Kentucky left the season opener with the kind of result that gets people talking, but the real test has been sitting right around the corner the whole time.
A 45-13 win over Youngstown State gave Will Stein a clean start in his head coaching debut at Kroger Field. The offense looked every bit the part, the defense handled a dangerous Penguin attack led by an FCS All-American quarterback, and the Wildcats checked the boxes they needed to check. Still, nobody in Lexington is pretending Week 2 won’t tell a much bigger story.
Because now it’s Alabama.
If Kentucky can move the ball and score anywhere close to the way it did in the opener, the conversation around the SEC changes fast. That’s the catch, though: the Crimson Tide bring a roster loaded with blue-chip talent, including 10 five-stars and 43 four-stars among 53 total blue-chip players, making up more than 60 percent of the roster. Kalen DeBoer’s standing in Tuscaloosa has been shaky, with eight combined losses in his first two seasons, the same total Nick Saban had over his final five years before retirement.
Kentucky, meanwhile, is walking into this one with a different kind of momentum. Stein has put together a roster with 24 total blue-chippers, enough talent to trade blows early and make the game interesting if the Wildcats can keep it close long enough for the rest to play out. And with the game in Lexington, home field is supposed to matter.
No one is picking Kentucky outright, and the Wildcats enter the matchup as two-score home underdogs. But the national audience is paying attention anyway, which is why SEC Nation is heading to Kroger Field to see it firsthand.
Inside the locker room, the belief is already there.
“For sure, for sure. Great (chance),” linebacker Bo Barnes said after the win over Youngstown State.
“I think, 100%, we have the players to go out there and do what we need to do to get the W next week. That’s a good team, they got good players, great coaches.
But I’m betting on my team.”
The offensive fireworks in Week 1 were led by Kenny Minchey, who threw for 300-plus yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in his first start as QB1. He handled the moment with the kind of calm and control Kentucky needs if it’s going to make this a real game against Alabama.
Afterward, Minchey sounded like a quarterback who understands the size of the stage but isn’t shrinking from it.
“Coach talked about how wins are hard to come by, so we’re enjoying this one,” he said Saturday. “Definitely a confidence-booster. More so, just all the times we practice, we’re practicing against each other, and there’s no scoreboard - but there was a scoreboard today, and we were pretty pleased with it.
“Could have been a little bit more tilted towards our edge, but pretty pleased with the scoreboard today.”
Willie Rodriguez was one of the main beneficiaries of that attack. The returning tight end caught four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, and he figures to remain a key piece if Kentucky wants to stay aggressive next week. The matchup may be against a top-15 program with College Football Playoff ambitions, but Rodriguez isn’t backing off the challenge.
“I think for sure,” Rodriguez said when asked whether a win over Alabama would earn national respect. “I think we’re just gonna go back to work tomorrow and put our heads down this week.
We know what it is, you know what I mean? It’s another big home game, and we’re gonna continue to work and execute as an offense.”
There’s one more piece Kentucky wants in place before Saturday: a packed Kroger Field.
The crowd in Week 1 did its job. The White Out worked, the stadium was close to full at kickoff, and the energy helped Kentucky sprint to a 28-0 lead. The heat eventually thinned the stands once the game got lopsided, but the Wildcats are hoping that same opening burst from BBN shows up again - and lasts longer - against Alabama.
“It was crazy. The fans was crazy,” freshman receiver Kenny Darby said.
“They came out here in this hot weather, and we’re gonna need them next week against Alabama. So y’all gotta come out again.”
Kentucky knows what kind of moment this can be. The players sound ready.
The coaches sound ready. Now the whole place gets its chance to see whether the Wildcats can turn a strong start into something much louder.
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Cubelic liked the way Russell handled the offense, noting the timing on his throws and the way he used his legs when it mattered. Even with that encouraging first impression, Alabama still has a bigger-picture checklist to work through, and Cubelic pointed to the need to do a better job managing the edges as the Tide move deeper into the season. [Read more 🡒]