8+ mon, 4+ week ago (432+ words) ESPN on ABC is the home for marquee SEC games all football and basketball season long. On Saturday, that meant the network was airing a top-20 showdown as No. 1 Auburn traveled to face No. 17 Kentucky in Lexington. The action in that game has been positive, even if the Tigers have controlled the flow for much of the contest. However, one problem did arise in the 2nd half. With the game in the middle of the action, the broadcast feed of the game suddenly cut out and remained out for an extended period of time. ESPN and ABC have acknowledged the technical difficulties, but it remains to be seen if the game feed will return before the contest concludes. Needless to say, that's not the kind of update fans of the Tigers and Wildcats were hoping for in a big-time matchup on…...

1+ mon, 5+ day ago (326+ words) An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson. This article/post contains references to products or services from one or more of our advertisers or partners. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products or services. The 17th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers will be in icy-whites Saturday when they take on the Kentucky Wildcats (7:45 pm, SEC Network) in Lexington. The traditional road white uniform is accented with the familiar Tennessee orange and include white cleats and accessories,…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago (351+ words) Kentucky radio insider Matt Jones said on Wednesday that he believes the Wildcats football program can afford to pay head coach Mark Stoops a $37 million buyout if Kentucky finishes 3-9 or even 4-8. Right now, the Wildcats are going nowhere in 2025, with the team off to a 2-3 start that includes an ugly 0-3 record in the SEC. A home loss to Ole Miss followed by lopsided road setbacks against South Carolina and Georgia have left Stoops and Kentucky at the bottom of a very good conference, and there are rumors swirling about a possible buyout of Stoops" contract. The 58-year-old Stoops has made this far in Lexington. He"s the longest-tenured head coach in the SEC after taking the Kentucky job in 2013. But after a 10-win season in 2021 and back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023, the Wildcats limped to a 4-8 record last year and…...

10+ mon, 2+ day ago (300+ words) Joe Lunardi has updated his bracketology projection ahead of Tuesday's slate of games. This week's slate includes a high-profile matchup between Kentucky and Tennessee. The Wildcats and Vols are both currently projected to be high seeds in the NCAA Tournament, but there's still a lot of work to be done for both squads. RELATED: Want to bet on Kentucky during college basketball season? Here's everything you need to know about the top new online sportsbooks in Kentucky before tipoff! Lunardi laid out the stakes for both Kentucky and Tennessee in Tuesday night's game: Vols are a solid 2-seed win or lose tonight's rivalry game; the 3-seeded Wildcats will drop a line with a loss if Texas A&M beats Oklahoma at home. Tennessee is coming off of a narrow loss at No. 1 Auburn over the weekend. While a defeat to…...

11+ mon, 1+ week ago (304+ words) Kentucky and Mark Stoops have shown that they were less than pleased with the program's 4-8 record in 2024 given their efforts in the transfer portal thus far. The latest addition for the Wildcats comes in the form of a pledge from Western Kentucky transfer center Evan Wibberley, who announced his commitment to join the "Big Blue Wall" of Kentucky on Sunday. After being recruited as a 3-star prospect out of high school, Wibberley redshirted due to injury in 2022 before emerging as a standout up front in 2023. He earned C-USA All-Freshman Team honors that season and then started in every game for the Hilltoppers in 2024. Wibberley visited Lexington this weekend and made his commitment official soon after. He figures to slide into a starting role and has two years of eligibility remaining. Stoops' efforts to retool an underwhelming offensive line from last…...

10+ mon, 5+ day ago (534+ words) Vanderbilt did it again at home, this time outlasting No. 9 Kentucky in Nashville for its second euphoric Saturday in a row. Vanderbilt played giant-killer for the second straight Saturday in Nashville, this time taking out No. 9 Kentucky, 74-69, to set off a second straight court-storming moment at Memorial Gym. Last Saturday, the Commodores outlasted No. 6 Tennessee, 76-75, and then stumbled on the road against No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday night, giving up 103 points in a 16-point loss. But then it was back to Nashville, where Vanderbilt has suddenly become magical against back-to-back SEC powerhouses. Kentucky was the latest victim, with Tyler Nickel draining a right-corner 3-pointer with about 1:45 left to give Vandy (16-4, 4-3 SEC) the lead for good at 71-69. The Wildcats never scored again, and soon it was party time yet again in Nashville. Nickel had 11 points, including 3 3-pointers, and the Commodores were led…...

1+ mon, 4+ week ago (288+ words) By Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo All eyes will be on Sanford stadium on Saturday where the No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs (4-1, 1-1) are eager to be back after a heart-wrenching loss to Alabama, falling just short at 24-21. On Saturday, they will host the struggling Kentucky Wildcats (2-2, 0-2 SEC), who also faced disappointment last week with a 35-13 defeat against South Carolina. As for who will win this game, the odds from ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) heavily lean toward Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs. Per FPI, Georgia has a 90.3% chance of victory at home against the Wildcats. Quarterback Cutter Boley has had his struggles early in the season. During last week's game against South Carolina, he managed only 124 yards on 10-of-19 passing attempts with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Meanwhile, running back Seth McGowan has been a bright spot for the Wildcats, carrying the ball 17 times…...

3+ mon, 4+ week ago (307+ words) Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart said at a media event on Friday that athletic directors around the SEC are preparing to discuss the conference schedule during their meetings later this month and expect some resolution on the "8 vs. 9 league games" question to come from those meetings. The SEC will play 8 league games during the upcoming 2025 season. What to do beyond this fall has been hotly debated for months. Barnhart told reporters on Friday that a decision needs to come soon. "The 8/9 conversation is difficult. There's a good conversation in the room," he said. There's an economic component to it, as it relates to television, for sure. I think that decision obviously has to come pretty quickly. We've got athletic directors meetings in August. There's probably a pretty good chance that's on the docket and then some decision comes out of…...

3+ mon, 5+ day ago (169+ words) If Zach Calzada doesn't perform, UK may be shaping up for a drastic move at the conclusion of the 2025 season judging by FPI predictions. Mark Stoops has elevated the Kentucky Wildcats" football program to new heights over his 12-year tenure in Lexington. Despite this, he enters the 2025 campaign with some increasingly warm buttocks. And ESPN's Football Power Index doesn't forecast sunshine and roses in what could be an unlucky 13th season. Kentucky ranks 43rd in the country in FPI. Specifically in the SEC, though, the Wildcats slot 14th, ahead of only Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. The FPI predicts Kentucky will go 5.2-6.8, meaning it expects Stoops and Co. to miss out on a bowl game for the second consecutive year. The Wildcats reached eight straight bowl games from 2016-23, so this trend would seemingly not be good for Stoops' outlook. RELATED: Football season is here!...

2+ mon, 2+ day ago (222+ words) Georgia will look to avoid doing something it's only done three times in the Kirby Smart era: lose back-to-back games. After a 24-21 Week 5 loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs will look to get back in the win column. They'll welcome Kentucky to Sanford Stadium in Week 6. And, according to Circa Sports' odds released on Sunday afternoon, the Dawgs have opened as a 20-point favorite. Georgia went on two-game losing streaks twice in Smart's first season in 2016. It didn't lose back-to-back again until 2018, when it lost the SEC Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl a month apart. Meanwhile, Kentucky dropped to 2-2 in its Week 5 game with a 35-13 loss to South Carolina in Columbia. The Wildcats have alternated wins and losses thus far in 2025, opening the season with a win against Toledo before losing to Ole Miss. They then topped Eastern Michigan before…...