Kentucky’s October 24 meeting with Vanderbilt now has a kickoff time, and it fits right into the Wildcats’ recent run of late starts.
The SEC announced Week 8 game times, and Kentucky will host the Commodores at 7:30 p.m. ET at Kroger Field.
The game will be carried on SEC Network. It will be the third straight night game for Kentucky in a stretch that includes six consecutive nighttime kickoffs.
There’s also a local wrinkle for that Saturday: it lands on the final day of the Keeneland fall meet, setting up the Kentucky double for fans trying to take in both scenes.
Vanderbilt arrives in Lexington still searching for stability after the Diego Pavia era. The Commodores are 3-3 overall and 0-3 in SEC play, and they were hammered at home by Ole Miss, 52-17, in their most recent outing.
Their road trip has not gone any better. Vanderbilt is winless away from home, falling at Auburn 21-14 in Week 4 and at Georgia 38-14 in Week 5.
Five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis sat out the Georgia game because of an undisclosed injury, then returned against Ole Miss. He threw for 222 yards and a touchdown in that one, but he also had two interceptions and lost a fumble near his own goal line.
Before Vanderbilt comes to Lexington, the Commodores will host Arkansas, another team looking for its first SEC win. Kentucky, meanwhile, heads to Oklahoma this week, and the Sooners are coming off a win over No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry.
The SEC’s Week 8 slate also includes LSU at Auburn at noon ET, Texas A&M at Alabama at 3:30 p.m. ET, Oklahoma at Mississippi State at 3:30 p.m.
ET, Tennessee at South Carolina at 3:30 p.m. ET, and Ole Miss at Texas at 7:30 p.m.
ET.
Kentucky’s updated schedule shows the trip to Oklahoma on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network, followed by Vanderbilt on Oct. 24 at the same time and on the same channel. After that, the Wildcats’ remaining November home and road dates are all lined up for more night starts, except for the Nov. 28 finale against Louisville, which is listed as an early kickoff.
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Oklahoma brings the sort of profile that can punish a team if it starts slowly, and that is why this one has drawn more attention than a routine conference preview. Kentuckys outlook is tied to whether it can match the Sooners tempo and avoid the kind of mistakes that tend to decide games like this, which is also what makes the prediction angle so interesting: the gap between what people think and what actually happens could be smaller than it appears. [Read more 🡒]
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Kentucky's Linebacker Situation Just Took Another Unexpected Turn
Kentuckys inside linebacker picture got a little clearer, at least for the moment, when Alex Afari was granted eligibility to play by a temporary injunction from Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Brian Edwards. The ruling comes amid a lawsuit challenging how the NCAA is applying its new five-year eligibility rules to players who graduated high school in 2022, and it adds another twist to a situation that has already moved through multiple legal decisions.
For Kentucky, the timing matters because Afaris status directly affects a depth chart that has been under pressure at inside linebacker. His return gives the Wildcats another option in a spot where every available body counts, even as the larger eligibility fight continues to play out in court. [Read more 🡒]