KSR Today: Moving on from another SEC home loss...
Good morning, folks! I’m beginning to tire of starting these Sunday morning posts the same way. Another tough loss for Kentucky; where does the program go from here? It’s becoming a tad depressing, particularly because I know it’s coming. I know I have to sit here and talk about the latest version of what we’ve now seen five times this season.
Kentucky lost at home 24-10 to an Auburn team that came to Lexington without a conference win. The Wildcats started off on track, racking up 115 yards and 10 points in the first quarter. The offense was moving along as well as it could while the defense forced two punts and pulled down an interception. But disaster (sorry, AP Stylebook) then soon hit.
The Wildcats watched helplessly as Auburn scored 24 unanswered (sorry again, AP Stylebook) points. 10 of those came in the second quarter, and it could have been 13 had the Tigers been able to get off a field goal in the final seconds of the first half. We can thank JJ Weaver for sacking Auburn QB Payton Thorne, but that big play didn’t come without consequences. Weaver was injured on the play and did not see the field the entire second half.
Kentucky finished the game with 224 total yards of offense — that’s just 109 yards of total offense after the first quarter. Brock Vandagrfiff was benched for Gavin Wimsatt — who is playing quarterback doesn’t seem to matter right now though. UK is averaging just 12.3 points per SEC game this season. The defense was just as bad, allowing 351 yards on 17 explosive plays in Auburn’s first conference win of the season. Running back Jarquez Hunter recorded a career-high 278 yards on the ground. Mark Stoops‘ team has now lost three straight games to Vanderbilt, Florida, and Auburn. The SEC losing streak at home sits at seven games, the longest streak since 2012-13.
Any sort of cure for whatever disease is infecting Kentucky football right now seems to be a ways away.
“I really don’t have much to say. Just hit the repeat button,” Stoops said to open his postgame press conference. “I think you all get tired of hearing the same thing, but it’s more of the same. Need to finish drives, need to get in the end zone, need to play better in each phase of the game. We just got beat. Bottom line, we got beat. Didn’t play good enough in any phase to win, and that’s discouraging.”
Four games remain on Kentucky’s 2024 schedule, including Tennessee, Texas, and Lousiville. Missing a bowl game for the first time since 2015 is more likely to happen than not at this point. The vibes are simply not good right now. Fans are checking out and a turnaround is tough to envision. Where does the program go from here?
Before we dive into the rest of this morning’s news and notes, check out all of KSR’s postgame content from last night through the links and videos below.
Top 10
- 1New
AP Poll Top 25
Three new teams enter Top 10
- 2
Coaches Poll
Top 25 shakeup after Week 9
- 3Trending
Michigan-MSU fight
Things turned ugly as game ended
- 4
Marcel Reed
Kirk Herbstreit reacts to Texas A&M win
- 5
Prime Payday
Deion Sanders earns 2 big bonuses
- Kentucky Offense Limps as Auburn Rolls to a 24-10 Win
- Kentucky had no answers for Auburn after fast start
- Mark Stoops doesn’t “have much to say” after Kentucky repeats mistakes
- JJ Weaver hurting ankle on massive play added injury to insult vs. Auburn
- Kentucky Hit the Gavin Wimsatt Button and it Didn’t Fix the Offense
- Kentucky fans see another Lexington letdown as the Wildcats lose at home again
Mark Stoops’ press conference
KSR’s Rapid Reaction
UK vs. UT kickoff announced
I know the last thing most want to do right now is think ahead to Kentucky facing a Top 10-ranked Tennessee team, but news broke yesterday about the Wildcats’ road matchup for next weekend. Kentucky vs. No. 7 Tennessee will start at 7:45 p.m. ET on the SEC Network at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. This will be the fourth week in a row that the Cats have played in the 7:45 p.m. SEC Network slot.
| Game | Time | Network |
|---|---|---|
| Ole Miss at Arkansas | Noon ET / 11 am CT | ESPN |
| Vanderbilt at Auburn | 12:45 pm ET / 11:45 am CT | SEC Network |
| Maine at Oklahoma | 2:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm CT | SECN+/ESPN+ |
| Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville) | 3:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm CT | ABC |
| UMass at Mississippi State | 4:15 pm ET / 3:15 pm CT | SEC Network |
| Texas A&M at South Carolina | 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm ET | ABC |
| Kentucky at Tennessee | 7:45 pm ET / 6:45 pm CT | SEC Network |
Acaden Lewis has a commitment date
Acaden Lewis, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound point guard from Sidwell Friends School (Washington, DC), will announce his commitment on November 2, he tells KSR+. Lewis is choosing between Kentucky, Duke, and UConn. He is considered a four-star prospect and is ranked as the No. 30 overall class of 2025 prospect by the On3 Industry Ranking.
Kentucky is trending as the favorite to land Lewis less than a week out from his commitment date. If he were to choose the ‘Cats, he would join a two-man class that already includes five-star guard Jasper Johnson and four-star center Malachi Moreno. Kentucky also appears to be in good shape with five-star forward Caleb Wilson as he begins to wind down his recruitment.
Volleyball ‘Cats back in action
After a week off, Kentucky volleyball will hit the floor again this afternoon in Oxford. The No. 14 Wildcats (11-7; 5-2 SEC) will visit Ole Miss (13-6, 3-4 SEC) for a 3:00 p.m. EST match on the SEC Network+. The Rebels are in search of their first major conference win of the season and taking down tied for second-place Kentucky would do just that.
Kentucky has dominated this series over the years, holding a 51-21 all-time record against Ole Miss. The Rebels haven’t beaten UK since 2010 (21 straight wins) and haven’t won in Oxford since 2008. That being said, Ole Miss has pushed Kentucky to four- or five-set matches in each of the previous four matchups.
Craig Skinner’s team is in the midst of a five-game road stretch, having won the first two against Tennessee (3-1) and Alabama (3-0). After Ole Miss, Kentucky will travel to Columbia to face South Carolina before closing up the road tour in Athens against Georgia.
‘Cats in the NFL: Week 8
| TIME (EST) | MATCHUP |
| 1:00 PM (FOX) | Falcons @ Buccaneers |
| 1:00 PM (CBS) | Eagles (D. Kinnard) @ Bengals |
| 1:00 PM (CBS) | Ravens @ Browns (Z. Smith) |
| 1:00 PM (FOX) | Titans (W. Levis) @ Lions (J. Paschal) |
| 1:00 PM (FOX) | Cardinals @ Dolphins |
| 1:00 PM (CBS) | Jets (B. Echols) @ Patriots |
| 1:00 PM (FOX) | Packers (C. Valentine) @ Jaguars (L. Fortner, J. Allen-Hines) |
| 1:00 PM (CBS) | Colts (K. Joseph) @ Texans |
| 4:05 PM (FOX) | Saints (L. Young) @ Chargers (B. Dupree) |
| 4:05 PM (FOX) | Bills (R. Davis, M. Edwards) @ Seahawks |
| 4:25 PM (CBS) | Panthers (L. Johnson, T. Wallace) @ Broncos (K. Smith) |
| 4:25 PM (CBS) | Chiefs @ Raiders |
| 4:25 PM (CBS) | Bears @ Commanders |
| 8:20 PM (NBC/Peacock) | Cowboys @ 49ers |
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