Kentucky Wildcats vs UL Monroe Warhawks Point Spread Picks

Kentucky is facing several suspensions to mostly backup players, but the Wildcats still should have no trouble handling the Warhawks, who finished 0-10 last season and never had a lead in any game. Terry Bowdon takes over as coach at UL Monroe, but he has a huge rebuilding job ahead of him even though 17 starters return because those are the same players that lost by an average score of 42-16 in 2020. Kentucky ended its season with a 23-21 win over N.C. State in the Gator Bowl and has big expectations with a new offensive coordinator in Liam Coen, who comes over from the Los Angeles Rams and sophomore quarterback Will Levis who became the starter after Joey Gatewood transferred. The Wildcats hope to improve an offense that had come to depend too much on the run and Levis has a strong arm and has looked great in practice. UL Monroe is 7-17 ATS its past 24 games overall, 5-11 ATS as an underdog. The Wildcats have covered seven of their past eight non-conference games and 11 of 15 home games overall. It's going to take Bowden awhile to get things straightened out at Monroe. Play Kentucky.

Kentucky has not been very competitive in the rugged SEC, but they have made a lot of progress since last year. That testament occurred last week when they beat South Carolina at home, and three games back lost to Florida in overtime. The Wildcats have four wins, and won't mess around with this game because a win puts them just one more win away from being Bowl eligible, which would be a huge step forward. The defense has been very strong vs. bad teams, and UL Monroe has had a lot of trouble scoring, averaging fewer than 20 points per game, and could be hard pressed to get anything in this one. The Warhawks are winless on the road and are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 on grass, and are facing a Kentucky team that is 4-0 at home, and showing true signs that they have indeed turned the corner this year. Lay the points on Kentucky.