First Down Kentucky: Hump Day College Football Roundup
We’re getting so close to college football you can almost smell it. Talking Season is officially underway in Las Vegas, providing a preview of what’s to come next week when the SEC convenes in the Lone Star State. Although no one is making headlines like Mike Gundy, there’s still quite a bit to chew on from around the college football world in the middle of July.
More SEC Scheduling Cancellations
Over the Fourth of July holiday, I wrote about the tea leaves SEC programs were sharing about the future of the schedule. Non-conference games scheduled for the 2026 season (and beyond) are being canceled regularly, signaling the beginning of a nine-game conference schedule on the horizon.
On Wednesday Georgia officially announced it will not start its 2025 season at the Rose Bowl against UCLA, which also canceled the return trip for the Bruins to Athens for the following year. A home-and-home between UCLA and Auburn for 27-28 was canceled, and Florida and Cal called off a home-and-home for the 2026-27 seasons.
Maybe scheduling games nine years in advance wasn’t such a good idea after all.
A Few More Details on Future College Football Roster Limits
College football programs are recruiting a 2025 high school class where they don’t know how many players they will have on the roster. The House settlement is restructuring the sport and the finer details are slowly being ironed out. One thing that will be included in the longform settlement is a concrete number on roster limits, one that likely eliminates walk-on programs nationwide.
According to Pete Thamel, officials are shrinking the rosters to between 100 and 110. College football programs are currently limited to 85 scholarships, but many final rosters exceed that 110 number with walk-ons. The silver lining: these roster limits will be in effect for the 2025 season, but will not be enforced overnight. There’s a grace period that will slowly dwindle the rosters to prevent mass cuts all at once.
Meet Kentucky Wildcats This Weekend
Members of The 15 Club have another opportunity to kick it with their favorite Kentucky Wildcats. This Saturday the NIL collective is hosting a barbeque party at Masterson Station with over 40 Kentucky athletes from 2-5 pm. This event is free for all members of The 15 Club.
Bush Hamdan Left a Good Situation for the Kentucky OC Job
Allow this to serve as another reminder that Bush Hamdan had a good thing going at his alma mater when he ultimately decided to depart this offseason. Boise State was picked to win the Mountain West by a large margin over UNLV. The Broncos led all teams with seven preseason All-Mountain West selections. Hopefully, this is just another sign that Hamdan really, really likes what he has in Lexington.
2024 Mountain West Predicted Order of Finish
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Points |
| 1. | Boise State (38) | 543 |
| 2. | UNLV (4) | 471 |
| 3. | Fresno State (4) | 460 |
| 4. | Air Force | 384 |
| 5. | Colorado State | 337 |
| 6. | Wyoming | 296 |
| 7. | Utah State | 285 |
| 8. | San Diego State | 251 |
| 9. | Hawai’i | 214 |
| 10. | San José State | 185 |
| 11. | New Mexico | 85 |
| 12. | Nevada | 77 |
Miami Hired a Recruiting Reporter
Mario Cristobal is taking a move from Clark Lea. When the latter accepted the job at Vanderbilt, he hired his buddy Barton Simmons away from 247 Sports. Cristobal isn’t going to the top of the recruiting food chain for this hire, but it’s clear he sees value in bringing a “recruiting insider” onto the payroll. Frank Tucker was a Rivals contributor who also worked in the media space operating “The Crib South Florida,” a prospect promotion company in the area.
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That move might make sense. This one does not. Wearing all-black in Miami is foolish, especially when the uniforms make you look like the Tennessee Volunteers.
You Look Like You Want More College Football ’25 Content
Today we learned that Deone Walker is one of the best defensive players in the new EA Sports video game. CB Max Hairston also made the cut, ranked as a 91 overall.
I’m sure you’re starving for more content, so I’ve scrounged up an intro clip from a WKU football game at Houchens Stadium. The problem with it? It looks too cool. I’ve been to quite a few games on The Hill and very rarely will you see that many fans in the stands for a game, especially one in the rain against Bowling Green.
Kentucky Coaching Legend Passes Away
Louisville Trinity High School would not be the state’s most dominant football program without the foundation laid by Dennis Lampley. The Hall of Fame coach died this week after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Lampley won five state championships, highlighted by a run from 1988-91 where the Rocks won a state record 50 consecutive games. He compiled a record of 138-21 during his illustrious tenure that also included three Kentucky High School Coach of the Year honors and a National Coach of the Year Award in 1990. He stepped off the sidelines after winning the state title in ’94, but remained at Trinity as the athletic director for another 15 years where he hired Bob Beatty to take the Shamrocks’ success into the stratosphere.
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