Will Stein doesn’t need a scouting report on Kalen DeBoer. He’s already lived through the kind of game DeBoer’s teams can turn into a full-blown track meet.
Now Stein gets his first head-to-head shot at DeBoer as a head coach, and the history between them goes back to 2023, when Stein was Oregon’s offensive coordinator and the Ducks spent the season chasing a national title. They finished 12-2 and closed with a blowout win in the Fiesta Bowl, but the path there ran straight through Washington - twice - and both times DeBoer’s Huskies had the answers.
The first meeting came in Seattle in a top-10 showdown between unbeaten teams, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” on hand. Washington won 36-33, and the game turned on a pair of fourth-down decisions Oregon couldn’t finish.
The Ducks failed on fourth-and-goal from the three on the last play of the first half, then later came up short on fourth-and-three at the Washington 47 with 2:11 left while holding a 33-29 lead. Oregon still had a chance to force the issue, but the 42-yard field goal at the horn missed, and Husky Stadium erupted.
The box score told its own story. Oregon went for two early and grabbed an 8-7 lead, finished with the edge in first downs, total yards, and turnovers - 31-24, 541-415, and zero giveaways - but Washington made the bigger plays in the moments that mattered.
Less than two months later, the teams met again in the Pac-12 Championship Game, and this one followed a different script before ending in the same result for Oregon. Washington jumped out to a 20-3 lead, Oregon stormed back to lead 24-20, and then the Huskies answered with a two-touchdown run that pushed them ahead by 10 in the fourth quarter.
Oregon got one last score to make it a three-point game, but the comeback stopped there. Washington finished with the edge in first downs and total yards, 26 and 481-363, and both teams had one turnover.
Bucky Irving topped 100 rushing yards in both games for Oregon, but Michael Penix Jr. was the difference for Washington. He threw for more than 300 yards in each matchup and averaged eight yards per attempt both times.
Stein was asked about that history at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, and he didn’t pretend the old games tell the whole story.
“He has a completely different defensive staff,” Stein said. “I went against him twice in 23…much has changed since then.
Their personnel, their defense is completely different. But, you know, offensively, I think it stays the same.”
“They’re very creative. They attack on all fronts.
They’ve got good run game. They got good pass game, dropback, play-action.
They have a mobile quarterback. So you know their offense is always good.”
Ryan Grubb, who was with DeBoer in Seattle, is back with him at Alabama in 2025 after spending the 2024 season with the Seattle Seahawks. The offense has changed since the Penix days, but Stein sees the same fingerprints in the way it’s built.
So when Stein and DeBoer meet again on Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field, there’s already a clear template for what these games can become. They’ve done this before, and it didn’t exactly come with a shortage of fireworks.
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Will Stein Gets An Early Kentucky Test Fans Will Obsess Over
The early part of Will Steins first season at Kentucky is about to meet the kind of barometer fans circle on the calendar. Alabama comes to Lexington in Week 2 as a 10.5-point favorite, with traders giving the Crimson Tide a 78% chance to win and the over/under sitting at 49.5 points, a number that suggests the matchup could still have plenty of movement if Kentucky can make it uncomfortable.
For Stein, the appeal is obvious. This is the sort of SEC test that can shape how a new coach is viewed in a hurry, especially against an Alabama program that has won eight straight in the series dating back to 2003. Kentucky does not need a miracle to make the game matter, but it does need a result that changes the conversation, and that is why this one will have fans watching every snap with a little extra edge. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Is Trusting Its Own Read On Alex Wilkins
Alex Wilkins arrived at Kentucky with the kind of rsum that invites debate. The 6-foot-5 guard showed real production as a freshman at Furman, scoring and creating for others in a way that made him an obvious transfer name, even as some of the broader analytics around his profile remained mixed because of his turnover rate and other red flags. That disconnect is part of what makes his move to Lexington interesting: Kentuckys staff did not simply chase the numbers, they layered them with scouting and their own eyes before deciding he was worth the bet.
For a program that lives under a microscope, trusting that internal read matters. Wilkins has already been the subject of the kind of analytical scrutiny that can follow a player from college to the NBA, with Jaylen Brown-style comparisons surfacing in the discussion, but Kentuckys evaluation leaned on more than spreadsheet debate. The Wildcats believed the fit was there, and now the question is whether that conviction holds up once Wilkins is asked to translate his skill set to a bigger stage. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys Backfield Could Be A Real SEC Problem If It Holds Up
Kentuckys offense looked more like a group with answers than one searching for an identity in its win over Youngstown State, leaning on both the passing game and a steady ground attack to keep things moving. The backfield, in particular, stood out as a source of balance, with CJ Baxter and Jason Patterson both making their presence felt and Patterson finishing as the teams top rusher.
The bigger question is whether that kind of production can hold up once the schedule tightens and the physical toll starts to matter more. Will Stein sounded encouraged about the position group after the game, but he also knows the Wildcats need that depth to stay intact if they want the offense to keep looking this versatile against SEC competition. [Read more 🡒]