Kentucky opens the Will Stein era on Saturday, Sept. 5, and the setting is as familiar as the face on the sideline is new. For the first time since the end of the 2012 season, someone other than Mark Stoops will lead the Wildcats out of the tunnel at Kroger Field. Stein, a Kentucky native who played quarterback at Trinity High and Louisville, is making his first head-coaching debut at any level after spending the past three seasons as Oregon’s offensive coordinator.
The first test comes against a Youngstown State team that has already played once this season. The Penguins opened 2026 with a 43-10 win over Mercyhurst on Thursday, Aug. 27, rolling to the victory at home and arriving in Lexington with a game under their belt.
Kentucky will be looking to slow down Beau Brungard, Youngstown State’s standout quarterback and the winner of every major individual award at the FCS level last season. On the other side, Kenny Minchey is set to make the first start of his four-year college career for the Wildcats.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Kroger Field, and the game will stream on SEC Network+ and ESPN+.
Prediction: Kentucky 63, Youngstown State 10. Stein gets an emphatic first win, and the Wildcats pile up enough points for him to set a program record for the most points in a coach’s debut. With the game out of hand by halftime, Kentucky’s backups should see plenty of action over the final two quarters.
In Other News...
Mark Mitchell Saga Left Kentucky Fans Wanting One Answer On J Batt
Mark Mitchells transfer chase had Kentucky fans looking for a late-summer boost, but the forwards path never got far enough to become a true Wildcats storyline. Mitchell, a member of the high school class of 2022, was trying to take advantage of a temporary court-ordered fifth season of eligibility, and Kentucky had reason to be involved until the Southeastern Conference declined to exempt him from its transfer restrictions. In the end, he went back to Missouri, leaving Kentucky with more questions than answers about how much room the program actually had to maneuver.
For Kentucky, the more interesting figure in the background is new athletics director J Batt, who did not arrive until late July and had limited say in a situation shaped by league-level rulings and timing. The episode also feeds a bigger argument around NCAA rules for players who have gone pro but still hold college eligibility, while quietly reminding Kentucky fans that roster-building questions are not limited to basketball, either, with recruiting concerns already looming around football under Will Stein. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Just Entered A Tough Race For A Rising Big Man
Kentucky has jumped into the mix for one of the more intriguing big men in the 2025 recruiting pool, extending a scholarship offer to Akol Nyok as the high school evaluation period picks up. The 7-foot-1 center has been drawing more attention in recent weeks, and his profile is only getting bigger as schools continue to sort through the next wave of frontcourt talent.
Nyok entered the cycle as a three-star prospect on Rivals, but his rising stock has started to put him on more radars as a four-star-level target. For Kentucky, the offer adds another name to a crowded race for a player whose size alone makes him hard to ignore, and the competition figures to keep building as more programs make their own push. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Faces A Bigger Kenny Minchey Question Than Week 1
Kenny Mincheys move from Notre Dame to Kentucky already made him one of the more intriguing players on the roster, and now his role has taken on a different kind of weight. The fourth-year quarterback is in line to lead the Wildcats when the season opens, giving Will Stein a first-time starter to shape in a way he has not had to do before.
Stein and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan have both pointed to Mincheys progress during fall camp, with the staff focused on getting his mobility and playmaking back to where it was before. The bigger question is not whether Kentucky believes in his talent, but how quickly he can grow into a job that asks a lot from the start, especially when Steins past quarterbacks arrived with far more game experience already behind them. [Read more 🡒]