If Kentucky wants to have a winning regular season with a 7-5 record or better this fall, the Wildcats, now 1-1 after dropping to No. 20 Ole Miss Saturday, certainly have their hands very full.
According to USA Today, Kentucky has the nation’s fifth-toughest schedule with six teams that were ranked in the preseason top 25 poll, including two in the top 10 in Texas and Georgia.
Looking ahead after UK is favored to win over Eastern Michigan this weekend, the Wildcats have several “winnable” matchups on their remaining nine-game schedule. As for the beatable opponents, you probably would say No. 15 Tennessee (at Kroger Field), No. 24 Auburn (away), Florida (Kroger Field), Tennessee Tech (Kroger Field), Vanderbilt (away) and Louisville (away).
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.You can argue that Tennessee is not beatable as the Cats have struggled mightily against the Vols in my lifetime. You can argue South Carolina should be on the “beatable” list, but the 11th-ranked Gamecocks, under coach Shane Beamer, have improved in recent years. That game, by the way, is on the road.
And Vanderbilt, led by standout QB Diego Pavia, could be better than expected this fall. The Commodores surprised Virginia Tech this past weekend with a 44-20 victory in Blacksburg. Florida, meanwhile, lost 18-16 in a major upset loss to South Florida at The Swamp. USF was an 18.5-point underdog before the game.
So, nothing is going to be easy for the Wildcats. And SEC powerhouses Georgia (No. 6) and Texas (No. 7) would be awfully tough for UK to overcome but again, you never know.
As for last Saturday’s matchup, Kentucky had a chance to pull another upset against a tough Mississippi squad at Kroger Field.
Unlike last season when the Wildcats upset No. 6 Rebels 20-17 in Oxford, things didn’t work out this time. UK failed to take advantage and made costly mistakes, including clock management, despite a 10-0 lead in the early second quarter and a 20-20 tie in the third quarter.
“We got off to a great start. (We) gave ourselves an opportunity and did many good things. Certainly, we all will look at a lot of negatives and a lot of things we need to get fixed and get cleaned up,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops. “Quite frankly, some of them are inexcusable. You know, it’s on us.”
UK quarterback Zach Calzada, who had to sit out after hurting his shoulder in the fourth quarter, admitted his team had opportunities to get ahead. “(We had) too many to say the least,” he said. “It’s something that we have to get fixed. There were a couple times where we had communication issues, but we will get it fixed.”
After a poor performance in UK’s season-opening victory over Toledo, Calzada showed improvement in his passing game. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 149 yards through three-and-a-half quarters, including a 44-yard pass to wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin in the fourth quarter.
But he had some missed throws. “I’m always looking for plays that I could’ve made, that I didn’t make,” said the QB who is in his seventh season of college football with 32 starts at other schools, including Texas A&M. “No matter what difficulty or how far it is if there’s an opportunity I want to make it.”
Backup QB Cutter Boley had two drives with 1 of 3 passing completions and four rushes for 14 yards.
Like the season opener, the Wildcats had an excellent rushing game against the Rebels. Running backs Seth McGowan had 15 carries for a team-high 93 yards with two TDs. Dante Dowdell had 14 rushes for 56 yards.
Thanks to defensive back Ty Bryant’s two interceptions in the first quarter, the Wildcats got off to an early start with a 10-0 lead, but it didn’t last as Ole Miss bounced back with a 17-13 lead at the intermission.
Bryant and linebacker Alex Afari Jr. both had a team-high-tying 10 tackles.
“I love the fight of this team and I love how hard they play,” said Stoops of his team. “We need to be competitive in every snap and there are areas where I still need us to improve in that area and there are other areas where guys were super scrappy and very competitive and made a lot of good plays. It’s early in the year and we have a lot of football ahead of us, that’s a good thing. And I like this team. I like the way they fight and scrap and we will improve.”
As mentioned earlier, Kentucky’s next game is Saturday night when the Cats face Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. The 7:30 pm ET matchup will be shown on ESPNU.
Eastern Michigan is now 0-2 after dropping last Saturday’s matchup with Long Island University 28-23 and the season opener with Texas State 52-27. (Texas State, by the way, will join the Pac-12 Conference in July 2026, joining Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah State, and Washington State.)
In a preseason poll by the Mid-American Conference coaches, EMU was voted No. 8 in the 13-team conference with Toledo picked as the preseason favorite. As you know, Kentucky earlier defeated Toledo 24-16.
After the Eastern Michigan contest, UK will take the Sept. 20 weekend off before going on the road against South Carolina (Sept. 27) and Georgia (Oct. 4).
A quick prediction: UK over EMU by 24.