Monticello — Well, it's the same old story, folks.

Pre-season football magazines are still saying Kentucky isn't going to

set the sporting world on fire this season even after the Wildcats have gone

bowling (and victorious) for three straight years. And don't forget that UK

has a 20-12 record since mid-season 2006.

According to the Sporting News (whose parent company purchased

highly-respected Street and Smith's a couple of years ago and retained the

SN title on its cover) and Athlon Sports yearbooks, the Wildcats are

forecast to finish in the basement area.

Sporting News has UK at No. 5 in the SEC Eastern Division, just ahead of

last-place Vanderbilt. New coach Lane Kiffin's UT squad has been picked for

the No. 4 spot in the same division.

Athlon Sports, on the other hand, has picked the Wildcats at No. 6, just

ahead of No. 5 South Carolina. Tennessee and Vanderbilt are chosen at No. 3

and No. 4, respectively.

Not surprisingly, both yearbooks have selected the same

school‹Florida‹to be nationally ranked No. 1.

In case you missed it, the Sporting News also unveiled its pre-season

Top 120 in its July 6 edition (not the yearbook). Want to guess where is

Kentucky rated?

The SN magazine has UK at No. 61 overall.

Based on that ranking of NCAA's 120 members of the Football Bowl

Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), the Wildcats should have at least six

victories. That includes No. 62 Tennessee (which is somewhat of a surprise),

No. 72 Vanderbilt, No. 73 Louisville, No. 79 Mississippi State, No. 98

Louisiana-Monroe and No. 104 Miami (Ohio).

And don't forget Kentucky's home date with Eastern Kentucky, which is a

member of Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

At any rate, you will notice UT is ranked higher than UK in the SN

yearbook edition, which was published in May, while the magazine's regular

July 6 issue placed Kentucky above the Vols.

Interesting, huh?

Meanwhile, Athlon Sports yearbook's pre-season national ranking of 120

teams has Kentucky at No. 56. So, based on that publication's ranking, UK

will have four victories over No. 73 MSU, No. 77 U of L, No. 113

Louisiana-Monroe and No. 115 Miami (Ohio). A probable fifth victory would be

over unranked EKU.

Unlike the Sporting News, Tennessee and Vanderbilt are nationally ranked

higher than Kentucky at No. 34 and No. 44, respectively.

Anyhow, this should be an exciting 2009 for the Wildcat faithful and

here's my fearless forecast of UK's game-by-game schedule:

MIAMI (OHIO) (Sept. 5 at Cincinnati)‹In the past three years, the

Redhawks have won only 10 games and they now have a new coach in Mike

Haywood, who arrived at the Oxford school from Notre Dame where he was the

offensive coordinator for four years.

While Haywood is rebuilding his program, he won't be lacking coaching

experience on his new staff. He has two coordinators with 73 years of

combined experience. Carl "Bull" Reese's last coaching assignment was as

defensive coordinator for coach Mack Brown's Texas squad from 1998 to 2003.

Peter Vaas, a former Notre Dame assistant and ex-head coach in the NFL's

Europe League, served as Duke's offensive coordinator in 2007.

After the Kentucky encounter, Miami faces a strong Boise State club on

the road the following Saturday.

The Wildcats, by the way, are entering the season with a 14-game winning

streak against non-conference teams, the nation's second-longest (behind

LSU).

UK by 7.

LOUISVILLE (Sept. 19 at Lexington)‹U of L boss Steve Kragthorpe is on a

very hot seat and his Cardinals are expected to struggle in the Big East

Conference. Kentucky will be looking to extend its winning streak in the

series to three.

UK by 10.

FLORIDA (Sept. 26 at Lexington)‹This could be a great time for the Cats

to catch the Gators, who will be coming to the Bluegrass after an

emotionally-draining turf war with the heated rival Vols in Gainesville.

Still, the Tim Tebow-led Gators, who have a league-high 16 players selected

to pre-season All-SEC teams, will have too much talent. This is one of

Kentucky's three "unwinnable" games on paper (along with Georgia and

Alabama).

UF by 17, dropping Kentucky to a 2-1 mark.

