KSR Today: Happy 50th Birthday, Commonwealth Stadium!

It’s been 50 years since the Kentucky football program took over what is now known as Kroger Field, previously called Commonwealth Stadium. On September 15, 1973, the Wildcats opened the Fran Curci era with a 31-26 victory over Virginia Tech, quarterback Ernie Lewis rushing for two touchdowns and throwing another in front of a sold-out crowd of 57,800.

Since then, Kentucky has compiled a record of 184-141-4 — Mark Stoops going 48-26 (.649) in Lexington himself. Commonwealth Stadium has seen performances such as Kentucky’s 43-37 triple-overtime win vs. No. 1 LSU in 2007, the 40-34 overtime win vs. Alabama in 1997, Jared Lorenzen’s 528-yard passing game against Georgia in 2000, the 71-63 seven-overtime battle vs. Arkansas in 2003, “Stevie got loose” vs. No. 9 Louisville in 2007 and the Matt Roark game vs. Tennessee in 2011.

Some all-time moments in the venue that replaced old Stoll Field/McLean Stadium 50 years ago today. Kroger Field, which has undergone $150 million worth of upgrades and now has a seating capacity of 61,000, is now home. And it gets to celebrate its half-century birthday weekend by hosting the Akron Zips — and hopefully helping the Wildcats move to 3-0 on the season.

Mark Stoops previews Kentucky vs. Akron

How does Mark Stoops feel ahead of Kentucky’s final matchup before the start of conference play? Well, he was short-winded — just over five minutes in his preview presser — but clearly excited to get after it vs. Akron on Saturday.

And he feels his Wildcats are ready to take care of business, too.

“I feel like we made some progress here this week, hopefully that’ll translate to us getting off to a quicker start and playing a little better, a little cleaner at the start of the game. We will see,” the head coach said Thursday. “I feel like the guys are dialed in and played with an intensity about them this week. That’s what we’re looking for and I want to continue to progress.”

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KSR Game of the Week heads to Corbin

It’s a big one this week, folks. Arguably the biggest of the season, a battle between No. 3 Frederick Douglass and No. 4 Corbin — the powerhouses’ first-ever meeting.

Host Corbin will be unveiling the newly renovated Campbell Field with some festivities, namely a tribute to the late Roy Kidd, fireworks, the Redhound Walk and more. The Redhounds have won their first three games by an average of 33 points per game, led by junior quarterback Kade Elam with 745 yards, eight touchdowns, and just one interception. The superstars, though, are on the defensive side of the football in four-star brothers EDGE Jacob Smith and DL Jerod Smith. They’ve combined for an absurd 62 tackles, six TFLs, and four sacks through just three games.

And there’s some real buzz today may be the day they make their anticipated flip from Michigan to Kentucky.

Wtw @jjls_14 we doing it or what Friday??? 😁😁

— Jerod Smith (@Jerodsmith44) September 14, 2023

Douglass is coming off of back-to-back wins at Louisville Trinity and vs. Tates Creek to move to 2-1 on the year. Freshman Jaxon Strautman has thrown for 284 yards and two touchdowns in three games at quarterback while adding 104 yards and a score on the ground, as well. It’s the defense, though, that makes Douglass a juggernaut this fall. That group has allowed just 345 yards over the last two weeks, led by senior LB Darion Neal with 14 tackles (4.5 for loss) and D-I athletes DL Demeco Kennedy (Purdue commit), CB Jeremiah Lowe (Michigan commit), and CB Terrion Hicks (Northwestern commit).

Friday night. 7 p.m. ET. Campbell Field.

Other KHSAA games to watch

• No. 1 Boyle County (4-0) at Taylor County – 7:30 p.m. ET
• Elder (Cincinnati) at No. 2 St. Xavier – 7 p.m. ET
• No. 7 Louisville Trinity (2-2) at No. 5 Male (2-1) – 7 p.m. ET
• Lexington Catholic at No. 6 Lexington Christian (3-1) – 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 8 Covington Catholic (4-0) at No. 15 Beechwood (3-0) – 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 25 South Warren (4-0) at No. 9 DuPont Manual (4-0) – 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 10 Christian Academy-Louisville (3-1) at Ryle – 7:30 p.m. ET

Big Blue Madness announced for Oct. 13

The unofficial start to Kentucky basketball season is less than a month away, as the Wildcats announced Big Blue Madness is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena. As always, the event will be televised live on SEC Network.

What’s different about this year, though? No campout due to the ongoing renovations at Memorial Coliseum. Tickets will instead be available exclusively online on Ticketmaster starting at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 29.

Billy Richmond begins his official visit today

A very important visitor makes his way to Lexington today in 2024 four-star wing Billy Richmond. Former teammates of DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, son of Billy Richmond Jr., who played for John Calipari at Memphis from 2002-04. Endless number of connections.

Now it’s time to make a push for a commitment. Down to eight schools — Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Memphis, Miami, and Texas are the finalists — we’re coming down the home stretch of his recruitment. And this official visit could move the needle, potentially giving the Wildcats their second commitment in the class, joining four-star center Somto Cyril.

“You can’t go wrong with Kentucky,” Richmond told KSR. “Big Blue is one of the best schools in basketball history, and there’s a great coaching staff there.”

Will Calipari and his coaching staff seal the deal?

What’s going on with Kentucky volleyball?

The Wildcats are off to a 2-5 start in volleyball, most recently suffering a 3-0 sweep at No. 2 Louisville. They previously took losses in the opener at unranked Colorado State (3-1), vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh (3-0), on the road at No. 10 Pitt (3-1) and at No. 20 Purdue (3-2).

And now, Kentucky is set to head to Lincoln to face No. 4 Nebraska on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Can Craig Skinner and the Wildcats get things rolling again ahead of the SEC schedule? Hunter Mitchell and Leah Edmond break it all down in KSR’s newest volleyball podcast, Point Kentucky.