It was a beautiful sunny day at Kroger Field in Lexington where Kentucky stopped a very respectable Toledo team 24-16 Saturday in a season opener for both schools.
However, it wasn’t a very pretty victory for the football Wildcats. While UK’s defense did a fine job, Kentucky still has problems, especially on the passing side. Just like the 2024 season when Kentucky struggled big time with its very weak offense, finishing last with 20.6 points in the 16-team SEC, No. 15 in total offense and No. 14 in passing yards.
Overall, Toledo outgained UK in total yards, 329-305, as the Cats and their new QB Zach Calzada only managed 85 passing yards on 10-of-23 attempts.
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of seven books about UK basketball, including soon-to-be-published “Unforgettable Journey with the Cats: Inside Kentucky Hoops Madness.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro, he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine.“I did expect the passing game to be better today,” said coach Mark Stoops, who is entering his 13th season at Kentucky while extending his school record for the most seasons as the school’s head coach.
Added Calzada, a former starting QB at Texas A&M who passed for 2,185 yards and 17 TDs as a sophomore in 2021, “There were some ups and downs, but I feel good about these guys, and we are going to get better.”
Asked about the offense being the same as last season, UK tight end Josh Kattus said, “I’d tell them not to be concerned. We ran the ball very well, but we just didn’t connect on some of those deep passes. We’re going to get back after it at practice and the offense has already identified some problems in the locker room. I think we’ll be good. Fans just have faith in us. We’re going to punch the clock this next week and be ready to go.”
On the bright side, Kentucky’s running game was much better, featuring running backs Dante Dowdell and Seth McGowan who rushed for 129 and 78 yards, respectively. Dowdell also rushed for a 79-yard TD in the fourth quarter, giving his team a more comfortable 24-9 lead.
“We beat a very good team that’s getting top 25 votes. It’s not like they’re a bad team. We got the victory,” said Stoops, who has the sixth-longest term of any active head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
“We all know we need to get better. We all know the competitions going to improve. But it’s one game. It’s a step in the right direction and we have to go back to work and hopefully get that improvement that we all like to see between week one and week two.”
On defense, Kentucky linebacker Alex Afari Jr. led the team with a career-best 13 tackles against Toledo.
Anyhow, if UK is going to make noise this fall, the Wildcats obviously will need to improve their passing game significantly to keep the defense honest. Otherwise, it will be another long season for the Big Blue Nation. Just like last season when the Cats struggled with a 4-8 mark, including only one win in eight SEC games.
UK’s next game is Saturday when the Cats host coach Lane Kiffin’s Mississippi Rebels, who were ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll. The SEC matchup will be shown on ABC, beginning at 3:30 pm ET.
As you may recall, when both teams met last year in Oxford, it was a defensive battle as the Wildcats won 20-17. It turned out to be the highlight of Kentucky’s 2024 campaign.
But the Rebels, who had the league’s No. 1 offense with 526.5 total yards last season, are coming off with a blowout victory over Sun Belt Conference’s Georgia State 63-7 this past weekend. So, the Wildcats likely will have their hands full against Ole Miss, which is No. 4 in the 2025 transfer rankings according to 24/7 Sports.
Said Kiffin after Saturday’s victory, “I thought our guys did a really good job today. I don’t take these types of games for granted. You know, maybe sometimes some people do, and fans, especially. (We) understand that Georgia State is a much-improved player-wise from what they added in the portal, and they beat Vanderbilt last year.”
The 50-year-old Kiffin, known as one of college football’s top offensive minds, is beginning his sixth year at Mississippi and 14th overall as a head coach. His younger brother, Chris Kiffin, is an assistant coach, working with the linebackers, at Ole Miss.
A quick prediction: Ole Miss over UK by 13.