Will Stein found himself in the middle of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff on Saturday, and the head coach of the 7-1 Kentucky Wildcats used the spot to talk about the stretch run that now defines the season.
FOX’s crew was in Iowa City for Iowa vs. No.
25 Wisconsin, but the show still made room for Kentucky’s coach as the Wildcats continue to sit atop the SEC picture at 7-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play. Stein’s appearance came during a work week that also included a Halloween detail: he said he dressed up as Batman.
The panel kept things light with a few easy questions. Brady Quinn asked Stein whether he ever imagined he’d be Kentucky’s head coach.
Matt Leinart brought up the “Because of me” line from SEC Media Days, a quote Stein seems to be hearing about plenty. Urban Meyer asked about the two-point decisions Stein made in overtime against South Carolina and LSU.
The most revealing exchange came from Mark Ingram, who asked Stein how Kentucky is handling the final four games, with three of them coming against ranked opponents.
“It’s about finishing,” Stein answered. “It’s really one-game seasons from here on out. Everybody across the country, whether you’re in the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12 - everybody’s got tough games in November, especially when you’re fighting for a playoff spot.
“And so when you go on the road to Tennessee, when you got to go to Missouri, when you have Florida at home, and Louisville at home - all four of those games are tough.”
That’s no exaggeration. Tennessee is No.
16, Missouri is No. 19 and Florida is No. 25 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. Louisville also picked up a vote after beating Stanford 52-24 on Saturday.
Kentucky is staring at a path that could lead to its first College Football Playoff appearance, but the Wildcats still have plenty of work left. With the bye week now behind them, Stein said the team is keeping the same approach it used through the first eight games.
“Staying connected, you know, having a one-play focus, a one-game focus,” Stein continued. “It really just goes back to work and how we practice and how we prep.
That’s one thing I’ve loved about this team. They’ve been extremely bought in.
I wish you guys could see our Tuesday and Wednesday practices and what team run looks like. It’s pretty incredible.
The physicality that we practice with has been translating over to wins on the field.”
The Wildcats head to Knoxville next weekend, where the next chapter of this stretch run begins.
In Other News...
Shane Beamer Just Gave Kentucky Fans Another Reason To Feel Overlooked
South Carolinas win at Oklahoma gave Shane Beamer plenty to celebrate, but his postgame message also landed with a familiar sting for Kentucky fans. Beamer said no SEC team had followed a big win with another big win the next week, a sweeping claim that brushed past the kind of stretches Kentucky has put together in recent seasons. For a program that has spent a lot of time fighting for respect in its own league, it was the sort of comment that tends to travel quickly.
Kentucky has already shown it can answer a major victory with another one, including a recent run of wins against ranked opponents that undercut the idea that the Wildcats have been unable to sustain momentum. The broader point is one Kentucky supporters know well: this team has earned a reputation for being tougher and more resilient than outsiders often give it credit for, even when the conversation around the SEC seems to skip right over Lexington. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys Playoff Case Faces A Huge Reality Check Before Tennessee
Kentucky spent its bye week without adding to the schedule, but the conversation around the Wildcats only got louder. At 7-1 and sitting atop the SEC at 5-1, they have forced their way into the College Football Playoff debate, with various analysts and ESPN staff placing them anywhere from No. 4 to No. 9 in their projections. The appeal is obvious enough: road wins, a strong strength of record, and a rsum that looks better every time the league standings are checked.
Still, the ranking buzz comes with a reality check, because the Wildcats have also been flagged for some statistical shortcomings that keep them from looking like a fully polished playoff team just yet. The next chance to answer those questions comes in Week 9 against Tennessee, a matchup that matters not just for Kentucky's place in the SEC race but for how seriously the playoff field is willing to treat the Wildcats moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Former Kentucky Guard Sees Early Promise In Two Wildcats Standouts
Travis Ford left Lexington with a strong impression after Kentuckys exhibition game, and it was easy to see why. The former Wildcats guard and coach came away talking about both Malachi Moreno and Milan Momcilovic, seeing early signs that each could become a real part of Kentuckys next step under the spotlight. Fords praise carried the kind of weight that comes from having worn the jersey and understood the pressure that comes with it.
Moreno drew notice not just for his promise on the floor, but for the way Ford described his character, while Momcilovic stood out for the shooting range and versatility that can change how a defense has to guard Kentucky. For a team always under a microscope, those are the kinds of traits that can travel well once the games start to count. The encouraging part is obvious; the bigger question is how quickly both can turn that early promise into something the Wildcats can lean on. [Read more 🡒]