Kentucky is heading to Aggieland with Joe Tessitore on the call, and if the past is any guide, that alone is worth watching.
ESPN has Tessitore paired with Jesse Palmer for the Wildcats’ trip to face No. 9 Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m.
ET, with Kris Budden working the Kyle Field sideline. It’s a relatively new broadcast team, but the bigger storyline for Kentucky fans is the same old one: the Tess Effect.
That phrase traces back to 2016, when Tessitore was on the mic for a wild Notre Dame-Texas opener. Notre Dame trailed 31-14 in the third quarter, then ripped off three straight touchdowns to move in front.
Texas answered with just over three minutes left, but Notre Dame blocked the PAT and returned it for two points to force a tie. The Longhorns eventually survived 50-47 in two overtimes.
A week later, Tessitore was back in another mess. Arkansas tied TCU in the fourth quarter on a score and two-point conversion, then watched the Horned Frogs drive for a potential game-winner.
The field goal was blocked, and unranked Arkansas won two overtimes later. That stretch is where the Tess Effect got its name.
And it hasn’t just been about nail-biters. Tessitore was in Lexington for Kentucky’s 280-yard, four-touchdown eruption from Sweet Baby Ray Davis against Florida. He also called Kentucky’s game in Gainesville the year before, when Jordan Wright grabbed Anthony Richardson with a one-handed pick that had QB Anthony Richardson in a pretzel.
Kentucky has had some luck with Tessitore before, and it will be looking for more of the same against Texas A&M.
Week 3’s TV slate is loaded beyond that matchup, with Syracuse at Pittsburgh on Thursday night, No. 5 Miami at Wake Forest on Friday, and a full Saturday board that includes No.
2 Georgia at Arkansas, North Carolina at Clemson, Florida State at No. 10 Alabama, No.
16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville, No.
7 LSU at No. 8 Ole Miss, and Kennesaw State at No.
15 Tennessee.
In Other News...
Kentucky Fans Face The Annual Big Blue Madness Ticket Scramble
The race for Big Blue Madness seats is about to begin again, and Kentucky basketball has set up the familiar fall scramble for fans hoping to get inside Rupp Arena. Tickets will go on sale online at 5 p.m. Friday, with a limit of two per household and only a minimal service charge, a setup that usually turns the annual tipoff celebration into a fast-moving test of patience for Big Blue Nation.
Big Blue Madness is set for October 2, and the calendar around it is already filling in with exhibition games and regular-season dates for both the mens and womens teams. Kentucky also said the basketball Fan Fest will return on October 3, though more details are still to come, giving fans another event to circle even as the first real challenge is simply getting a ticket in the door. [Read more 🡒]
Will Stein Just Ran Into Kentuckys Biggest Early Reality Check
Will Stein arrived in Lexington in December with a clear message: Kentucky was not trying to build patiently, it was trying to win right away. That kind of tone naturally raises the temperature around every early-season result, and for a while Saturday looked like the kind of step that could validate it. The Wildcats were competitive enough to make things interesting against Alabama, then watched the game tilt hard the other way as the Crimson Tide pulled away for a 45-17 win.
The loss is more than just a bruising scoreline because of what comes next for Kentucky. The schedule still has several ranked opponents ahead, and Stein already knows the margin for error is thin if the offense cannot hold up for four quarters. The early returns have shown enough promise to feed expectations, but also enough inconsistency to make this first reality check feel like a warning sign the Wildcats cannot afford to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Faces A Tough Recruiting Fight For Elite 2027 Forward
Kentucky has entered the mix for one of the fastest-rising names in the 2027 class, as top-five forward AJ Williams has included the Wildcats in his top 10. Kentucky recently extended an offer to Williams, who was once regarded as a standout in the 2028 group before moving up a class, and the timing gives the Wildcats a legitimate chance to get involved early with an elite frontcourt target.
Williams has already taken unofficial visits to Duke, Georgia Tech and Auburn, and he is now working through the process of lining up official visits. For Kentucky, the challenge is straightforward: get enough traction quickly to matter in a crowded chase for a high-end forward whose recruiting profile has only grown as more major programs have jumped in. [Read more 🡒]