You’ve heard ad nauseam how difficult Kentucky’s schedule is this season; ESPN’s Football Power Index ranks it the fourth hardest in the country. Josh Pate goes further, putting it No. 2 in the Power Four behind Texas; that said, Pate thinks the Cats can make some noise in Will Stein’s first season, even on the backend of the schedule, which looks to be the hardest part.

On his YouTube show last night, Pate said he is eager to see how Kentucky fares over its final five games: Vanderbilt (Oct. 24), at Tennessee (Nov. 7), Florida (Nov. 14), at Missouri (Nov. 21), and Louisville (Nov. 28. Tennessee (No. 18) and Missouri (No. 25) are ranked in the Preseason Coaches Poll, while the other three, Louisville, Florida, and Vanderbilt, all received votes. Even so, Pate believes some of those teams could be paper tigers, which could make them prime for an upset.

“I want to know, starting with that Vanderbilt game, so 10/24 on, Vandy, at Tennessee, Florida, at Missouri, Louisville. Because you know, a big criticism of SEC schedule gazers is they prop up all these teams in the preseason because of recruiting rankings and stuff, but by the end of the year, some of it was fool’s gold. Sometimes that’s a stretch, sometimes that’s valid.”

As Pate outlines, each of those teams has question marks. Can five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis keep Vanderbilt rolling in the post-Diego Pavia era? Tennessee is currently in the midst of a quarterback battle. Florida also has a first-year coach in Jon Sumrall; Kentucky would certainly love to beat the Gators at home for the second year in a row. Austin Simmons got replaced by Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss; how will he do playing for Eli Drinkwitz at Missouri? Of course, Louisville is always a war, especially with Stein, a former Card and Trinity alum, at the helm.

“If it ends up being valid, there is a world where Florida is not that great in year one,” Pate said. “There’s a world where the Austin Simmons experiment does not work out for Missouri. There’s a world where the Tennessee quarterback battle doesn’t really yield anyone who’s a big difference maker, and post-Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt’s going to be just not all that great.

“Point being, if any or all of that comes to fruition, this back third of Kentucky’s schedule doesn’t end up being nearly as beefy as it looks right now. So, that’s why we write all of this in pencil.”

So yes, the schedule is tough, but if the Cats can stay healthy and Kenny Minchey lives up to the hype, November could be fun. Like Stein says, if you’re scared, go to church.

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Game DateOpponentVenueTV/WindowSept. 5Youngstown StateKroger Field1:00 p.m. ET (ESPN+)Sept. 12AlabamaKroger Field3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)Sept. 19Texas A&MKyle Field3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN2)Sept. 26South AlabamaKroger Field12:45 p.m. ET (SEC Network)Oct. 3South CarolinaWilliams-Brice StadiumFlex (3:30 p.m. ET or later)Oct. 10LSUKroger FieldNight (6-8 p.m. ET start)Oct. 17OklahomaGaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial StadiumFlex (3:30 p.m. ET or later)Oct. 24VanderbiltKroger FieldNight (6-8 p.m. ET start)Nov. 7TennesseeNeyland StadiumNight (6-8 p.m. ET start)Nov. 14FloridaKroger FieldNight (6-8 p.m. ET start)Nov. 21MissouriFaurot FieldNight (6-8 p.m. ET start)Nov. 28LouisvilleKroger FieldEarly (Noon-1 p.m. ET start)