Why is Seth McGowan not playing for Kentucky football vs. Tennessee?
If Kentucky football is to snap a nine-game SEC losing streak against Tennessee, it may have to do it without its most effective offensive player this season.
Running back Seth McGowan, who was taken to the hospital for a scan during last week’s overtime loss to Texas but returned to play later in the game, was not used in the first half against the Volunteers after participating in pregame warmups. He was dressed out on the sideline, wearing a helmet, but was not standing with the rest of the running backs prepared to rotate into the game. McGowan was listed as a game-time decision on the final SEC-mandated availability report released before the game.
McGowan is averaging 95 all-purpose yards per game with seven touchdowns through six games.
He has battled a series of undisclosed minor injuries throughout the season but has played in every game. McGowan told reporters after Tuesday’s practice the injury he sustained versus Texas was not related to the one he had suffered two weeks earlier in a loss at Georgia that caused him to miss most of the fourth quarter.
McGowan briefly left the game against Texas after taking a hard hit in the third quarter on which he fumbled. He was transported to the UK hospital, across the parking lot from the stadium, for a chest scan but was quickly cleared to return to the field. He recorded four carries and caught two passes in the fourth quarter, helping Kentucky send the game to overtime.
UK coach Mark Stoops said Monday he expected McGowan to be available against Tennessee, but McGowan was listed as questionable throughout the week on the SEC-mandated availability report.
McGowan was listed as a game-time decision on the final update to that report released 90 minutes before kickoff. With McGowan apparently unavailable, Dante Dowdell and Jason Patterson split carries at running back in the first half versus Tennessee.
This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 8:26 PM.