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Day After: Tennessee Win

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4 years ago

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Waking up on Sundays after a win is nice. Doing it two weeks in a row is awesome. Doing it two weeks in a row after losing two weeks in a row is even better. Make one of those wins a beatdown of the Vols in Knoxville and it sounds almost too good to be true. But, here we are.

Before yesterday I had seen Kentucky beat Tennessee twice in my lifetime. The snoozer back in 2011 and Stephen Johnson laying his life on the line in 2017. Neither game I saw in-person, which I still haven’t gotten over.

But, yesterday sure helped. For the first time in my lifetime, Kentucky beat the Vols in Knoxville.

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Something that I thought I would only see in my dreams and even then that would’ve been a pretty far-fetched dream.

Kentucky had three interceptions, including two pick-six’s. They dominated both halves defensively and ran it down Tennessee’s throat in the second half. No flukes. Kentucky beat Tennessee, straight up.

How many times were we thinking “Oh no. Here we go.”? I know I said it after Upshaw dropped the touchdown pass in the end zone, after the Vols marched it down the field and scored, after the backup QB came in twice, and even when it was 27-7, I still hadn’t convinced myself Kentucky was going to win.

I do hope fans will get off the Joey Gatewood bandwagon and get behind Terry Wilson. I shouldn’t have to say this, but after reading Twitter threads, I definitely do. For some reason, fans think Gatewood is Tom Brady. He’s not. This is Terry Touchdown’s job and if you don’t think so you can shut up and go be for another team.

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The man has beaten both Florida and Tennessee on the road in his career. We haven’t had that happen since my dad was in high school. What else do we want? I mean yeah, an undefeated national title season would be nice, but money growing on trees would be too.

I was really worried one side of the ball wouldn’t show up, which was the case in the first half. But, in the second half, the Cats made adjustments, yeah we haven’t said that in awhile, and both the offense and the defense showed up.

Yesterday’s win is something I never thought I would see, especially in that fashion, but it did, and it was awesome.

Now Kentucky is 2-2 with a very winnable game against Missouri coming up. If the Cats are 3-2 going into the Georgia game, we can get excited. That’s definitely an upset game.

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But for now, we celebrate yesterday’s special win.

Before I go, I’ll leave you with these texts from my grandfather:

“Is there a mistake on my television? It says Ky is ahead of Tennessee 34 to 7. I am really confused.”

Followed by…

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“This is totally unbelievable. Better go to church tomorrow. The end is coming soon!”

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Football

Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million

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2 weeks ago

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December 10, 2024

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Kentucky ranks 11th of 16 SEC teams in collective fundraising.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

For better or for worse of college sports, NIL is here to stay and it certainly gives an advantage to schools with more money. Just looking at the SEC alone, collectives raised more than $200 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Kentucky is ranked in the lower half of that.

According to documents from the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, Kentucky raised $11,254,204 from athletics collectives for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That ranks 11th of the 15 public universities in the SEC and is just more than half of the top collective, Texas who raised over $22 million.

Full Rankings

Rank
School NameCollective Funding
1Texas22,272,474
2LSU20,137,141
3Georgia18,326,566
4Texas A&M17,228,714
5Alabama15,995,406
6Florida15,802,237
7Oklahoma14,817,595
8Tennessee11,602,164
9Auburn11,588,953
10Arkansas11,544,039
11Kentucky11,254,204
12S. Carolina9,554,700
13Ole Miss8,872,378
14Missouri7,146,859
15Mississippi St.6,467,166
NRVanderbiltNot Available (Private School)

While collective funding is low, Kentucky has been a top 20 athletic program in total revenue, partly thanks to being a school that profits from its basketball program. Looking ahead to 2025, Kentucky is expected to stay in the top 20 nationally in athletic revenue, fifth in the SEC by bringing in an estimated 131,139,792. Ahead of programs like Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee.

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With revenue sharing coming in the near future, even more money is going to be involved in roster and program building. Schools in the Big Ten and SEC have an even bigger advantage due to their new TV deals, giving them up to an extra $70 million or more.

A new era of college sports is here. It’s time to prepare and embrace it.

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Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff

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4 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

A poor offensive line. Inconsistent quarterback play. A lot of things led to Kentucky football’s abysmal 2024 season. However, they had the talent to finish better than 4-8, only defeating one power opponent this season. So what could have helped?

Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was asked that question after the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville on Saturday. To his credit, he answered honestly and professionally.

“A lot more leadership,” Maclin said. “Holding guys accountable for things. A lot more discipline for all the guys… All around, players and coaches. We’re still a team, I don’t want to point at any one person or specific group. All around we need better leadership.”

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Maclin is a junior and could return for another season. Despite talking about Kentucky taking the next step, he has not made his decision and will be returning home to talk to his family to do so. If Maclin does return, it sounds like Kentucky will have a leader in the receiving room.

Despite being a 1,000-yard receiver at North Texas, Maclin was not targeted often. However, on his 13 receptions, he caught four for touchdowns, the most of any receiver on the team.

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Kentucky Player Seen At Concession Stand During Kentucky’s 41-14 Loss to Louisville

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4 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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A Kentucky football player was seen at buying food from the concession stand in Kentucky's 41-14 loss to Louisville.

Kentucky’s on-field product against Louisville was poor to say the least, sending 99% of Wildcat fans home early. It even sent an injured player from the sideline to get a snack…

Yes, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey, one of Kentucky’s most expensive transfer portal additions, was seen at one of the concession stands at Kroger Field during Kentucky’s 41-14 defeat.

Watching a 4-8 team is bad, but even worse to do on an empty stomach.

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Mincey is a senior and will not be returning next season, but it is nice to see him reinvesting some money back into the program.

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