It sounded bad enough at 17 games. Consider there were two years, 10 months and two days (1,036 days) in between conference wins, and the thought is downright harrowing.
But the dark cloud that was a 17-game Southeastern Conference losing streak for the Kentucky Wildcats has now dissipated with Saturday's 17-7 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Maybe more important than the streak ending, is the fact that there seems to be sunny days ahead for the Kentucky football program.
Entering Saturday's action, 72 percent of Kentucky's points have come from either a redshirt or true freshman. Redshirt freshman kicker Austin MacGinnis added five more points against Vanderbilt, and quarterback Patrick Towles and wide receiver Ryan Timmons combined for 12 more.
More good news on the youth movement from Kentucky: Towles and Timmons are just sophomores.
The Wildcats have been introducing young players to this fan base at an incredible pace this season. And second-year head coach Mark Stoops has revamped the recruiting process, landing the 21st-ranked class last year, according to Scout.com.
What's beginning to show on the field is a more athletic football team, a group that looks like it belongs in the SEC. One of the big reasons for that, is the play of Towles under center.
Towles threw for 369 yards two weeks ago in a three-overtime thriller against the Florida Gators. On Saturday against the Commodores, Towles completed 76.7 percent of his passes and added 201 yards to his 2014 tally.
When the day started, Towles was one of just three SEC quarterbacks to average more than 300 yards per game. He'll fall from that pedestal with just 201 yards on Saturday, but he won't fall off the SEC radar.
He's now alerted teams that he can beat you through the air. Towles can also hurt a defense with his feet, and improvements to his pocket presence are starting to really make him a legit, big-time passer. Had the Wildcats not gone a little conservative in the second half with a 10-point lead, Towles might have notched another 300-yard game (he had 175 passing yards in the first half).
Outside of Kentucky's young quarterback, Garret Johnson leads the team with two touchdown catches. He's a freshman. Mikel Horton, who's tied for the team lead with two rushing touchdowns; he's a freshman too.
Let's be honest. Kentucky was a two-win team last season, and doesn't have an easy road ahead this year. The Wildcats have four currently-ranked teams left on the docket (three over the next four weeks), and Missouri and Tennessee will be more than speed bumps too. It's going to be a struggle just to make it to the six-win, bowl eligible plateau.
That said, no one can deny that Kentucky football is on an upswing. The Wildcats have already surpassed their win total from a year ago, and the season is just four games old.
Take a look at the fan base too.
Stoops' first spring game brought 50,831 fans to watch, an enormous figure for what's typically known as a basketball school. Kentucky landed 35,117 fans at this year's spring game, good for the eighth-largest SEC crowd to watch a practice.
People are beginning to care about Kentucky football. The SEC should start as well. It took three overtimes and a questionable call for the Wildcats to lose to the Gators, and Kentucky finally got its SEC monkey of its back against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Kentucky will win another game in the SEC much sooner than 1,036 days. That's pretty obvious.
