Football
Kentucky Football Bowl Projections After Week 7
Published
2 years agoon

Following two straight losses, the Kentucky Wildcats fought to stop the bleeding and picked up a much-needed victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. Now they enter a well-timed bye week and will try to get several key players back to 100%.
Following the bye, Kentucky will face off against a red-hot Tennessee Volunteer team at Neyland Stadium that just jumped to No. 3 after beating Alabama.
Before we look any further, new bowl projections have been released and there are some interesting potential matchups, including playing a basketball blue-blood like North Carolina or Kansas.
Let’s take a look.
247 Sports
- Brad Crawford: AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas Jayhawks (Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m., ESPN, Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, TN)
Action Sports Network
- Brett McMurphy: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Purdue Boilermakers (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
CBS Sports
- Jerry Palm: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
College Football News
- ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
ESPN
- Kyle Bonagura: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m., ESPN, TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL)
- Mark Schlabach: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
Sporting News
- Bill Bender: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Purdue Boilermakers (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
With five games left on the schedule, including two against top-three opponents, Kentucky could push toward a better bowl. Then again, if they lose both or drop an unexpected one, the Wildcats will have to settle for just making a bowl. They are in control of their destiny.
Also published on A Sea of Blue.
Share this:
Related
You may like
Mark Pope on Jaxson Robinson’s Breakthrough Against Mississippi State, “It’s The Best Part of Coaching”
Rick Pitino Reacts to Mark Pope’s Win over Mississippi State and Moving Moment With Kentucky Fan, “We Are All So Proud of our Captain”
2025 No. 1 Point Guard Darius Acuff Updates Recruitment, Talks About Kentucky Wanting Him to Be A Leader
Kentucky Beats Mississippi State In A Thriller Thanks To Reed Sheppard’s Heroics
2025 Jasper Johnson Talks About Where Kentucky Stands in Recruitment, Schedules Visit
Recap and Takeaways From Kentucky’s 90-77 Win Over Mississippi State
Football
The State of Kentucky Football
Following their worst season in nearly a decade, Kentucky Football faces a steep rebuild and rising expectations.
Share this:
Published
2 months agoon
December 30, 2024
After charting a 4-8 record in the 2023-24 season, including a 1-7, second-to-last finish in the SEC, Kentucky Football looks lost for the first time in a long time.
It can be argued that the program never really broke through to the “higher echelon” of college football in the first place, but even then, they’ve been consistently better than they were historically known to be. Until now.
With that aforementioned .333 record, the Cats weren’t able to earn a bowl game. That marks the first time since the 2015 season that Kentucky Football won’t appear in postseason competition, and, excluding the 2020 season (for COVID-related reasons,) it’s also the only time the Wildcats have finished under .500 since then.
What about the last time the team had less than five wins? 2013, in Stoops’ first season. The deeper you dig, the worse it appears.
Losing to Louisville in blowout fashion at the end of last month felt like the straw that broke the Cats’ back. It was clear that whatever would happen next wouldn’t be simply transitional, and thus far, the early offseason has evidenced that.
The Big Move
It began with an exodus. Star wideout Barion Brown elected to transfer to LSU for his senior season. His receiver running mate, Dane Key, left for Nebraska. In addition to the team’s two primary deep threats, Chip Trayanum, the promising back and former Buckeye who spent much of this year battling injuries, took his talents to Toledo.
In total, the Cats have lost nearly two dozen players to the transfer portal, and that’s not even counting the guys headed to the NFL draft (like Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston,) as well as the graduates.
To put it bluntly, next year’s team will share little more with the players from this past season than the blue and white on their jerseys. It’s a brutal overhaul, though one Coach Stoops and his staff are trying to get the jump on, to their credit.
Fresh Faces
Among a growing list of incoming transfers, a few names in particular stand out. Chief among them is Zach Calzada, a quarterback whose upcoming season at Kentucky will mark his fifth year playing football in his third different jersey.
The journeyman spent this past season at Incarnate Word, where he threw for 35 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He completed 344 passes on the year, almost doubling that of his previous two.
Before his two-year stint at IW, Calzada spent the beginnings of his college career at Texas A&M where, among a mixture of steadily improving statistics, he led the Aggies to an impressive home win over the still Saban-led Alabama Crimson Tide. Whether or not his recent success in the Southland Conference will translate back to the SEC is yet to be seen, but, at least on paper, this pickup makes sense for Kentucky following a year of unsparing QB play across the board.
