Wildcats hoping for improvement

If the home field really has an advantage, then the Kentucky Wildcats could have a winning season with seven home games in 2016.
UK will open its schedule against Southern Miss on Sept. 3 at Commonwealth Stadium. The Wildcats will then travel to Florida on Sept. 10 before returning home to take on New Mexico State on Sept. 17.
The Wildcats will then host South Carolina (Sept. 24) and Vanderbilt (Oct. 8), before traveling to Alabama (Oct. 1).
UK will host Mississippi State on Oct. 22 and travel to Missouri on Oct. 29.
Kentucky will then host Georgia on Nov. 5 and travel to Tennessee on Nov. 12, before concluding its home schedule with Austin Peay on Nov. 19.
Kentucky conclude the regular season on Nov. 26 at Louisville.
Becoming bowl eligible may happen, but the Wildcats will be hard pressed to win more than six games this season.
Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw are the new co-offensive cooridinators. Gran spent time at Florida State, Auburn and Cincinnati.
Hinsaw moved from Cincinnati and Tennessee where he coached quarterbacks and wide receivers.
The passing game will be the Wildcats strongest asset this season, led by quarterback Drew Barker and receivers Garrett Johnson, Dorian Baker, and Jeff Badet.
Stanley Williams ran for 855 yards last season and showed and will be joined by Jojo Kemp and Mikel Horton.
The most experience is the offensive line with four returners all 300 pounds or heavier.
The weakest link is the Wildcat defense with only four returning starters, led by nose tackle Matt Elam.
Overall, Kentucky must replace six of its top seven tacklers from 2015.
The Wildcats need a good season from linebacker Jason Hatcher, defensive tackle Matt Elam and cornerback Chris Westry.
Freshmen could make an impact this fall including Drake Jackson, Kash Daniel and Landon Young, all of whom were homegrown 4-star prospects.
Jordan Griffin is a lockdown corner who also could see early playing time.
Junior college transfer Tate Leavitt, who last played at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College could become a reliable left tackle.
There are signs of progress for Kentucky as Mark Stoops enters his fourth season.
But the Wildcats have yet to finish better than 5-7 overall or 2-6 in league play under Stoops’ direction.
A crossover game against Alabama in early October and road trips to Florida, Louisville, Missouri and Tennessee certainly doesn’t help Kentucky’s chances of reaching a bowl in 2016.
While the SEC East has new coachs at Georgia (Kirby Smart), South Carolina (Will Muschamp) and Missouri (Barry Odom), the Wildcats will still fall in the bottom tier behind Tennessee, the Gators and Bulldogs.
Stoops (12-24) has recruited well, but his teams have not reached their goals.
Last year, the Wildcats opened with wins over Louisiana-Lafayette, South Carolina, Missouri and Eastern Carolina.
Kentucky then dropped gamest to Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennesse and Georgia and Vanderbilt.
A win over Charlotte was followed by a loss to Louisville as the Wildcats finished 5-7 for the second straight season.