Will Stein spent his first year making one thing clear: Kentucky football was not supposed to think small anymore. That message landed loudly Saturday at Kroger Field, where a sellout crowd of 61,820 showed up ready to believe before Alabama delivered a 45-17 reminder of how hard it is to back up big talk in the SEC.
Stein has leaned into the idea that UK can be more than it has traditionally been. At his introductory news conference last Dec. 1, he didn’t leave much room for slow-building optimism.
“I’ve won at every single level I’ve been at: High school, college,” Stein said at his introductory news conference. “Now the goal is to win (at Kentucky).
Not to win five years down the road, 10 years down the road. Do it now.”
Then came his answer at SEC Football Media Days, the one that helped put him and Kentucky in a national spotlight.
“I think because of me, to be honest. I think I know what it takes.
I have seen (success) at the highest levels. I know what it takes to recruit at this level.
You just got to believe, man.”
For one half against then-No. 12 Alabama, the belief looked justified.
Kentucky took a 17-13 lead into halftime, and the crowd response matched the moment. The BBN was loud from the start, and the atmosphere gave the Wildcats one of their most electric home settings in years.
But the second half belonged entirely to Alabama. The Crimson Tide ripped off a 32-0 run, drained the life out of the game and emptied the stands long before the final whistle.
Even in defeat, Kentucky found a few signs worth noting. The 17-13 halftime lead was the first time the Wildcats had outscored Alabama in a half since the 2008 team beat the Tide 14-3 in the second half of a 17-14 Kentucky loss.
On defense, the Wildcats’ front - especially Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace and Tavion Gadson - caused problems early. And tight end Willie Rodriguez continued to be a bright spot, catching eight passes for 49 yards and pushing his team-high total to 12 receptions through two games.
The offense, though, vanished after halftime. Kentucky produced 147 total yards in the first half, then managed just 62 in the second. Across six second-half drives, the Wildcats never crossed midfield into Alabama territory.
That was a rough outcome for an offensive line that UK poured resources into through the transfer portal. Alabama’s front controlled the line of scrimmage, sacking quarterback Kenny Minchey four times, hurrying him four more times and keeping the Notre Dame transfer from ever looking settled in the pocket.
Stein was hired after three seasons leading high-scoring Oregon offenses because Kentucky wanted more punch on that side of the ball. As then-UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart said at Stein’s introductory news conference, “I was very specifically trying to find ways to put points on the (score)board.”
There is still time for that vision to show up in a bigger way. Kentucky has 10 regular-season games left, starting with Saturday’s trip to No. 9 Texas A&M to face Mike Elko’s 2-0 Aggies.
The schedule ahead is loaded. Six of the Wildcats’ remaining 10 opponents are ranked in this week’s AP Top 25: No.
7 LSU, No. 15 Tennessee, No.
20 Missouri, No. 23 Louisville and No.
24 Oklahoma also await, along with Texas A&M.
That means Kentucky still has a long runway to turn Stein’s bold first impression into something more tangible. After the Alabama loss, Stein kept the focus on the bigger picture.
“The good thing, the positive, is we’re 1-1,” Stein said after the Alabama loss. “We’re not 12 games in(to the season).
This is the second game of the year. Got a lot to improve on, which is good.”
That’s the tightrope Kentucky football lives on. If a coach raises the bar, the crowd responds.
The attention grows. The expectations swell.
And if the team doesn’t keep pace, the same confidence that once energized the program can turn into a weapon against it.
Stein chose to speak big. Saturday showed both the upside of that approach and the danger that comes with it.
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