KSR Today: Stoops in Louisville, Week 0 football, and more about the Wildcats

Good morning, Big Blue Nation, and happy belated birthday, Ryan Lemond. Today, we celebrate being one day closer to the start of the college football season. This past weekend was our last without football, and the preseason rolls on with another Mark Stoops speaking engagement on Monday.

We’ll also get Kentucky’s final basketball schedule this week, plus Jasper Johnson Watch rolls on as the five-star homegrown talent nears his late-August decision date.

But let’s start our morning conversation with football.

College football is five days away

College football’s Week 0 begins this coming Saturday with seven games on the viewing schedule. The headliner and opening game is 10th-ranked Florida State versus Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. They call that one the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, scheduled for noon ET on Saturday.

• Aer Lingus College Football Classic: Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (in Dublin, Ireland) | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN
• McNeese at Tarleton State | 2:30 p.m. ET| ESPN2
• Montana State at New Mexico | 4 p.m. ET | FS1
• FCS Kickoff: North Alabama vs. Southeast Missouri State (Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama) | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN
• MEAC/SWAC Challenge: Norfolk State vs. Florida A&M (Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia) | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
• SMU at Nevada | 8 p.m. ET |CBS Sports Network
• Delaware State at Hawaii | 11:59 p.m.

Mark Stoops at Churchill Downs

Mark Stoops has another 12 days before Kentucky‘s first game of 2024. Still, Stoops is a busy man as the preseason winds down in Lexington. On Saturday, the Wildcats played their final summer scrimmage, followed by comments from Stoops at the podium. He really likes his QB room.

Today, Stoops will speak at another podium. This time, he will talk to a crowd in Louisville at the annual Greater Louisville UK Kickoff Luncheon at Churchill Downs. KSR will be in the house to track his comments for you, the KSR reader.

Bush Hamdan and the offense will speak on Tuesday

Tomorrow, UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan will do the talking after the team’s Tuesday practice in Lexington. Again, KSR will do the heavy lifting for you by providing Hamdan’s comments and a video of the conversation here on KentuckySportsRadio.com.

The preseason football conversations go in depth over on KSBoard, where right now, promo code HOMEGROWN will knock 50 percent off subscriptions for new subscribers. Get over there. Join KSBoard.

Keidron Smith turning heads in the NFL Preseason

Two weeks, two interceptions for Keidron Smith in the NFL’s preseason. The former Wildcat cornerback is trying to make an NFL roster in Denver, playing safety for the Broncos. Smith went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2023 but has made a solid case to keep playing football halfway through his second preseason, his first with the Broncos.

Keidron Smith with his 2nd INT of the preseason for the @Broncos!

📺: #GBvsDEN on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/triUCsduhj

— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2024

Remember, Dane Key’s older brother, Devon Key, is also competing for a safety spot in the Denver secondary. It could come down to Key, who started the first two preseason games, or Smith.

Kentucky’s SEC basketball schedule coming soon

Moving on to basketball. Tomorrow, the Southeastern Conference will reveal its finalized basketball schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 season. We already know the opponents and locations for Kentucky in Year 1 for Mark Pope. On Tuesday, the conference will pair those games to specific dates.

In case you’ve forgotten, here are the 18 games on UK’s schedule:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Auburn
• Florida
• LSU
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas A&M
• Vanderbilt
• at Alabama
• at Georgia
• at Ole Miss
• at Mississippi State
• at Missouri
• at Oklahoma
• at Tennessee
• at Texas
• at Vanderbilt

Now pouring: Kentucky Blue Light, the beer supporting UK’s NIL efforts

Get over to KSBar and Grille (or select stores around the Bluegrass) to try the new Kentucky Blue Light beer by Gravely Brewing. Proceeds of the beer go directly to Club Blue, an official NIL partner with UK Athletics.

The tap starts pouring at 11 a.m. today.

Now on tap at @KSBarAndGrille: Kentucky Blue Light, the beer that supports UK’s NIL efforts.

Starting Monday you can enter to win beer for a year.

Go Cats. pic.twitter.com/qsJ1Xv2YFd

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) August 16, 2024

Where to find KSR this week

There are two opportunities to attend KSR’s live radio broadcasts this week (and a third, if you’re signed up to golf). Today and tomorrow, the show is closed to the public as we will broadcast out of the iHeart Studio, with Matt Jones hosting from a remote location in New York. On Wednesday, the crew would love to meet you at KSBar and Grille from 10 to noon.

Then, KSR heads to Louisville for back-to-back shows later in the week. We have our annual show at the Kentucky State Fair on Thursday and then the KSR Golf Scramble on Friday. We hope to see a big crowd at the fair on Thursday.