Along with Calzada, the Cats have hauled in J.J. Hester, a 6 ‘4 senior receiver from Oklahoma, Dante Dowdell, a power back coming off a 12-touchdown season for Nebraska, and Sam Greene, a defensive end transferring in from USC, among a handful of others. We’ll have a team.
Though, even considering the roster turnover, that wasn’t the question. That still remains, “what will that team do?”
Potential vs. Progress
Kentucky is 18-25 in their last three seasons of football; a steady decline that has been made worse by the fact that the program’s outlier 10-3 finish in the 2021 season has since been disqualified by the NCAA due to a rule violation. All in all, the last half-decade has been, at best, barely getting by.
How long will this trend continue? The only thing we know for sure is that nobody is sure. Answering that question requires the analysis and knowing of many moving parts, not all of which are at widespread disposal.
But this much is clear: the longtime variable nature of Kentucky Football came to a head this year, and the product we’re about to see is going to have to be radically different from the one we’ve just seen in order to right this ship.
For better or worse, the 2024-25 season will likely go down as the most important yet in the Stoops era at UK.
Share this:
Related
Football
Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million
Published
2 months agoon
December 10, 2024
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 Name | Collective Funding |
1 | Texas | 22,272,474 |
2 | LSU | 20,137,141 |
3 | Georgia | 18,326,566 |
4 | Texas A&M | 17,228,714 |
5 | Alabama | 15,995,406 |
6 | Florida | 15,802,237 |
7 | Oklahoma | 14,817,595 |
8 | Tennessee | 11,602,164 |
9 | Auburn | 11,588,953 |
10 | Arkansas | 11,544,039 |
11 | Kentucky | 11,254,204 |
12 | S. Carolina | 9,554,700 |
13 | Ole Miss | 8,872,378 |
14 | Missouri | 7,146,859 |
15 | Mississippi St. | 6,467,166 |
NR | Vanderbilt | Not 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.
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.
Share this:
Related
Football
Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff
Published
3 months agoon
December 2, 2024
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.”
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.
Share this:
Related
Ellen Calipari Reacts to Negative Fan Reaction to John Calipari and Former Wildcats
Mark Pope Channeled Some Rick Pitino After Frustrating Loss to Ole Miss, Cutting Hand, “There May Have Been Some Completely Destroyed Furniture in the Locker Room”
Former Wildcats Troll Kentucky Fans After John Calipari’s Win In Return to Rupp Arena
Mark Pope Gives Injury Update on Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler, “They’re Both Complicated”
Mark Pope on Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa’s Injury Status: “I Don’t Know”
Kentucky vs. Texas: TV/Streaming Info, Preview, and Betting Odds/Predictions
Mark Pope on Trent Noah’s Star-Making Performance in Tennessee Win: “He’s Built Different”
Mark Pope Gives Injury Update on Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler, “They’re Both Complicated”
Kentucky Hosting Top Five Recruit Nate Ament
Lamont Butler “Probable”, Jaxson Robinson “OUT” For Home Bout With Tennessee
Trending
- Men's Basketball2 weeks ago
Ellen Calipari Reacts to Negative Fan Reaction to John Calipari and Former Wildcats
- Men's Basketball1 week ago
Mark Pope Channeled Some Rick Pitino After Frustrating Loss to Ole Miss, Cutting Hand, “There May Have Been Some Completely Destroyed Furniture in the Locker Room”
- Men's Basketball2 weeks ago
Former Wildcats Troll Kentucky Fans After John Calipari’s Win In Return to Rupp Arena
- Men's Basketball2 days ago
Mark Pope Gives Injury Update on Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler, “They’re Both Complicated”
- Men's Basketball1 week ago
Mark Pope on Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa’s Injury Status: “I Don’t Know”
- Men's Basketball1 week ago
Mark Pope Shoulders the Blame for Kentucky’s Recent Poor Play, “I’m Doing a Poor Job…”
- Men's Basketball2 weeks ago
A Frustrated Jaxson Robinson Identifies Kentucky’s Issues, Highlights Inconsistent Focus and Effort
- Men's Basketball4 days ago
Lamont Butler “Probable”, Jaxson Robinson “OUT” For Home Bout With Tennessee