Jamie Vaught: As coach Mark Stoops enters 12th season UK, here’s a look at how the Cats could fare


We know Mark Stoops has been very good for Kentucky football. He has made the program very respectable in becoming a Top 25 team.

Entering his 12th season at UK, Stoops — who is now the longest-tenured coach in the SEC — is the school’s all-time winningest football coach with 73 victories. And his teams have appeared in eight straight bowl games, the third-longest active streak in the Southeastern Conference, behind only Georgia and Alabama.

Mark Stoops (UK Athletics photo)

At the recent SEC Media Days festivities, Stoops said of his current team, “I feel like we have the pieces in place. We feel like we have the staff in place, and we’re motivated. We’re excited, and we’re ready to roll.”

But the UK boss added, “We’ve got to find a way to make those plays in critical moments to push us over the top. It’s extremely challenging (to play in SEC).”

As the 2024 season nears, many observers are very hopeful his Wildcats can continue their winning ways this fall with two traditional powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas entering the already-tough SEC as new members. It won’t be easy, though.

Here’s my annual UK football game-by-game prediction for the 2024 campaign. 

• SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (Aug. 31, Lexington): The Golden Eagles from the Sun Belt Conference are coming off a 3-9 season and they aren’t expected to do much this fall, either.  Southern Miss has a quarterback by the name of Tate Rodemaker who transferred from Florida State. The Golden Eagles lost one of their starters, MJ Daniels, this summer when the senior defensive back, who transferred from Ole Miss after his sophomore year, passed away in an off campus shooting.  Remember the 2016 game at Kroger Field when Southern Miss stunned the Wildcats 44-35 in a remarkable comeback, overcoming a 35-10 deficit in the second half?  The 7:45 p.m. (ET) season opener will be shown on SEC Network.  UK by 17.

• SOUTH CAROLINA (Sept. 7, Lexington): It’s a must-win game for the Wildcats if they want to make some noise in the SEC. After a disappointing 2023 season with a 5-7 record (including a 17-14 win over Kentucky), fourth-year Coach Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks are hoping to repeat their 2022 success when they posted an 8-5 mark.  USC is hoping for a great season from dual-threat QB LaNorris Sellers but the team has question marks on both offense and defense.  Coach Stoops and his Kentucky team have a 7-4 mark against the Gamecocks. The 3:30 p.m. (ET) contest will be televised by ABC.  UK by 7.

• GEORGIA (Sept. 14, Lexington): Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are the favorites to win the national title. They have a strong Heisman Trophy candidate in QB Carson Beck. The Dogs were too much for the Cats last year as they won in a dominating fashion, 51-13, in Athens.  Still the same outcome this time.  The 7:30 p.m. (ET) matchup will be seen on ABC.  UGA by 21.

• OHIO (Sept. 21, Lexington): The Bobcats had a very good season in 2023, winning 10 games in 13 tries, including victories over Iowa State and Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.  But, after losing several standouts, Ohio may struggle this time.  SEC Network will carry the 12:45 p.m. matchup.  UK by 13, improving its mark to 3-1.

• MISSISSIPPI (Sept. 28, Oxford):  The 12 noon showdown (ABC or ESPN) is a homecoming celebration for Ole Miss. Coach Lane Kiffin, 49, has done a wonderful job for the Rebels since his arrival in 2020 and look for him to continue winning ways in Oxford.  Mississippi could be a Top 10 team this season with senior Jaxson Dart at QB, who is a Heisman candidate.  In 2022, the last time both schools met, No. 14 Ole Miss barely defeated error-prone No. 7 Kentucky 22-19 in Oxford. Ole Miss by 10.

Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About The Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity.” He is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine, and a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com.

• VANDERBILT (Oct. 12, Lexington):  The Wildcats should be well-rested after an open weekend. The Commodores, on the other hand, will be coming off the previous weekend when they faced a powerful Alabama team.  Coach Clark Lea, a former Vandy fullback who spent three years as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, is beginning his fourth year at the Nashville school but his teams haven’t done much lately.  UK by 17.

• FLORIDA (Oct. 19, Gainesville): The Gators have been struggling in recent years.  Third-year coach Billy Napier, who is on the hot seat, will try to come up with a winning formula this fall but his team arguably has the toughest schedule in the nation.  While the Wildcats have won three straight games against UF, this matchup should be a close one.  UF by 6 as UK’s record drops to 4-3.

• AUBURN (Oct. 26, Lexington): This should be another nail-biter. Second-year coach Hugh Freeze, the former boss at Ole Miss, hopes to improve on his team’s last year mark of 6-7 overall (3-5 in SEC).  The Tigers should start the season with four consecutive wins at home before a probable loss to Oklahoma, also at Auburn.  Stoops’  Wildcats have faced Auburn only twice, losing both times, with the last one taking place during the COVID-19 season of 2020. UK by 3. 

• TENNESSEE (Nov. 2, Knoxville): Of course, this won’t be an easy trip to massive 101,915-seat Neyland Stadium as the Vols have dominated the series forever.  UT is expecting an exciting season with the arrival of highly-hyped QB Nico Iamaleava. Coach Josh Heupel has done a fine job, posting 7-6, 11-2 and 9-4 records as well as 14-10 overall in SEC. One of the preseason football magazines pointed out Tennessee could be a national surprise. UT by 10.

• MURRAY STATE (Nov. 16, Lexington):  This will be the only third meeting between both schools in the series. Last meeting was in 2018 when the Wildcats stopped the Racers 48-10.  A second-year member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Murray State is guided by new mentor Jody Wright after the retirement of Dean Hood who spent four seasons at MSU. (Hood returned to UK as the team’s director of player development.) Before coming to Murray State, Wright spent the last two seasons as South Carolina’s tight ends coach. The game will be seen online at ESPN+. UK by 27.

• TEXAS (Nov. 23, Austin):  The last time both teams met was in 1951 when the No. 11 Longhorns edged Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s sixth-ranked Wildcats 7-6 in Austin before a crowd of 47,000.  A preseason Top 5, Texas will be a difficult opponent for the Cats as the Longhorns feature star quarterback Quinn Ewers, a junior who is a leading Heisman candidate.  And don’t forget the Longhorns have a talented QB in-waiting by the name of Arch Manning.  Texas by 21.

• LOUISVILLE (Nov. 30, Lexington):  Second-year coach Jeff Brohm is expected to have a nice season in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference, which now includes West Coast schools California and Stanford.  The Cardinals were 10-4 last season with two postseason setbacks. Kentucky has won five consecutive games against U of L in the Governor’s Cup series.  Should be another exciting game. UK by 6, finishing its regular season at 7-5. Just like last season.


One thought on “Jamie Vaught: As coach Mark Stoops enters 12th season UK, here’s a look at how the Cats could fare

  1. I’m less optimistic than you about the Auburn game, so I see a 6-6 record. I think you are right on in all the other games

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *