This past weekend was a roller coaster of emotions for Kentucky fans, you know, good people like you here reading KentuckySportsRadio.com on a Monday. Big Blue Madness was the best it has been in a long time on Friday night, partly because of the shocking finale. That energy rolled into an exciting Saturday in Lexington, where all-day tailgating or the Keeneland doubleheader set up an electric atmosphere for the Vanderbilt game under the lights. Then, Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt for the second straight time at home, spoiling a special weekend for fans and any of the team’s momentum from the Ole Miss win and bye week.
Today, the Wildcats put that loss behind them and move on to preparation for their road trip to Florida. Week 9 begins with the usual routine:
After the troubling loss to Vandy, Mark Stoops searched for an explanation for Kentucky‘s poor record out of bye weeks and in SEC home games lately. Today, he will share what he discovered during his Sunday reflection when he faces more questions about the loss in his Monday afternoon press conference on campus.
Stoops may also provide significant injury updates and his early opinions of the Gators and Kentucky’s second road game of the year. KSR will be there to cover the conversation for you, per tradition.
You can get more Mark Stoops on his call-in radio show with Tom Leach from 6-7 p.m. on the UK Sports Network. If you’re up for it, call in and talk to Stoops yourself.
Tune in to the KSR Football Podcast at 2 p.m. today to hear Nick Roush, Drew Franklin, Adam Luckett, and Max Duffy voice their frustrations from Kentucky’s loss to Vanderbilt. You can watch and interact with KSR’s YouTube live broadcast at 2 p.m. following Mark Stoops’ Monday press conference and a quick lunch. Can’t watch? Listen to the audio-only version on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever means you use to listen to podcasts.
Kentucky is the betting underdog next Saturday at Florida, getting 2.5 points in the Swamp. The total on the game is 42.5. The under hit in five of Kentucky’s six games.
Later today, the Southeastern Conference will assign a time and TV slot to Kentucky’s home against Auburn on Saturday, October 26. It was already announced as a night game in the new schedule format, so kickoff will be sometime in the evening. We’ll find out soon.
After winning the Red River Shootout, the Texas Longhorns remained No. 1 in the country when the Associated Press updated its Top 25 on Sunday. Behind them, Ohio State slipped two spots from second to fourth, allowing Oregon and Penn State to each slide up a place to second and third. Georgia stayed put at fifth to round out this week’s top five.
See the new Top 25 here. Kentucky did not receive any votes.
The AP will soon reveal its first Top 25 for the upcoming college basketball season. Come back to KentuckySportsRadio.com (or refresh the AP’s website) around noon today to see where (or if?) Kentucky lands in the 2024-25 preseason poll.
Kentucky ranked No. 23 in ESPN’s preseason ranking.
Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler performed (well, lip-synced) his own hip-hop song, “Wildcats,” at Big Blue Madness on Friday night. Butler followed the song’s Madness debut with a music video release late Sunday night, featuring shots of Butler rapping in Rupp Arena and several lines referencing his teammates. My favorite? “I might pull up to Harlan if Trent Noah guy.”
Ladies and gentlemen, “Wildcats” by HBMont:
No. 12 Kentucky Volleyball hosted No. 7 Texas in Historic Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, only to lose in three sets in front of nearly 5,000 fans, the sixth-largest turnout in school history. The visiting Longhorns won 25-21, 25-19, 25-17 to remain unbeaten in SEC play, while the Wildcats fell to 3-2 in the conference. Kentucky heads to Tennessee on Wednesday night.
Listen to KSR with Matt Jones and the crew from 10 a.m. to noon on weekdays. Today, the show will be broadcast from behind closed doors in the iHeart studio, but you can join the fun the rest of the week:
Go Cats.
