KSR Today: A 4th straight SEC loss for Kentucky

Good morning, folks. I’m admittedly a little down to start my Sunday. Kentucky football has now lost four straight SEC games after upsetting a Top 10 Ole Miss team what seems like years ago. The Wildcats had opportunities last night in Knoxville, but injuries galore (met by constant boos from Volunteer fans) and a failure to execute led to a 28-18 loss against No. 7 Tennessee.

To Kentucky’s credit, the game was tighter than almost anyone expected. UK led 10-7 at the halftime break. Josh Kattus‘ touchdown catch in the first half was awesome. Thanks to a trio of missed field goals by Tennessee’s kicker, Mark Stoops‘ squad had a legitimate shot at winning this thing. Even after quarterback Brock Vandagriff went down with a third-quarter injury, backup Gavin Wimsatt gave UK a chance. Wimsatt’s beautiful 32-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Mori Maclin early in the fourth quarter (followed up by a two-point conversion also to Maclin) made it a three-point game. Wimsatt and the offense stalled from there though. Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson soon set the school’s single-season rushing touchdown record (19) with a goal-line score that made it a 10-point game with under five minutes to go. Ball game.

Granted, Kentucky responded well to adversity, but a loss is still a loss. Three turnovers for UK compared to one for Tennessee is a stat that stands out. Reaching six wins for a bowl game this season feels impossible. The Wildcats sit on a 3-6 overall record with a 1-6 mark against SEC foes as they head into the second bye week of the season. The week off couldn’t come at a better time either. UK was already down over a dozen players going into Saturday and eventually lost Barion Brown to a rib injury.

Murray State at home is next on the schedule. Kentucky could use a feel-good win with a healthy roster coming off a bye. The season finishes on the road against a Top 10 Texas team and then at home against a Louisville team that beat No. 11 Clemson yesterday. A highly-anticipated basketball season officially begins on Monday. We can find time later to be optimistic, but right now, it’s tough to see the silver linings for Stoops and Co. to close out this season.

Dive into all of KSR’s postgame content below, along with what’s in store for today. Make sure you’ve got an extra pot of coffee running.

• Second Half Mistakes Doom Kentucky in 28-18 Loss to Tennessee
• Kentucky Showed Character in Response at Tennessee
• Tennessee fans really didn’t like Kentucky’s injuries
• Stoops saw growth in Brock Vandagriff; no injury update on the QB
• Gavin Wimsatt’s Ill-Fated Interception Should Have Been a Run
• Barion Brown wanted to go back in the game after a hospital visit
• Turnovers, poor down-to-down efficiency take Kentucky’s upset off the table against Tennessee

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

Mark Stoops press conference

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Acaden Lewis is a CAT!

But it wasn’t all bad news for the Big Blue Nation on Saturday. Four-star point guard Acaden Lewis announced his commitment to Kentucky in the afternoon over Duke and UConn. The 6-foot-2 floor general is ranked No. 30 overall in the class of 2025 rankings.

“I just really love Mark Pope and his staff,” Lewis told KSR. “Pope did a great job at BYU and he brought in Jason Hart, who played in the league for a decade on top of being a Syracuse alumni — and Syracuse has done really well by the DMV. It was really cool to meet Coach (Alvin) Brooks, Coach (Mark) Fox is from this area. The staff was really great, really memorable.”

Lewis joins a Kentucky class that already includes five-star guard Jasper Johnson and four-star center Malachi Moreno. That group ranks third in the country behind only Duke and UConn. Pope will look to round out his first class by trying to land a commitment from five-star forward Caleb Wilson, who was the very first person Lewis called after he made his own college decision.

As they say… Mark Pope is cookin’.

• Acaden Lewis commits to Kentucky: “The Pope is coming to play for (Mark) Pope.”
• What Acaden Lewis’ commitment means for Kentucky
• Film Room: Acaden Lewis
• 4-Star PG Acaden Lewis’ First Call After Committing to Kentucky? Caleb Wilson

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ZaKiyah Johnson announcement day

Is Kenny Brooks on the cusp of landing his first commitment as head coach of Kentucky women’s basketball? He has the Wildcats among the trio of finalists for Louisville’s own ZaKiyah Johnson, a five-star guard from the 2025 class. She’s down to Kentucky, Louisville, and LSU with a decision expected at some point today.

Brooks has made up a ton of ground with Johnson in just a short amount of time. Johnson wasn’t even considering the Wildcats under the previous coaching staff, but Brooks worked his way into the group of finalists. That being said, all signs point to Johnson spurning both of the in-state schools to play for Kim Mulkey at LSU.

But even if Kentucky misses out on Johnson, Brooks still might not be far from that elusive first commitment. 2026 four-star point guard Maddyn Greenway recently announced that she is down to six schools: UK, Iowa, Stanford, UCLA, Clemson, and Duke. With an announcement expected later this month, the ‘Cats are in terrific shape with Greenway.

Another road match for Kentucky VB

For the fifth straight match, Kentucky volleyball will hit the road. They’ll also be looking for its fifth straight road win. The No. 14 Wildcats have recently beaten Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina while only dropping a single set to the Volunteers along the way. UK will be in Athens today to close out the road trip against Georgia before returning to Memorial Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 8 against Texas A&M.

History will be on Kentucky’s side today, too. Georgia hasn’t beaten UK since 2019 and hasn’t won at home since 2013. The Wildcats have lost only twice in this series since 2004. Today’s match will be broadcast live on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app with coverage starting at 2:00 p.m. EST.

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‘Cats in the NFL: Week 9

TIME (EST)	MATCHUP
1:00 PM (FOX)	Cowboys @ Falcons
1:00 PM (CBS)	Dolphins @ Bills (R. Davis, M. Edwards)
1:00 PM (FOX)	Raiders @ Bengals
1:00 PM (CBS)	Chargers (B. Dupree) @ Browns (Z. Smith)
1:00 PM (FOX)	Patriots @ Titans (W. Levis)
1:00 PM (FOX)	Commanders (C. Rodriguez) @ Giants (D. Phillips, W. Robinson)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Saints (L. Young) @ Panthers (L. Johnson, T. Wallace)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Broncos (K. Smith) @ Ravens
4:05 PM (CBS)	Jaguars (L. Fortner, J. Allen-Hines) @ Eagles (D. Kinnard)
4:05 PM (CBS)	Bears @ Cardinals
4:25 PM (FOX)	Lions (J. Paschal) @ Packers (C. Valentine)
4:25 PM (FOX)	Rams @ Seahawks
8:20 PM (NBC/Peacock)	Colts @ Vikings