Spirits for Kentucky football seem to be at an all-time low in Lexington.

Saturday’s 35-13 blowout loss to South Carolina marked seven consecutive SEC losses. It has been a whole calendar year since the Wildcats recorded an SEC victory.

Thus far, the combination of Zach Calzada and Cutter Boley ranks dead last in the SEC in passing yards, passing touchdowns and passing yards per game. 

Many Wildcats fans pleaded for Boley to start in Calzada’s place after Calzada failed to pass a touchdown against Toledo and Ole Miss while completing less than 50% of his passes.

However, Boley hasn’t revived a dead passing game. Although Boley’s 240-yard passing and two-touchdown passing performance was promising, it was against a one-win Eastern Michigan team at home.

In his third career start against the Gamecocks, Kentucky’s offense was exposed against a Power Four defense. Boley was unable to score a touchdown while giving up three turnovers; one resulted in a scoop-and-score, and the other was a pick six. 

Kentucky was outscored 28-3 after the first quarter. 

Under offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, who was hired ahead of the 2024 season, the Wildcats are last in the SEC in scoring with a 23.79 points per game average. In addition to an SEC-worst 178.3 passing yards per game. 

Hamdan’s quarterbacks have thrown for 17 touchdowns and 20 interceptions across 16 games. For reference, Alabama has thrown for 15 touchdowns in four games this season. 

The biggest bright spot for Kentucky’s offense has been the running game, which has improved from 2024, especially with the emergence of Seth McGowan. 

However, since 2024, the Wildcats 21 rushing touchdowns rank last in the SEC, and the yards per game average is the fifth worst in the conference.

Going into the season, Hamdan’s return was perceived as a good move, especially for continuity purposes.

Kentucky’s offense kept receiver Ja’Mori Maclin despite transfer portal rumors, while receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown both departed in the portal, but the Wildcats were able to secure four-star wideout Kendrick Law from Alabama to supplant the losses. 

Personnel isn’t necessarily the issue.

It had been five years since an offensive coordinator returned for a consecutive season under head coach Mark Stoops. However, at this rate, Hamdan’s job is at serious risk. 

Hamdan, in my opinion, should be fired and the Wildcats will likely go winless in the SEC. 

This weekend Kentucky faces No. 12 Georgia on the road. Stoops is 0-10 against the Bulldogs. The Wildcats haven’t won in Stanford Stadium since 2009. 

After Georgia, the Wildcats will host Texas. The Longhorns this season have held opponents to an SEC-best average of 7.75 points and only 211 yards on average. 

No. 15 Tennessee will visit Kroger Field in late October. The Volunteers have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation.

Kentucky’s final SEC games include road trips to Auburn and No. 16 Vanderbilt and hosting Florida between those road games. 

Unfortunately, Hamdan hasn’t shown enough to consistently compete against SEC foes.

Of course, the Wildcats close their season with their annual Governor’s Cup bout against the currently undefeated Louisville Cardinals, potentially another ranked squad that Kentucky will face this season.

The ugly reality is Boley hasn’t performed well outside of mid-major opponents. In five career appearances against Power Four schools, Boley has a 44.2% completion percentage, 370 yards, zero touchdowns and seven turnovers.

Thus far, Boley has shown that he’s not ready to be a starter in the SEC.

If the Wildcats go winless in the SEC, talks of Stoops’ exit will be the loudest they’ve ever been. Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart would be looking at a $38 million buyout with Stoops, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. 

It would be a much easier financial decision to fire Hamdan, who is set to earn $1.45 million next year, however, it wouldn’t necessarily appease fans as much as a Stoops buyout.

Regardless of Stoops’ status, I don’t see Hamdan wearing a headset for the Wildcats much longer. 

On the morning of Sept. 9, Mitch Barnhart and the UK Board of Trustees met to approve the beginning stages, the “planning phase” if you will, for a multi-use facility that will feature a brand new basketball practice area and a healthcare research wing, with comparison drawn to what professional teams such as the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Hawks have.

This decision, with confirmation from Barnhart and JMI Founder and CEO Erik Judson, is simply ment to provide fans with a professional sports town “vibe” and benefit every member of Big Blue Nation on game days and on days off.

Obviously, you can’t just get that from a practice facility, right? Introducing a brand new entertainment district centered around areas such as Kroger Field, Historic Memorial Coliseum and Kentucky Proud Park, which is now endorsed by the Champions Blue Board of Governors. It was pinpointed that whatever is included in these districts, whether it be restaurants, stores and even a hotel, it will be Kentucky-centric and completely interactive for everyone, Kentucky fan or not.

They are just now adopting the research for this district, such as measuring the amount of traffic in certain areas, where to plug-and-play certain amenities and so forth.

