For UK fans, little reason to get excited
by Rick Bozich
Louisville Courier-Journal

Five seasons used to be the basic welcome period in college football. A year or two to clean up the mess. Another year or two to stabilize.

Then it was A) onward, B) upward or C) out the door.

The era of million-dollar coaches and mega-donation ticket invoices has tossed that process into society's microwave. Ron Cooper was broomed by the University of Louisville after three seasons because of the mess he made. Gerry DiNardo of Indiana and Tyrone Willingham of Notre Dame got the ziggy last season before they reached Year Four.

Guess who is entering his third season at the University of Kentucky.

Rich Brooks needed 13 seasons before he directed Oregon to a low-level bowl game. He was in town yesterday to speak to the Jefferson County chapter of the UK Alumni Association. I asked him if he understood that patience is as out of style as the Wishbone offense today.

"Am I aware of it?" Brooks asked.

Then the coach nodded. He even joked that losing to Kentucky probably accelerated DiNardo's exit from IU.

"Is it intelligent?"

Brooks wasn't as quick to nod -- or shake his head -- this time. He didn't have to. His hard look screamed that considering the Hal Mumme-created mess that Brooks inherited in Lexington, it remains premature to expect great or even semi-good things from UK football this season.

Talent deficit
The senior class lacks impact players. The junior class nearly is blank. The sophomore and freshman classes stir most of the optimism you can stir for this team, but the Southeastern Conference is not a kind place for sophomores and freshmen.

Quarterback Andre Woodson is predicting eight or nine victories for the Wildcats, but Brooks declined to echo those words when I gave him the opportunity yesterday.

The strongest thing he was willing to say was that Kentucky is faster and more talented -- and that the Wildcats will improve every week if they can avoid major injuries.

And I wonder where that will leave Brooks in a football universe where it has become standard operating procedure to change coaches after three seasons.

The contrast between the season-opening luncheon that the University of Louisville staged last Friday and the UK gathering yesterday was considerable.

The U of L kickoff party crackled with a slick highlights video and brash talk about pursuing a place in a Bowl Championship Series game next January. My read on the group was that 98 percent of the U of L fans start their days counting down the minutes until the Sept. 4 U of L-UK game. The other 2 percent are making plans for a BCS trip.

Quiet crowd
The Galt House East ballroom wasn't crackling with energy yesterday. When Brooks was introduced to speak, this is how many people stood up to applaud: Two.

Surprising? How could it be? It's offensive coordinator Joker Phillips, not Brooks, who was featured on notepads and posters given to the crowd. That's a football promotional first for me.

Athletic director Mitch Barnhart preceded Brooks to the lectern. He talked some football. He talked more about diving, golf, soccer and other Olympic sports.

It's admirable that Barnhart is committed to improving UK's menu of Olympic sports. But a better tennis team is not why folks paid $20 to eat cold cuts and a brownie.

The faithful want to be told that the Louisville game won't be as one-sided as it was last season. They want to hear that UK has a legitimate chance to win more than one SEC game for only the second time this decade.

They want more reasons why they should get excited about Year Three -- and Year Four and Five -- of the Rich Brooks Era. I'm wondering if they heard any.

Something tells me that it is going to be a long year in Lexington. RTR