Booth Watch: Get ready to hear this fact a lot on ABC's Kentucky-Ole Miss broadcast

Kentucky gets the ABC spotlight for its Week 2 matchup vs. Ole Miss. Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, and Molly McGrath will be in Lexington to call the action, their first Kentucky game since the upset over the Rebels in Oxford last season. After skimming the game notes, I can already share one fact I think we’ll hear early and often.

Austin Simmons is Ole Miss’ new starting quarterback, taking over for Jaxson Dart, whom the New York Giants took in the first round of the NFL Draft in April. Simmons backed Dart up for two seasons and looked good in his first career start, going 20-31 for 341 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 63-7 rout of Georgia State. Although Simmons is only a sophomore, he already has his bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss in multi-disciplinary studies. The 19-year-old former four-star prospect graduated high school early, reclassifying from 2025 to 2023. He’s now working on his master’s degree in sports management.

Simmons also played baseball for the Rebels in his first year in Oxford before deciding to focus on football — even though Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco believes he could have been a high-round MLB draft pick. He’s the third of seven brothers, who range in age from six to 30. Saturday was his first start, but he turned heads last season by stepping in and leading a touchdown drive during Ole Miss’ upset of No. 2 Georgia while Dart was having his ankle treated.

So, get ready to hear about Simmons, Lane Kiffin’s new wunderkid. If anyone from the ABC crew is reading this, I counter Simmons’ story with Shiyazh Pete, the most interesting man in the SEC; Dante Dowdell catching alligators as a kid in Mississippi; and Alex Afari‘s background as a soccer player. Hopefully, the ultimate storyline will be Kentucky once again playing spoiler to Kiffin and the Rebels.

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Kentucky vs. Ole Miss: How to Watch, Listen

• Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC (Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro, Dick Gabriel)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 132 or 191 (UK)

The Cats are 4-4 in ABC games under Mark Stoops; three of those took place last season, the aforementioned upset in Oxford, and the losses to South Carolina and No. 1 Georgia.

Week 2 SEC Schedule

Kentucky vs. Ole Miss is the second leg of a triple-header on ABC. San Jose State at No. 1 Texas gets the party rolling at noon. The Cats vs. the Rebels will lead into No. 14 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma.

Kickoff (ET)	Matchup	TV/Streaming	Location
12:00 PM ET	San Jose State at No. 1 Texas	ABC	DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
12:45 PM ET	Utah State at No. 19 Texas A&M	SEC Network	Kyle Field, College Station, TX
3:30 PM ET	No. 21 Ole Miss at Kentucky	ABC	Kroger Field, Lexington, KY
3:30 PM ET	Kansas at Missouri	ESPN2	Memorial Stadium, Columbia, MO
3:30 PM ET	Austin Peay at No. 5 Georgia	ESPN+/SECN+	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
3:30 PM ET	East Tennessee State at No. 24 Tennessee	ESPN+/SECN+	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
4:15 PM ET	USF at No. 15 Florida	SEC Network	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL
5:00 PM ET	Arkansas State vs. Arkansas (Little Rock)	ESPN+/SECN+	War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, AR
7:00 PM ET	South Carolina State at No. 13 South Carolina	ESPN+/SECN+	Williams–Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
7:30 PM ET	No. 14 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma	ABC	Gaylord Family–Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK
7:30 PM ET	Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech	ACC Network	Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
7:30 PM ET	No. 11 Arizona State at Mississippi State	ESPN2	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
7:30 PM ET	Ball State at Auburn	ESPNU	Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
7:30 PM ET	Louisiana Tech at No. 9 LSU	ESPN+/SECN+	Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
7:45 PM ET	UL Monroe at No. 8 Alabama	SEC Network	Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL