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The Good, the Bad, the Worst: How this Football Season Could End for Kentucky?

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This Kentucky football season has been a roller coaster. After a very disappointing start to the season, Kentucky got back on its feet with a big win against Arkansas last Saturday. More importantly, us fans were given some hope after seeing what Lynn Bowden could do at quarterback.

With only six games left in the season, and Lynn Bowden and Sawyer Smith both taking first-string snaps in practice, we don’t really know how this season is going to play out. So, here is the best, bad, and worst ways this season could end for Kentucky.

Good

No, this does not include beating Georgia. I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s a chance in hell Kentucky leaves Athens with a win.

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Kentucky goes to Georgia and puts on a good performance with Lynn Bowden at the helm, but the Bulldogs are just bigger, stronger, faster at every position possible and the Cats lose.

You have Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, UT Martin, and Louisville left on the schedule after that. You get Sawyer Smith back at 100%, go 4-0 to end the season, finish 8-4, and everyone is happy.

Most importantly, you keep the entire recruiting class together.

Bad

The Cats go down to Athens and get crushed with Lynn Bowden at QB. Bowden gets replaced by Sawyer Smith in the second half and the “Lynn Bowden starting QB” era is over quickly.

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Sawyer Smith isn’t quite the same as we saw in the first half against Florida, but Kentucky puts some of the pieces back together, goes 6-6, and makes a bowl game. Not disastrous, but not good.

You also probably lose some of the recruiting class, which isn’t good either.

Worst

This is what would be featured in the nightmares of the BBN.

UK gets shutout by Georgia and can’t do anything. Lynn Bowden plays bad, get benched for Sawyer Smith, and the offense still looks bad and Smith still doesn’t look healthy.

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Sawyer Smith vs. Lynn Bowden continues, Smith still doesn’t look healthy, and Bowden gets the job because Smith can’t go. Things improve a little, but not by much.

Kentucky never gets the pieces back together, and the only win they get coming down the home stretch is a miserable win over UT Martin.

Cats go 4-8 after a 10-3 season, the recruiting class is gone, and I don’t really want to think about this anymore, so I am stopping here.

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Football

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

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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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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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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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