ALABAMA (Oct. 3 at Lexington)‹Coming off a 12-2 Sugar Bowl campaign,

mentor Nick Saban is beginning his third year at the Crimson Tide helm and

his squad will be tough again, especially with its stinging defense.

Kentucky had a chance for an upset last year against then-No. 2 Alabama

in a 17-14 road loss. Perhaps, the Cats can pull one this time.

Tide by 7.

SOUTH CAROLINA (Oct. 10 at Columbia)‹Steve Spurrier is still the ole

ball coach in the Gamecock country, but he hasn't been able to use his

"championship-winning" magic at USC in recent years.

If you remember, Kentucky could've beaten South Carolina last year in

Lexington after taking a 17-14 advantage going into the fourth quarter. But

the Gamecocks bounced back and extended their winning streak to nine games

in the series.

And Spurrier is unbeaten against UK with 16 career coaching victories,

including his Florida stint.

For Kentucky, it's one of those winnable matchups.

UK by 1, improving its record to 3-2.

AUBURN (Oct. 17 at Auburn)‹The Tigers have a new coach in Gene Chizik,

who had the same job at Iowa State, compiling a poor two-year record of

5-19. The former assistant head coach at 2005 national champion Texas,

Chizik was Auburn's defensive coordinator for three years, helping the

Tigers to a 13-0 campaign in 2004 while earning the honors as the nation's

top assistant coach.

The fans initially were not very happy with the new hire. The coach can

win them over by stopping arch-rival Alabama during the Thanksgiving

weekend.

Auburn by 7.

LOUISIANA-MONROE (Oct. 24 at Lexington)‹Rich Brooks has to be a little

nervous about this matchup as his "cocky" Wildcats may overlook the

Warhawks, who posted a 4-8 record last fall. That same school nearly

surprised UK in 2006 in Lexington, falling by two points, a 42-40 decision.

ULM, which opens its season at national contender Texas, is a member of the

Sun Belt Conference, which now includes newcomer Western Kentucky.

UK by 21.

MISSISSIPPI STATE (Oct. 31 at Lexington)‹An Urban Meyer assistant for

several years, Dan Mullen is the new boss at MSU, his first collegiate head

coaching job. Before coming to Starkville, Mullen, 37, spent the past four

seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida where

his 2008 offensive attack ranked third nationally in scoring, averaging

better than 45 points a game.

There is a lot of excitement and hope at Mississippi State, which will

be traveling to Kentucky after hosting Mullen's old school the previous

Saturday.

UK wins the homecoming clash by 10.



EASTERN KENTUCKY (Nov. 7 at Lexington)‹Like the Louisiana-Monroe

encounter, Brooks has to be concerned about his "overconfident" Cats. Coming

off two straight Ohio Valley Conference titles, EKU is a very capable team

who can surprise some folks. The Colonels kick off their season at Indiana.

UK by 14, improving its mark to 6-3.

VANDERBILT (Nov. 14 at Nashville)‹The Commodores spoiled UK's chilly

Senior Night last November, winning 31-24 in Lexington, as All-SEC

cornerback/wide receiver D.J. Moore led the team with two TD receptions and

two interceptions.

If Vandy is going to earn its second consecutive bowl bid, it has to

defeat Kentucky.

The Cats have good news this time: Moore won't be around to help the

Commodores.

UK by 6.

GEORGIA (Nov. 21 at Athens)‹The Wildcats have not beaten the Bulldogs in

Athens since 1977 and things will stay the same at 92,746-seat Sanford

Stadium.

Georgia by 16.



TENNESSEE (Nov. 28 at Lexington)‹Will Lane Kiffin and his UT staff stop

committing one of those minor NCAA violations? It seems that they have a way

of messing things up off the field on a regular basis.

On the field, this promises to be a nail-biter as UK looks to snap its

24-game losing streak to the Knoxville guys.

UK by 3.

And the 8-4 Cats make school history, bowling for an unprecedented

fourth straight year.



Jamie H. Vaught, whose syndicated sports column currently appears in

Kentucky newspapers, is the author of four books about UK basketball. He is

currently a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College

in Middlesboro and can be reached by e-mail at CatsUpClose2008@yahoo.com.