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Morning After: Kentucky’s 29-7 win over Missouri

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5 years ago

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I hate to admit it, but I fully expected Kentucky to lose last night. And, even when they were up 22-7 in the second half, I was still predicting a loss. But, Can you blame me?

In a must-win game, Lynn Bowden led the Cats to a massive victory to keep their bowl hopes alive, and Bowden had quite a game himself.

Lynn Bowden

I’m starting run out of things to say about this guy. He’s simply incredible. Last night, Bowden was 3/7 passing for 54 yards. Most importantly, he had 21 carries for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

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In the past three games, Bowden has carried the ball 62 times for 381 yards and three touchdowns.

Max Duffy

The Aussie punter was at it again last night, and he pulled some magic out of his hat that I don’t think was planned. Take a look for yourself:

https://twitter.com/Scott_Charlton/status/1188277536079450113?s=20

Safe to say this is a good make-up for his shank against Georgia last week.

Day Day Hawkins

Hawkins got a huge strip-sack in the second half. His moves are something else though.

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So, after all of this, will they keep Bowden out there?

“We’ll see. Sawyer is getting better and it’s nice to be able to have the option to go to both guys. Once again, tonight, the conditions made it extremely tough to get him out there. As you can tell, that’s playing with 12 [players] at times. Even though they were loading up, we were playing zero, he still was able to hit some big runs, and again, our coaches really did a good job. They’ve had a lot of stress on them and they’ve worked exceptionally hard. I’m proud of them.” Stoops said.(Quote via Kentucky Sports Radio)

It sounds like Stoops isn’t quite ready to say he is going to pull Bowden, especially after a game like that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Lynn Bowden’s reign at QB has come to an end. We will know more later this week.

Where do we go from here?

After last nights big win, Kentucky is now 4-4 (2-4). Their bowl hopes are still alive going into this bye-week.

Next game up is against Tennessee on Nov. 9 at Kroger Field. They have Vanderbilt, UT Martin, and Louisville left on the schedule after the Vols. You need two wins to get bowl eligible and anything more is gravy.

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Assuming UT Martin is an automatic win (it is), Kentucky needs one of Louisville, Vandy, and Tennessee, and I believe they will win at least one of those games.

If Mark Stoops and Kentucky can get to a bowl game after all of the injuries they’ve been faced with, it will be a very special accomplishment.

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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

Published

3 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

Published

3 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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