A lot of the Week 2 college football traffic runs through familiar Kentucky connections, and there’s no shortage of angles for UK fans to follow.
The biggest one in Lexington is Kentucky’s SEC opener. In his second game as Wildcats coach, Will Stein will try to do something UK has rarely managed against Alabama: win.
Kentucky is 2-39-1 all-time against the No. 12 Crimson Tide, and the latest shot comes Saturday at Kroger Field.
The Wildcats are 1-0, Alabama is 1-0, and ABC will televise the 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
Elsewhere, one of Kentucky’s most notable former quarterbacks is stepping into a much tougher spotlight. Cutter Boley followed up his Arizona State debut with a huge opening stat line - 387 passing yards and six touchdowns in a 70-7 win over Morgan State - and now the ex-UK starter heads to Kyle Field.
Arizona State, also 1-0, will meet No. 10 Texas A&M at noon Saturday on ABC.
It’s a revealing test for Boley, especially with last season’s split numbers in mind. At home for Kentucky, he completed 74.7% of his passes for 1,297 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.
On the road, he was at 57.9% with 890 yards, nine interceptions and five touchdowns.
A pair of former UK receivers are also back on the board this week. Anthony Brown-Stephens had four catches for Tulane in a 17-3 loss at Duke, and the Green Wave will face future Kentucky opponent South Alabama at 7 p.m.
Saturday on ESPN+. Brandon White caught two passes for 20 yards in Kansas State’s 71-3 win over Nicholls, and the purple Wildcats now turn to Washington State at noon Saturday on TNT.
There’s also a familiar face back in the head-coaching chair. Neal Brown, the former Kentucky wide receiver and offensive coordinator, opened his return to head coaching at North Texas with a 52-16 loss to defending national champion Indiana.
This week, Brown and the Mean Green get UNLV at 3:45 p.m. on ESPNU. Brown is one of three former Kentucky Wildcats players now serving as FBS head coaches, and his game is part of a busy week for that group.
Jon Sumrall is coming off a loud first step at Florida, where the ex-Kentucky linebacker and assistant coach led the Gators to a 66-22 win over FAU in his debut. Florida gets Campbell on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., with the game streamed on SEC Network+.
Gerad Parker, a former UK wide receiver and graduate assistant, is also off to a winning start after Troy beat Sam Houston State. Troy will play Alabama State at 4 p.m.
EDT on ESPN+.
Two marquee SEC-Big Ten games headline the national slate. No.
11 Oklahoma goes to Michigan at noon on FOX, and No. 1 Ohio State travels to No.
4 Texas for a 7:30 p.m. ABC matchup.
Those two games should go a long way toward shaping how the leagues are viewed.
Kentucky’s biggest rivals are also in the mix. Louisville, ranked No. 24, is trying to move past its 41-38 opening loss to No.
9 Ole Miss when it faces Villanova on Friday at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network. Tennessee, ranked No. 18, heads to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Around the rest of the state, Western Kentucky is headed to No. 2 Georgia after taking a 49-14 loss at Nevada.
That game is set for 12:45 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network.
Eastern Kentucky will open its home schedule against Chattanooga at 6 p.m. Saturday at CG Bank Field at Roy Kidd Stadium, with ESPN+ carrying the broadcast.
Murray State hosts Valparaiso at 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+, and Morehead State visits Austin Peay at 5 p.m. after its 75-24 win over Kentucky Christian.
In the small-college ranks, No. 20 Georgetown College plays No.
16 St. Thomas at 1 p.m.
Saturday in its home opener at Toyota Stadium. No.
6 Lindsey Wilson travels to the University of Rio Grande for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Kentucky State is on the road at Clark Atlanta at 6 p.m. in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game that will be streamed on ESPN+.
In Other News...
Kentuckys New Offense Just Unlocked A Weapon Fans Havent Seen Enough
Will Stein wasted little time putting his stamp on Kentuckys offense, and one of the clearest signs came through the tight end room. In the season opener, three tight ends combined for nine catches, 140 yards and two touchdowns, a workload and production level that stood out sharply from what the Wildcats had leaned on in recent years under Mark Stoops. It was the kind of shift that gives an offense a different shape, especially for a team trying to find more answers in the passing game.
The encouraging part for Kentucky is that this did not look like a one-off wrinkle. Players and coaches praised the tight ends performance and pointed to their value as real pieces of the system, which suggests Stein sees them as more than just check-down options or red-zone targets. If that usage holds, it could change the way defenses have to prepare for the Wildcats, and it may only be the beginning of how often these weapons show up. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Just Landed A Huge Big Blue Madness Recruiting Opportunity
Big Blue Madness is still a little ways off, but Kentucky already has one of the nights biggest recruiting storylines in place. The Wildcats are set to open the basketball season on Oct. 2, and five-star power forward CJ Rosser is expected to be there, giving Mark Popes staff a prime chance to put Kentucky in front of one of the elite prospects in the 2027 class.
Rosser, ranked No. 2 nationally by 247Sports, brings the kind of profile Kentucky has long targeted at the frontcourt: a 6-foot-10 forward with versatile skills and plenty of upside. He has visits lined up with several schools, but the chance to see the program in one of its most electric settings gives the Wildcats an important early opportunity to make their case and keep building momentum in a recruitment that figures to stay closely watched. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Heads Into Alabama Opener With Big Availability Questions
The first SEC test of the season is already taking shape as both Kentucky and Alabama sort through a long list of availability concerns heading into their Week 2 matchup. The second report of the week left each side dealing with significant uncertainty, with Alabama carrying several players on the out or doubtful lists and Kentucky also trying to piece together who will be ready for a road opener that suddenly looks a lot more complicated than a standard conference debut.
For Kentucky, the biggest concern is the mix of uncertainty along the offensive line and in the secondary, the kind of personnel questions that can change both protection plans and coverage looks in a hurry. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has already pointed to the Wildcats' offensive front and his familiarity with Will Stein's schemes, which only adds to the intrigue as both teams try to keep their cards close and survive the week with as many healthy bodies as possible. [Read more 🡒]