And with that, we move to the season prediction portion of this long-winded entry:

9-1-07 - Eastern Kentucky University (Division 1AA):

Coming off a disappointing 6-5 2006 campaign, don't expect too much from the Colonels. If UK doesn't watch it or attacks with a Spurrier mentality, they may wind up hanging 50 plus points on the board, something I'm sure Coach Rich Brooks is trying to avoid (what's the point in humiliating a smaller in-state college). Expect the UK depth chart to get a work out on the 1 st of September... there may even be a Will Fidler sighting.

My Prediction: UK - 45 EKU - 14

9-8-07 - Kent State:

After last year's fast start (and subsequent 1-4 finish) the Kent State Golden Flashes are looking to improve upon the 06 season that started with so much promise. They are even talking about going bowling in the post season. Unfortunately for the Flashes, their road to recovery won't be lined with Wildcat carcasses... although, if Kent State's defense actually plays anywhere near last year's ranking (24th), the game could be a closer than many think.

My Prediction: UK - 35 - Kent State - 10

9-15-07 - Louisville:

Ah yes, the ole rivalry game. This year marks the first time since the series was renewed these two teams aren't playing each other on the first game of the season. Under requests from the UK administration, the two schools agreed to move the game back, costing each team valuable ESPN 2 airtime. Because the game got moved date-wise, ESPN bumped it, channel-wise. Instead of being on the Deuce, UK/UofL is now on ESPN Classic.

Let's hope the game, which will inevitably be billed as Brian Brohm versus Andre' Woodson, lives up to the billing. Both teams are coming off respectable seasons; however Louisville will have to cope with the loss of their wunderkind coach, Bobby Petrino, who is now patrolling the NFL sidelines in Atlanta. With that in mind, I'm predicting UK will finally get another win against Louisville, something it hasn't done since 2002.

My Prediction: UK - 35 - Louisville - 27

9-22-07 - Arkansas:

This particular match-up brings up some questions: Will Arkansas be able to stop UK's offense? Can UK do anything to contain All-world running back Darren McFadden? If they can, expect the Cats to give Fayetteville's Team Turmoil all the trouble it can handle. However, UK is notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory so don't be surprised if that trait shows up somewhere along the lines in 2007. Hopefully it's not during the Arkansas game. Remember, the Razorbacks are coming off a tumultuous off-season. If some of that negativity lingers during the season, will Darren McFadden be enough to save their collective bacon?

My Prediction: UK - 27 - Arkansas - 24

09-29-07 - Florida Atlantic:

This game will be billed as The Return of Howard Schnellenberger to the University of Kentucky (he played tight end for the Cats and also coached UofL)... either that or the last of UK's "gimme" games (is there such a thing when dealing with UK football?). Expect this game to be a celebration of Schnellenberger's return to the state of Kentucky, culminating with a much-needed beatdown (easy wins are always accepted in the Commonwealth) by the Cats before the rest of the SEC schedule takes hold. UK's offensive firepower will be the difference in this game.

My Prediction: UK - 47 - Florida Atlantic - 17

10-04-07 - South Carolina:

To say UK is due against South Carolina (and Steve Spurrier) is an understatement... and the funny thing is the last few years we've played each other, the teams were fairly evenly matched and the games were close. However, a loss is a loss, something UK is used to when they play a Coach Superior-coached team. Will this be the year UK breaks that string? Because you probably won't break all the streaks you have going against you, I'm going to say no. For now.

My Prediction: UK 24 - SC - 28

OK, that's the first 6 games in the book. By my predictions, the Cats will be 5-1 after this stretch, a concept most UK fans can certainly rally around. Stay tuned for the second part of this particular post where I will be looking at the remaining 6 games. Can UK finish strong against the toughest part of their schedule?

Until later, GBB.