KSR Today, presented by Eckrich: Top 10 Kentucky turns the page to Youngstown State

MrsTylerKSR

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. This Monday is better than most because your University of Kentucky Wildcats beat Florida and are now a top ten football team. The high from the win is helping us shake off the cobwebs this morning, so join me as we look ahead to another exciting week, which culminates with Saturday’s game vs. Youngstown State.

First, a message from our friends at Eckrich, who want to give a local teacher the chance to win $1 million next month.

Eckrich is proud to present the $1 Million Challenge for Teachers! This 2022 college football season Eckrich, in partnership with Extra Yard for Teachers and Kroger, will invite a local teacher (and true hero) onto the field at the South Carolina vs Kentucky game on October 8th.

These lucky teachers, randomly selected from a list of nominations, will have a chance to throw a football through a target to win up to $1 million dollars in donations to fund local classroom projects. Nominate a teacher here for a chance to throw! Make sure to nominate your teacher by September 28th.

Kentucky is a Top 10 team in both polls

Mark Stoops called it. After Kentucky’s 26-16 win over then-No. 12 Florida on Saturday, Stoops joked that his team should rise in the polls like the Gators did following their Week One win over Utah.

“I guess we must jump in the Top 10 now, right?” said Stoops. “I’m just saying! I see other people jumping 20 spots.”

Turns out Stoops was right. Kentucky rose to No. 9 in the AP Poll, No. 10 in the Coaches Poll with the win over the Gators. It’s the first time the Cats have been in the top ten of both polls in 15 years.

Maybe it’s the tired talking, but this still doesn’t feel totally real. Maybe I need to watch the highlights again.

If that doesn’t do the trick, try this video from UK featuring highlights from all 61 of Mark Stoops’ wins:

We’ll hear from Mark Stoops at noon

The winningest coach in Kentucky Football history will take the podium at noon for his weekly press conference. You can follow along with the live stream right here on KentuckySportsRadio.com. We’ll have a full rundown afterward, along with the latest depth chart updates ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Youngstown State. I don’t expect new updates on Chris Rodriguez, but we may hear about Jalen Geiger, who went down with a knee injury vs. Florida. Based on Stoops’ postgame remarks, it was serious. Yesterday, the junior from Columbia, SC thanked fans for their support.

thank you everyone for all the support & prayers! God makes no mistakes. i’ll be back…
— jalengeiger (@jalengeiger) September 11, 2022

Stoops on SEC Network; Call-In Show tonight

Before meeting with reporters in Lexington, Stoops will make an appearance on SEC This Morning on the SEC Network at 9:30 a.m. ET to discuss his historic win over the Gators. Tonight at 6 p.m., he’ll also sit down with Tom Leach for his second call-in show of the season on 630 WLAP.

This weekend’s game vs. Youngstown State will be a homecoming of sorts for Stoops and Vince Marrow. Both are Youngstown natives, with Marrow attending Youngstown State for two years. Yesterday on Sunday Morning Sports Talk, Marrow said he’s expecting a big group of family and friends for the game. If Stoops hadn’t broken Bear Bryant’s record in Florida, this would have been the game he did it, so I’m sure he’ll have a big contingent too, including his mother, whom he previously said he wanted in the stands when the moment happened.

We’ll find out the Northern Illinois game time

Game times and TV designations for September 24 are announced today, meaning we’ll find out when the Cats will kick off vs. the Northern Illinois Huskies. Smart money is on another early kick, but if you’d like to guess, here’s the rest of the SEC slate for Sept. 24:

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12:00 PM: Kent State at No. 1 Georgia – SEC Network+/ESPN+
7:30 PM: New Mexico State at LSU – SEC Network+/ESPN+
TBD: Vanderbilt at No. 2 Alabama
TBD: Northern Illinois at No. 9 Kentucky
TBD: No. 10 Arkansas at No. 24 Texas A&M
TBD: Tulsa at No. 20 Ole Miss
TBD: Missouri at Auburn
TBD: Bowling Green at Mississippi State
TBD: Charlotte at South Carolina

Jordan Wright has my vote for SEC Defensive Player of the Week

The league selects the SEC Players of the Week, but if I had a vote, I’d give Defensive POTW to Jordan Wright. The super-senior outside linebacker and team captain returned to the field vs. Florida after being cleared by the NCAA and had a huge impact with six tackles, two for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception. That interception came just before half and changed the game, setting the Cats up to score a touchdown to pull within three of the Gators.

The KSBar Football Podcast goes LIVE tonight

Freddie Maggard, Andy Murray, and Nick Roush broke down Kentucky’s win on the Depth Chart Podcast yesterday. Tonight, Freddie and Nick will join Adam Luckett and Drew Franklin on the KSR Football Podcast to get into the nitty gritty of victory. You can watch the show LIVE on the KSR YouTube Channel at 7 p.m. ET or catch it at your leisure on podcast.

The chat feature during our live shows has been a lot of fun, so if you’re able, I suggest joining the guys at 7 p.m. to ask questions and interact with other fans. Subscribe and you’ll be notified when they go live.

Wan’Dale Robinson injured vs. Titans

Yesterday was the first NFL Sunday of the season, and unfortunately, it ended early for Wan’Dale Robinson. The former Wildcat turned New York Giant started in his rookie debut vs. the Tennessee Titans. Robinson left the game in the first half with an apparent knee injury after playing nine snaps and hauling in one catch for five yards. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear to be anything too serious. He’ll undergo an MRI today.

Wan’Dale Robinson on his game-ending injury: pic.twitter.com/v3SSwwmnoG
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) September 12, 2022

Will Levis on “LeverUp”

Kentucky’s starting quarterback didn’t get a complete Sunday of rest after beating the Gators. Levis called into “Countdown to Kickoff” on ESPN Radio to pick games with Matt Jones and Myron Medcalf and later, made an appearance on the LeverUp Show with On3 founder Shannon Terry and INFLCR CEO Jim Cavale. That show drops this morning so we’ll pass along the links and highlights shortly.

24 Hours after going into the Swamp and beating Florida, Kentucky QB @will_levis is on the LeverUp Show w/ @ShannonTerry & @jimcavale

Show drops tomorrow morning!! pic.twitter.com/umq33E6tnP
— Josh Newberg (@josh_newberg) September 12, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Concert coming to Rupp

Just in from the news wire: Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton, and Dwight Yokam will perform at Rupp Arena on October 11 to raise funds for the victims of the Eastern Kentucky floods. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at KentuckyRising.com. Put me down as someone who wants to be there for a very special night.

BREAKING: HUGE concert coming to Rupp on Oct 11 for Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief

Tyler Childers
Chris Stapleton
Dwight Yoakam

I can’t wait…I am not sure you could create a concert I would like more pic.twitter.com/RZNWAkF746
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) September 12, 2022

That’s it for the news you need to know, but let’s finish things up with another look back at Saturday’s big win.

View from the field

View from KSBar

The next best thing to following the Cats on the road is watching the game at KSBar and Grille. We sent our new videographer Steven Peake to capture the scene as the Cats beat the No. 12 Gators. I’m not just being biased about our recent hire when I say that watching his recap feels like watching the game all over again.