Football

Kentucky vs. Georgia: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Betting Odds/Predictions

Published

2 weeks ago

September 26, 2024

IMAGN

Back to a .500 record after a win against Ohio, the Kentucky Wildcats will go on the road for the first time this season to take on the sixth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford.

Lane Kiffin in his fifth season as head coach of the Rebels may have the most talented roster he’s had with Ole Miss. With a solidified Heisman candidate in Jaxson Dart leading a “video game offense” and multiple elite transfers on both sides of the ball, they are one of the favorites to make the College Football Playoff. Beating their first four opponents by an average of 49.5 points per game, they’re looking the part.

That said, their strength of schedule is among the worst in college football this season. Playing an FCS team and three FBS teams, their toughest opponent thus far is Wake Forest, who ranks 86th in ESPN’s power index rankings. Therefore Kentucky will not just be their SEC opener, but a different level of opponent.

Under Mark Stoops, Kentucky is 0-3 against Ole Miss, but they have played them closer than any other opponent with an average margin of defeat of just 2.3 points. The most recent came in 2022 after a Kentucky touchdown in the final minute was called back for illegal motion.

Prior to that game, Kentucky was 19-7. Since that game, Kentucky is just 12-14. A win over a top-10-ranked Ole Miss team could certainly push things back in the right direction.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

Elite Offense vs Elite Defense

“It feels like we’re going against the Super Bowl Rams, the Greatest Show on Turf,” Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White said on Wednesday, holding the Ole Miss offense in high regard and for good reason as they lead or are atop the nation in most statistical offensive categories:

Points Per Game: 55.0, 1st

Yards Per Game: 670.8, 1st
Passing Yards Per Game: 422.8, 1st

Yards Per Play: 8.85, 1st
Offensive Success Rate: 55.5%, 1st
Plays of 10+ Yards: 100, 1st

Plays per Game: 75.8, 7th
Rushing Yards Per Game: 248.0, 12th

Again, Ole Miss hasn’t played a defense as tough as Kentucky’s, which ranks sixth in total defense. Lane Kiffin knows that, likening the Wildcats’ defensive unit to an “NFL defense”.

It will be a battle of two strengths. For Kentucky to have a chance to win, they are going to have to play their best on defense. Fortunately, they have already shown they are capable of that, limiting a Georgia offense to just one touchdown.

Battle In the Trenches

One of the biggest issues for Ole Miss in recent seasons has been their weakness in the trenches. This offseason, they made a concerted effort to fix that.

For the defensive line, things look vastly improved. However, question marks still remain with the offensive line, in large part due to injuries. That same could be said of Kentucky this season, however, they have the advantage of being tested in the trenches by Georgia.

If Ole Miss’ offensive line meets the play of Kentucky’s defensive line, they could win this game comfortably. If the Kentucky D-Line is able to overwhelm the Rebels and slow down their offense, it will give the Wildcat offense a shot at an upset bid.

Injuries

On Wednesday’s injury report, Ole Miss listed twenty-six players. Yes, 2-6. In comparison, Kentucky had just seven players listed.

That said, fourteen of those players are listed as “probable”. By SEC standards, that means they have a greater than 75 percent chance of playing. That number will likely get smaller as the report is updated leading up to Saturday’s contest.

The unit that has been hurt the most has been the Ole Miss offensive line, which has just seen one of three projected starters play a snap this season. While they have a lot of weapons on offense, if Kentucky were to have an advantage on the Ole Miss offense, it would be there.

Kentucky Wildcats (2-2) vs. No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels (4-0)

Game Time: 12:00 PM ET on September 28th, 2024
Location: Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.
TV Channel: SEC Network will have today’s coverage.
Announcers: Dave Neal, Aaron Murray, and Ashley ShahAhmadi will call the action.
Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro have the UK radio call on the UK Sports Network.
Satellite Radio: XM Channel 203, Sirius Channel 98, Internet Channel 966
Replay: ESPN+ and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | MISS
Stats To Know: UK | MISS
Advanced Stats
Weather.com Forecast

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Kentucky as a 17.5-point underdog with an over/under of 53.5. ESPN gives the Wildcats less than a 10 percent chance of victory.
Predictions: TeamRankings has Kentucky losing by three scores 35-18. OddsShark projects them to lose in a close contest 31-29. DRatings.com picks the Cats to lose 33-21. I’m going with the Cats to cover the spread, but ultimately lose 31-17.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

Related Topics:Kentucky Football Mark Stoops Ole Miss Rebels

Click to comment

Football

Mark Stoops Calls Himself A “Dumba**” For Controversial Call

Published

6 days ago

October 1, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Mark Stoops jokes about himself with reporters after controversial decision to punt against top ranked Georgia.