Sounds cool, of course, but time and money is needed to help this project come to fruition, and that’s what is currently being discussed.

”I’m hopeful in about four to six months, we’ll get some really quality information to be able to make some decisions and see if we can go forward,” said Barnhart. He jokingly added that you could give him a couple weeks to get everything entirely built, but obviously, it could be years before we truly see the new facility and entertainment district in action.

“That’s why the concept was worth thinking about,” said Barnhart. “We’re not sure if it’s going to even be affordable for us to do this…we’re working our way through it, and we think that it’s exciting.”

The Hawks complex, referred to earlier, cost a whopping $50 million and dominates a large space in Atlanta, so for reference, these projects will be a long time in the making, both financially and fundamentally.

The Kentucky Wildcats are back in the win column after a decisive win over South Carolina. On Tuesday, they will look for the season series sweep against the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Volunteers come to Rupp Arena on a three-game winning streak, which included a 20-point win over a top-five Florida team. On Monday, they will likely move into the top three of the AP Top 25 Poll.

The story for Kentucky will be Lamont Butler, the leader of the team. The senior point guard returned against South Carolina after missing three games. While he didn’t stuff the stat sheet, his impact and presence were still felt on the court.

This will be a major game both in the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament seed race. Both teams need a strong finish to have any hope of making it into the top four of the SEC Tournament seeding, which ensures a double-bye.

Meanwhile, both teams are projected as top-four seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

Needless to say, this is one of the biggest matchups in college basketball this week.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

Slow Down Chaz Lanier Again

Chaz Lanier is Tennessee’s offense. In Tennessee’s wins, Lanier is averaging 18.6 points on 43% shooting. In their losses, he is averaging just 13 points on 34.1% shooting. In the first matchup, he scored 15 points on 35.7% shooting.

He will look to get most of his points from the 3-point line but is confident in his mid-range jumper and can slip to the basket if overplayed.

Slow down Lanier, and Kentucky will give themselves the best shot at the upset.

Consistency

After Kentucky’s loss to Arkansas, Jaxson Robinson identified Kentucky’s issue, consistency.

While the Wildcats have had issues with their defense and rebounding, they have shown flashes, just not consistently. Following the South Carolina game, the question is, can Kentucky continue to play defense at that level?

The Wildcats held South Carolina to just 32.8% shooting, the second-lowest of an opponent this season. Lamont Butler’s return certainly helped, but multiple players stepped up such as Koby Brea. That will have to continue going forward.

Health

Both Kentucky and Tennessee are dealing with multiple injuries heading into this game.

Of course, Lamont Butler returned for Kentucky but is sporting a brace on his left shoulder. Then there is Jaxson Robinson, who injured his shooting wrist in practice last week and looked to reaggravate it against South Carolina.

For Tennessee, Cade Phillips and Bishop Boswell are dealing with shoulder injuries. However, Phillips averages just 15.5 minutes per game, and Boswell 3.9 minutes. Much less impactful than a starter.

Kentucky’s injury report will weigh significantly on this game.

Opposing Players to Watch

G Chaz Lanier, 6-4, 199 lbs

• 17.7 PPG (4th in SEC)
• 41.6% 3P (5th in SEC)
• 3.5 3PM per game (leads SEC)

G Zakai Zeigler, 5-9, 171 pounds

• 12.9 PPG
• 7.5 APG (1st in SEC, 5th nationally)
• 2.1 SPG (5th in SEC)

F Igor Milicic, 6-10, 225 lbs

• 10.7 PPG
• 8.0 RPG (7th in SEC)
• 48.4% FG

Kentucky Basketball vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Time: 7 PM ET on February 11th
Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, Kentucky
TV Channel: ESPN
Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | UT
Stats to Know: UK | UT
KenPom: UK | UT
Team Sheet: UK | UT

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Tennessee favored by 1.5 points with an over/under of 149.5. Despite winning the game in Knoxville, the projections have Kentucky as a slight underdog. ESPN gives Kentucky a 46.3% chance at victory, followed by BartTorvik at 44%, EvanMiya at 42.1%, DRatings at 41.2%, and KenPom at 41%.

Predictions: Just like the percentages, the score projections give Tennessee a slight edge. Haslametrics is the sole model to pick a two-score margin. EvanMiya (75-72), BartTorvik (74-72), DRatings (80-77), and KenPom (74-72) all pick Kentucky to lose by a single score. Kentucky stole the game in Knoxville, but I don’t see Tennessee shooting that cold from the field, and I believe they even the season series with a 73-68 win.

Send us your Kentucky vs. Tennessee score predictions in the comments section!

Go CATS!