It's a little over 24 hours until kick0ff and I am super excited. The day is supposed to be perfectly gorgeous. 75 degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. The beer will be flowing like wine and the thumping sound of cornhole bags landing on boards will be echoing through the air.
And then a dark blue cloud will descend upon the "Cardinal Strong" faithful when 3:30 p.m. arrives as they will finally realized two things: 1). Kentucky's team is very athletic and 2). Charlie Strong will be on the sidelines wearing a polo and a headset and not on the field wearing pads and a helmet.
The 57,000 (smirk) Dirty Birds will lose the wind from their sails and after the first half they will be exiting the newly revamped Pizza Box. Reality will set in that DeMar Dorsey is still not cleared to play and neither is Jordan Campbell. The defense is small, the defensive backfield is slow, the offensive line is porous and without depth, the QB can't pass, the middle linebacker is a true freshman. And, once again, Charlie Strong is not playing in the game.
When I ask UofL fans why they think that the Cards will win the game, 8 out of 10 say because of Charlie Strong. That's not an answer that has anything to do with the actual players playing. Will they be fired up? Sure. Will they be better prepared? Maybe. Are they more talented than last year? Absolutely not. In fact, I think they are worse.
What Charlie Strong does do is he gives hope for the future. He represents something that could be, not something that is. He gives the air of change that might occur over time and if he can lay ground work.
If there is one thing that I can say about coach Strong is that he is honest. He doesn't pull any punches when he speaks of the talent level on his team. He lowers expectations by comparing his current team to the 0-11 team he coached in South Carolina in 1999. He lowers expectations when he says he doesn't know what to expect. But he gives hope when he says that they will play hard every play. I sure hope so.
After Saturday I will give my take on the game and what I saw. I fully expect to be writing about the 4th victory in a row for Kentucky. I doubt any of our Cardinal bloggers will feel like giving their opinion. They rarely do anyway.
I will even give my analysis if the Cats lose. Will I be upset? Sure. But I wills till have plenty to say. But I doubt that our Cardinal brethren will have much if anything to say.
Cats 27-Cards 17
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