Petre Thomas | Imagn Images

Mark Stoops is coming off arguably the biggest win of his career and one of the biggest wins in Kentucky football history, upsetting sixth-ranked Ole Miss on the road. He did so with an out-of-character, aggressive decision.

Under four minutes to go, at their own 20-yard line, Stoops elected for Kentucky to go for it on 4th & 7. Despite the low odds, Brock Vandagriff connected with Barion Brown for a 63-yard pass to get into the red zone.

.@BrockVandagriff ➡️ @BarionBrown 💣 ON FOURTH DOWN pic.twitter.com/FzdqqNKRuL— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 28, 2024

Just two plays later, the Wildcats took the lead 20-17 as they recovered a fumble in the endzone and never looked back en route to victory.

Following the contest, a reporter joked with Stoops, who is known for a conservative playstyle, “They’re not calling you conservative anymore, don’t worry.”

Stoops’ response, “Yeah, maybe I was a dumba**.”

The two were referring to Kentucky’s failed upset bid of top-ranked Georgia two weeks earlier, where in a similar situation – 4th & 8 at the Georgia 48-yard line – Stoops elected to punt. The Wildcats would go on to lose the game 12-13.

The decision on Saturday caught many off guard, even Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. “I have to credit Stoops. That’s not anything he’s probably ever done in his life. He got out of his character with three and a half minutes left,” Kiffin said. “I commend him for doing that.”

Making the decision that helped Kentucky get their biggest road win since 1977 (#4 Penn State), maybe we will see more of Stoops’ aggressive side in the future.

In the future, maybe we will see Stoops be more aggressive with his playcalling in late-game situations.

Football

National Media Calls Out Ole Miss for Faking Injuries Against Kentucky

Published

1 week ago

September 30, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Ole Miss running back Matt Jones was criticized for falling with an obvious fake injury against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Faking injuries in college football has been around for a while, however, it has now become a pandemic of sorts.

With the rise of spread and up-tempo offenses over the last decade or so, opposing defenses have been faking injuries at a level never seen before, allowing themselves a few seconds of relief. Who’s to blame them? While it is frowned upon, there is no penalty for it.

One team that has been called out for it a lot this season has been Ole Miss, and on Saturday they may have had the fake injury flop of the season.

Usually, fake injuries occur on the defensive side of the ball, but the Rebels were overwhelmed by the Kentucky defense. After the Wildcats forced a fourth down, Ole Miss was contemplating going for it and quarterback Jaxson Dart directed running back Matt Jones to hit the field with an injury to avoid.

Flop of the Year nominee pic.twitter.com/LMCOqrpgrs— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) September 28, 2024

“There is very strong wording about being unethical to fake an injury at any time during the game,” College football rules analyst Matt Austin said during the game. “I know the rules-makers have talked about it several times, but as of right now, there’s nothing you in the book can do about it.”

Kirk Herbstreit also recently called out the practice of apparently faking injuries “unethical as hell.”

Football

Rick Pitino Shares Message After Kentucky Football’s Big Win Over Ole Miss

Published

1 week ago

September 30, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Former Kentucky basketball coach shares positive message with the Kentucky football team after an upset win over Ole Miss.

Eric Canh, Petre Thomas | Imagn Images

After two-plus decades of being an enemy to Kentucky fans, Rick Pitino is trying his best to get back in their good graces. This summer he started with a very positive endorsement of Mark Pope and followed it up a few weeks later by announcing he was a donor for the Kentucky football program.

On Saturday the former Kentucky basketball coach shared a message on X with the football team. “Incredible win for UK Football on the road. Big time 💪,” Pitino tweeted.

Incredible win for @UKFootball on the road. Big time 💪🏼— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) September 28, 2024

The tweet was appreciated by the Big Blue Nation, with one fan saying, “It’s amazing how much I’ve grown to love this man again.” On the other hand, Louisville fans were very critical, “Can’t believe we as fans caped for him for so long,” one fan wrote.

Pitino, now with St John’s, is in the twilight of his coaching career. Expected to play a home-and-home series next season, he is on his way to a standing ovation inside Rupp Arena.