Now ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll going into Week 8, the Kentucky Wildcats are turning heads. The University of Kentucky has long been known as a basketball school with eight NCAA men’s basketball national championships. Now, its football team is worth talking about. Kentucky is 6-1 heading into Week 8. They are also 4-1 in SEC play, tied with Georgia for first in the conference after their tough loss to Auburn. First-year head coach Will Stein has become the first Kentucky coach in school history to defeat two ranked opponents in his first season.
Photo Cred: Sea of Blue
Coming from Oregon as an offensive coordinator, he quickly changed fans’ expectations for the football program. It began when Kentucky beat No. 9 Texas A&M in College Station, 31-21. After this game, fans started to think this season could be different. That was until the next week, when Kentucky went to Columbia and trailed by 17 points against South Carolina before winning in overtime. One week later, Kentucky beat No. 10 LSU in overtime at Kroger Field. This was one of Kentucky’s biggest wins in years. Quarterback Kenny Minchey ran up the middle and scored. Fans stormed the field, and it was a night in Lexington they’ll never forget.
The University of Kentucky Athletic Program shared on its website that these two games were the first back-to-back overtime wins in Kentucky football history. Both games ended 35-34, with Kentucky scoring a touchdown and then converting the two-point attempt. Along with his other accomplishments so far this season, Will Stein became the first Kentucky head coach to lead the Wildcats to a 5-1 record in his first season since 1913, when Alpha Brumage started 6-1.
Photo Cred: CBS Sports
In his postgame interview, Stein said: “We are a really good football team. Really good football team. People count us out. I took a picture of College GameDay this morning, and everybody picked LSU. Keep doing that. I appreciate that. Gives us a lot of fuel and a lot of fire, because everybody doubts us.”
Kentucky then went to Norman and beat Oklahoma 21-13. That left them 6-1 and gave them their third SEC road win of the season. Beating Oklahoma helped prove Kentucky wasn’t just lucky to win two overtime games. They are a talented team and are hungry for what’s to come in the rest of the season.
Next week, the Kentucky Wildcats return home to Kroger Field to play the Vanderbilt Commodores in a sold-out game. Looking ahead, their remaining schedule includes Tennessee, Florida, Missouri and Louisville. Can the Wildcats finish what they started?
