Will Stein’s Kentucky football team has already given fans a nickname-worthy kind of season, even if the label itself still needs work.
After the Wildcats stormed back from 17-0 down to beat South Carolina 35-34 in overtime last week, Stein nodded to a familiar Kentucky phrase in his postgame comments to SEC Network: “I’m a big Wildcat basketball fan - ‘Comeback Cats’ right there. ‘Comeback freaking Cats,’ here in Columbia.”
The idea has some obvious appeal. Kentucky football has now pulled off three comeback wins: a 31-21 victory at Texas A&M after trailing 7-0, a 45-21 win over South Alabama after falling behind 21-14, and the rally against South Carolina, when the Cats erased deficits of 17-0, 20-10 and 27-24.
But “The Comeback Cats” already belongs to a famous place in UK sports history. That nickname is tied to Kentucky’s 1997-98 men’s basketball national title team, the group that rallied from double digits down to beat Duke, Stanford and Utah in its final three NCAA tournament games.
Kentucky basketball has a long tradition of team nicknames - “The Fabulous Five,” “The Fiddlin’ Five,” “Rupp’s Runts” and “The Unforgettables” among them - but football hasn’t been nearly as rich in that department. The two enduring UK football nicknames that stand out are “The Immortals,” for the 1898 Kentucky State College team that went 7-0 and outscored opponents 180-0, and “The Thin Thirty,” the 1962 squad that was so depleted by Charlie Bradshaw’s punishing training camp that it started the season with only around 30 players.
So if this year’s football team is going to earn its own label, it may need one that doesn’t borrow from the basketball side. The door is open for someone with a clever idea to make it stick.
Another question turned to Kentucky’s history with game-winning two-point conversions, and South Carolina provided the latest example when Kenny Minchey hit Willie Rodriguez for the walk-off conversion in the overtime win.
One other Kentucky finish came to mind: Terry Wilson’s 3-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Conrad on an untimed final down in 2018, which gave UK a 15-14 win at Missouri. That one wasn’t a two-point conversion, but it belonged in the same neighborhood.
The only other Wildcats win by way of a two-point conversion that comes to mind dates to Nov. 11, 1972.
Kentucky trailed Vanderbilt 13-6 going into the fourth quarter before Sonny Collins scored on a 4-yard run to make it 13-12. Instead of kicking the extra point, John Ray went for two, and Collins ran it in to seal a 14-13 win.
Mark also recalled listening to the postgame radio show that day and hearing Cawood Ledford ask Ray about having the nerve to go for two instead of one.
On the basketball side, Kentucky already has one piece in the Class of 2027 with a verbal commitment from wing Ryan Hampton, who is No. 22 in the 24/7 Sports composite rankings. Adding another highly regarded 2027 prospect would, in Mark’s view, matter to the segment of the Big Blue Nation that follows recruiting as closely as the games themselves.
There’s also been a small shift inside Kentucky athletics since the AD change. Mitch Barnhart’s last day was June 30, and J Batt did not officially begin until July 28, so the sample size is tiny. Still, the clearest difference so far has been a stronger read on the fan base, especially online.
The best example came with Big Blue Madness ticket distribution. Kentucky first announced a two-ticket limit per household, a change from the usual four-ticket limit for the free tickets.
That drew pushback from fans who said families with multiple children would be squeezed, and the school quickly reversed course, restoring the four-ticket limit. Batt posted about the change himself.
One final note touched on Jasper Johnson, who is now a sophomore-to-be at Oregon after playing for Kentucky and Woodford County High School. With Dana Altman’s surprise retirement announcement, The Oregonian reported that Oregon players will have a two-week transfer-portal window starting Nov.
- Whether interim coach Tony Stubblefield can hold the roster together will be one of the more interesting storylines to watch.
As for a Johnson return, given what happened during his season at Kentucky - 4.9 points, 57 assists and 57 turnovers - it’s hard to picture that reunion.
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Lane Kiffin Brought A Familiar Lexington Gameday Habit Back Again
Lane Kiffins gameday routine has become part of the soundtrack whenever he shows up in Lexington, and before LSUs primetime visit to Kentucky, the Tigers coach again leaned into the same habit he has kept for years: hot yoga. It is the kind of detail that has followed Kiffin through stops at Tennessee and Ole Miss, and it adds a little extra texture to a matchup that already has plenty of familiarity for Kentucky fans.
Kiffin has faced the Wildcats six times with three different schools, with the results bouncing around along the way, and his latest trip brought back a ritual that has become almost as recognizable as his sideline presence. Kentucky coach Will Stein has earned praise from Kiffin, even if he does not share the LSU coachs enthusiasm for hot yoga, which is just one more small contrast in a rivalry that keeps finding new layers. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Is Getting Doubted Again Before A Massive SEC Test
The build-up to Kentuckys SEC showdown with LSU has already turned into a familiar exercise in skepticism, at least if you listened to the College GameDay panel. Kentucky enters the matchup as an 8.5-point underdog, and the discussion around it reflected the split that tends to follow the Wildcats when the stage gets bigger. Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban offered cautious optimism about Kentuckys chances, while other voices on the panel stayed far more guarded about what the Wildcats might be able to do.
For Kentucky, that mix of respect and doubt is hardly new, but it does add a little more edge to a game that already matters plenty in the SEC picture. The conversation around the matchup also showed how differently the Wildcats are being viewed from network to network, which only makes the spot on the schedule feel heavier. The real test now is whether Kentucky can turn those mixed opinions into something more convincing once the game is played. [Read more 🡒]
Roman Harper Turns Kentucky's Latest Snub Into A Huge Statement Game
Roman Harper spent part of the pregame buildup making the case that Kentucky deserved more respect after its strong start under Will Stein, and it was a pointed reminder of how quickly perception can lag behind results in the SEC. The former Alabama safety, now an SEC Nation analyst, pointed to the Wildcats recent wins and the way they still found themselves slipping out of the AP Top 25, a move that added a little extra edge to a matchup already carrying plenty of weight.
Now Kentucky gets a primetime stage against LSU with a chance to turn that frustration into something tangible, and the conversation around the Wildcats has only grown louder because of it. The betting market has its own opinions about where Kentucky stands in this one, but Harpers message was aimed more at the bigger picture, the idea that this is the kind of game where a team can change how its viewed with one strong performance. [Read more 🡒]