KSR Today: Gator Bowl Bound, Transfer Portal Opens

Good morning, BBN. It wasn’t the greatest weekend for Kentucky sports, as the basketball team suffered an embarrassing loss to UNC Wilmington at Rupp. But there were some bright moments. The Kentucky Volleyball team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky Women’s Basketball won its second straight, and we found out the football team will go bowling in Florida after all.

If you were too busy getting your Christmas tree or watching football on the couch, let’s catch you up on everything that happened and look ahead to another busy week.

Kentucky will play Clemson in the Gator Bowl

What a weekend for college football. Georgia’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship threw a wrench in the College Football Playoff rankings, eliminating the Bulldogs from national championship contention. Instead, it’ll be No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas to set up the matchup for college football’s biggest crown.

Florida State being left out of the top four gave Kentucky a bit of a boost. Instead of bracing for a Mark Stoops mayo bath in Charlotte, the Big Blue Nation can head to the Sunshine State to see Kentucky take on Clemson in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 29. The game kicks off at noon and will wrap up in plenty of time for Kentucky Basketball’s home game vs. Illinois State at 7 p.m. Nick Roush has all you need to know about Dabo Swinney’s Tigers here.

If you’re still playing catch-up, here is where all the SEC teams ended up:

• Texas Bowl (Dec. 27, 9 p.m.): Texas A&M vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State
• Gator Bowl (Dec. 29, 12 p.m.): Kentucky vs. No. 22 Clemson
• Cotton Bowl (Dec. 29, 8 p.m.): No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Missouri
• Peach Bowl (Dec. 30, 12 p.m.): No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 11 Ole Miss
• Music City Bowl (Dec. 30, 2 p.m.): Auburn vs. Maryland
• Orange Bowl (Dec. 30, 4 p.m.): No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Georgia
• ReliaQuest Bowl (Jan. 1, 12 p.m): No. 13 LSU vs. Wisconsin
• Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m.): No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee
• Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 5 p.m.): No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama

Mark Stoops previews the Gator Bowl

Football season really is back because we get another Monday Mark Stoops press conference. Stoops will meet with reporters at noon to discuss the matchup vs. Clemson and Kentucky’s eighth-straight postseason appearance. I’m sure there will be some questions sprinkled in about the transfer portal, bowl opt-outs, staffing changes, and more.

Nick Roush is headed to Lexington to cover it all. Check the site after lunch for the latest and the YouTube Channel for a replay.

Gator Bowl tickets are on sale NOW

Want to see the Cats vs. the Clemson Tigers in person? Tickets are now on sale through UKAthletics.com if you’d like to sit with other members of the BBN at EverBank Stadium. Get in there.

The Transfer Portal opens and we’re going LIVE to talk about it

It feels like we’ve been hearing which players plan to enter the transfer portal for a week now, but the portal officially opens for business today. It will close on Jan. 17. For the next 45 days, players can enter the portal and transfer to another school, or withdraw their name and return. Each college athlete now gets one free transfer and retains eligibility for the following season.

Here’s the list of Kentucky players we know are entering the portal as of this morning:

• RB JuTahn McClain
• LB Luke Fulton
• TE Izayah Cummings
• OL Grant Bingham
• DL Jamarius Dinkins
• WR Dekel Crowdus
• DB Jalen Geiger

More will follow and, in addition to bowl prep, the Kentucky coaching staff will be researching and recruiting targets to add to the roster. Who are the Cats pursuing? Nick Roush and Adam Luckett will break down the action early this afternoon on the KSR YouTube Channel. Subscribe so you get a notification when they’re live. Nick and Adam are also sharing some rumblings on KSBoard. (While the rest of us share grumblings about this, that, and beyond.)

New College Basketball AP, Coaches Polls

A week ago, Kentucky moved up four spots to No. 12 in the AP and Coaches College Basketball Polls. Where will the Cats land after beating No. 8 Miami (FL) and losing to UNC Wilmington at Rupp? Your guess is as good as mine.

