But nobody's going to blame you if you aren't sold on the 3-0 University of Kentucky football team as it prepares for Saturday's game at No.9 Florida (3-0).
The Wildcats are among the top 15 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in scoring offense, rushing offense, total offense, passing efficiency, pass defense and total defense. They've outscored opponents 133-54 this season.
But the Cats understand there are skeptics.
“It's going to always be like that, because we're Kentucky,” tailback Derrick Locke said Monday at coach Joker Philips' weekly news conference. “It's going to be like that until we start beating quality opponents. Even if we do beat some, it doesn't matter. We've got to beat the teams we haven't beat, and then we'll get respect.”
Florida is one of those teams.
The Gators own a 23-game winning streak against the Cats — the second-longest active streak in the FBS, surpassed only by Tennessee's 25 straight wins against UK — and have won the past two meetings by a combined score of 104-12.
Given that, and the fact that the three teams the Cats have beaten this season have a combined record of 1-8, it's no surprise that the jury's out on UK until it takes the field in Gainesville, Fla.
“Stats are all misleading for all teams right now,” defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin said. “It's three games into the season. You've still got a long way (to go), and we're just now getting into conference play. We'll see (where) we really stand.”
A game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against a top-10 team, Phillips said, is “what you come to Kentucky for,” and it's the sort of game the Cats spent their offseason building toward.
New strength coach Ray “Rock” Oliver was brought on board from the Cincinnati Bengals, Phillips said, in part to make UK a mentally tougher team. When Oliver had the Cats running “gassers” — across the football field and back, 1062/3 yards total — in the spring and summer, it was to prepare them for the rigors of the SEC.
