Kentucky is adding a little theater to its home schedule in the Will Stein era, and the next installment is set for Saturday against Alabama. Kroger Field will host a Stripe Out, with fans in even-numbered sections asked to wear blue and those in odd-numbered sections told to wear white.
That means a quick check of the ticket, a little color coordination, and then the real task: trying to help the Wildcats pull off an upset of Alabama in Lexington.
The assignment comes on the heels of Kentucky’s White Out to open the season. Most of Big Blue Nation showed up in white at Kroger Field, even if the heat made things uncomfortable for some along the way.
This game carries plenty of weight for Stein in his first SEC matchup. Kentucky has beaten Alabama only twice in 42 all-time meetings, and the Crimson Tide arrive after a 48-10 win over East Carolina in week one. Alabama also comes in off a College Football Playoff appearance.
It’s the third straight year Kentucky has hosted the first SEC game of the season with an ABC broadcast at 3:30 PM EST. The network is leaning in again, with SEC Nation set to be in town. Paul Finebaum will be at Willy T on Friday before the SEC’s Saturday morning pregame show, and the move to campus should give the students a bigger stage.
Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, and Katie George will handle the ABC call.
Saturday is also Heroes Day at Kroger Field, with military members and first responders able to get specially priced tickets through GOVX for Kentucky’s matchup with Alabama.
In Other News...
Kentucky Gets Its First Real Chance To Back Up The Hype
Will Steins first game as Kentuckys head coach went about as well as the Wildcats could have hoped, with a season-opening win over Youngstown State giving the new staff a clean starting point. It also offered an early look at a roster that has talked plenty about its belief in the group, and the opener did enough to keep that optimism intact as Kentucky moved on to Alabama week.
Now comes the part that will tell the bigger story. Kentucky heads into this matchup as the underdog, facing a Crimson Tide team that brings a different level of talent and depth, and the Wildcats will have to translate the confidence they showed in Week 1 into something sturdier against a far sterner test. The opener featured encouraging performances from key players, but Alabama is the kind of opponent that quickly reveals whether the hype is real or just September noise. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Volleyball Just Made A National Statement On A Huge Stage
Kentucky volleyball did something few college teams ever get the chance to do, beating Penn State in four sets at Wrigley Field in front of a crowd of 43,067. The setting alone made it a marquee event, and the result turned it into more than a showcase, with Kentucky leaving Chicago with a victory on one of the sports biggest stages and a reminder that its rise now travels well beyond the usual gym walls.
The timing only sharpened the moment for Kentucky fans, with opening weekend across the SEC delivering the kind of conference-wide backdrop that makes every result feel bigger. While football headlines around the league centered on unbeaten starts and a slate of tight games, Kentucky was making its own statement in a different sport, and the Wildcats are still settling into a new weekly rhythm on the football side after moving press conferences and coach shows to different days. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads Into Kentucky With One Big Problem Fans Will Notice
Kentuckys Week 2 meeting with Alabama comes with a strange kind of uncertainty for both staffs, the sort that only shows up this early in the season. Kalen DeBoer spent part of his press conference Wednesday talking through the usual mix of player evaluation, preparation and the challenges of jumping into an SEC game this quickly, while also acknowledging that the Crimson Tide are still trying to get a clear read on what Kentucky looks like under new head coach Will Stein.
The catch for Alabama is that the film bank is thin, and what is available does not offer much of a clean blueprint. DeBoer said the Tide are leaning heavily on fundamentals as they get ready for an early conference test, which makes this more of a game-plan-for-the-basics week than a deep-dive into tendencies. The matchup is set for ABC and Disney+, and for Kentucky, that kind of uncertainty can be a useful place to be when a heavyweight comes to town. [Read more 🡒]