Kentucky wasn’t the only ranked team to lose last week. Including the Cats, eight Top 25 teams lost to unranked opponents, including three in the Top 10:

• No. 1 Purdue: Lost to Northwestern
• No. 3 Marquette: Lost to Wisconsin
• No. 7 Duke: Lost to Arkansas and Georgia Tech
• No. 12 Kentucky: Lost to UNC Wilmington
• No. 14 Texas A&M: Lost to Virginia
• No. 18 Villanova: Lost to St. Joseph’s and Drexel
• No. 21 Mississippi State: Lost to Georgia Tech and Southern
• No. 22 Alabama: Lost to Clemson

The AP Poll drops around 1 p.m. ET and the Coaches Poll shortly before. We’ll have both for you on KSR.

John Calipari Call-In Show

John Calipari was frustrated with this team after the 80-73 loss to UNC Wilmington on Saturday. Poor defense, poor shooting, poor rebounding, and poor passing plagued the Cats vs. the Seahawks, leaving Calipari scratching his head over what happened to the team that ran Miami off the floor just a few days prior.

“I mean, we could say it was one guy, but I’m saying, like all of it,” Cal said. “Why did we do that? Sometimes you’ve got to stick your hand in the fire and get burned. I don’t like this feeling. I was saying in huddles, ‘Are you having fun? I’m not having fun. Why won’t you pass it to each other?’”

Kentucky doesn’t play another game until Saturday, vs. Penn in Philadelphia, so the Cats have time to figure out what happened, how to fit Aaron Bradshaw into the rotation, and let DJ Wagner’s ankle heal. Tonight at 6 p.m., Calipari will share his thoughts after 48 hours of reflection on his call-in show on 630 WLAP and UK Sports Network affiliates across the state.

Cal gone ‘Crootin

Over the weekend, Calipari and his staff were in Louisville to watch AJ Dybantsa (No. 1 player in 2025) Tyran Stokes (No. 1 player in 2026), and other targets in the MADE Hoops Derek Smith Invitational. Jacob Polacheck was in attendance and has interviews with Dybantasa and Stokes, so head on over to KSR+ to check them out. Kentucky signee Jayden Quaintance was also set to participate but had to withdraw from the competition after suffering a severe cut to his face. He was still there to support his teammates and chat with Cal:

John Calipari, Chin Coleman and Orlando Antigua here chatting it up with Kentucky signee Jayden Quaintance pic.twitter.com/OKDsTFkHDA

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) December 3, 2023

Bengals vs. Jags in MNF

A month ago, the Bengals vs. Jags Monday Night Football matchup had a lot of hype around it. With Joe Burrow out and the Bengals riding a three-game skid, Who Dey Nation isn’t quite as energized, but that could all change with a win over Jacksonville. Adam Luckett and family will be in the stands in Jacksonville to cheer the Bengals on, so keep an eye out for them on the ABC/ESPN broadcast. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.

Would you rather watch roundball? Purdue probably won’t be ranked No. 1 for long after losing to Northwestern, but the Boilermakers are back in action today vs. Iowa. Alabama and Arkansas also play tonight.

• 7:00 PM (BTN): Iowa vs. No. 1 Purdue
• 8:00 PM (SEC Network): Arkansas State vs. No. 23 Alabama
• 8:00 PM (SECN+/ESPN+): Furman vs. Arkansas
• 10:00 PM (PAC12): Cal Poly vs. Oregon State

The KSR Road Trip checks in from Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Shannon the Dude got to see his Packers win in Lambeau. Last night, the boys were in the very cold stands as Green Bay knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs 27-19. This morning, they’ll talk about it live from Sheboygan, Wisconsin on the first leg of the KSR Road Trip. The fun starts right now with the KSR PreShow.

Let’s gooooo…. pic.twitter.com/uBlTHYTsRF

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) December 4, 2023