The SEC has gone really wild this football season. It’s a dogfight loaded with stunning upsets as ranked teams beat each other to death.
And believe it or not, Kentucky — a preseason choice by the media to finish No. 14 in the 16-team SEC — is tied with powerhouse Georgia for the conference lead with a 4-1 mark despite a very tough schedule. If things continue to go well for the impressive Wildcats, they may show up for the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP).
It’s not a dream. It’s reality. And it’s difficult to believe that even with new coach Will Stein — who found success at Oregon as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, compiling a three-year mark of 38-5 with two straight CFP appearances in 2024 and 2025 — the Cats ignored the school’s past history with first-year coaches.
You’d have to go all the way back to the Paul “Bear” Bryant and Blanton Collier days at Kentucky during the late 1940s and 1950s to find a winning record by a first-year Wildcat coach. Bryant’s 1946 team posted a 7-3 mark, while Collier’s squad recorded a matching 7-3 mark in 1954.
Since then, a total of 10 Wildcat coaches have failed to field a winning team in their first year of coaching at UK, including two very ugly seasons. Mark Stoops’ first-year team posted a 2-10 record in 2013, while Jerry Claiborne’s 1982 team had an 0-10-1 worksheet before both coaches found success at Kentucky after rebuilding the program.
Heading into the Vanderbilt game at Kroger Field on Saturday night (SEC Network, 7:30 p.m. ET), the Wildcats have an overall mark of 6-1, including a 4-1 record in the SEC.
Stein needs one more victory to become the first UK boss to have a winning campaign in his first year in over 70 years.
Thanks to the NIL and the transfer portal, Stein and his staff were able to find players to help restart a winning culture in the program after UK’s two straight disappointing seasons in 2024 (4-8) and 2025 (5-7).
Now, the No. 12 Wildcats are bowl-eligible and have five more games to finish the regular season. They definitely need to win at least one more to avoid appearing in a lower-tier or so-called “toilet bowl.”
As for UK’s remaining games, here is my prediction:
Vanderbilt (Home): Unlike the last two games in the series when Vandy defeated the Cats 20-17 at Kroger Field in 2024 and 45-17 in Nashville in 2025, Kentucky should come out on top this time. The Commodores are winless in four SEC games so far. UK by 17.
Tennessee (Knoxville): After an open date on Halloween, the Wildcats will be looking to snap their five-game losing streak to the Vols in the series. UK’s last victory (34-7) against Tennessee was during the COVID-19 year of 2020 in Knoxville. The 11th-ranked Vols (6-1 overall, 3-1 SEC) are struggling with their quarterbacks, but their running game is very effective. UT by 7.
Florida (Home): The Gators, led by former Wildcat linebacker and assistant coach Jon Sumrall, are currently ranked No. 20. Florida upset then-No. 7 Texas in Austin after falling behind by 14 points this past weekend. The Wildcats defeated Florida 38-7 in Lexington last season. UK by 3.
Missouri (Columbia): The Tigers could be a tough road matchup for the Cats, but Kentucky has found success in Columbia with three victories in recent years. Missouri (5-2, 2-2) dropped one to Ole Miss 31-3 in Oxford Saturday, but coach Eli Drinkwitz said his team, ranked No. 22, will not give up. UK by 1.
Louisville (Home): Coach Jeff Brohm and his 4-3 Cardinals are currently unranked. Last season saw U of L whip the visiting Cats 41-0. The rivalry game is a toss-up. UK by 1.
As Cats’ Pause founder Oscar Combs wrote this past weekend on X, the sky is the limit for Coach Stein and his Wildcats.
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of seven books about UK basketball, including recently 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 follow him on X @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle44@gmail.com.