With one streak gone, Kentucky football really needs to extend another

Kentucky football’s 2025 season starts Saturday.

The actual bowl streak is gone. Snapped after eight years. Saturday solidified it. Kentucky lost 31-14 at No. 3 Texas. Nothing unexpected. An 18-point underdog, the Wildcats lost by 17. Mark Stoops’ team is 4-7. What’s done is done. Put it in the rearview. Time to look to the future.

The future starts Saturday. The Governor’s Cup is Kentucky’s bowl game. Archrival Louisville visits Kroger Field for a noon game on the SEC Network. Jeff Brohm’s Cardinals will arrive with a chip on their wings. They’ve dropped five straight to UK. That includes 2023, when No. 9-ranked U of L was upset 38-31 by the Cats in the ‘Ville.

One streak gone, Kentucky would love to extend another. That’s one motivation for the season finale. Here’s another: It’s a long offseason. Longer when you lose. This Kentucky team desperately needs a win to propel it into next season.

Stoops isn’t going anywhere. Told some dissatisfied fans believe he should cash in his chips and enjoy life, he replied, “There’s zero chance of that.” He doesn’t strike me as a guy who walks away after a losing season. Not in his DNA. And despite what you might think, despite the current record, there is hope for 2025.

Start with Cutter Boley, who should be UK’s Saturday starter at quarterback. The true freshman has played the entire second half each of the last two weeks. He was impressive in both. Showing out against Murray State is one thing. The Racers are among the worst teams in the FCS. Making plays against Texas is another. The Longhorns are among the best in the FBS.

Boley is a true freshman who doesn’t look like a true freshman. He stands tall in the pocket. He has patience. He has arm talent. He isn’t afraid to “let it rip,” as he says. He’s accurate with most throws. And he should get nothing but better.

Now add Jamarion Wilcox, a quick-footed running back who runs bigger than his 5-foot-10, 197-pound frame. Add Willie Gonzalez, a tight end with talent. Add Hardley Gilmore IV, a wide receiver who has made big plays since his debut was delayed by injury. Like Boley, all are freshmen.

It’s imperative the staff adds strong pieces around those promising players. The offensive line might be in for another total rebuild. Not ideal, but it’s necessary. And UK won’t be alone. Stoops himself said last week every NFL scout he talks to is searching for the same thing: offensive linemen. Everyone’s digging for gold.

There might be more reason to worry about Kentucky’s defense. Brad White’s name has popped up on UK message boards as a target for hire. Peers know the work the defensive coordinator has done in Lexington. Keeping him at UK should be high on Stoops’ to-do list.

Same goes for offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. It would be a stretch to say Kentucky’s offense has excelled in Hamdan’s first season as play-caller. It ranks 115th nationally in yards per game, after all. Still, after five OCs in five years, Stoops needs continuity. Hamdan deserves a chance to show what he can do with better quarterback play and a stronger O-line.

We know what Stoops can do. He’s the first Kentucky football coach to produce a winning SEC record since 1977. He’s had a pair of 10-win campaigns. And yet, since Kentucky’s 2021 Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa, the Cats are 18-19 overall, 7-17 in the SEC. They’ve lost 12 of their last 14 conference games, including nine of the last 10. You are what your record says you are.

Stoops’ record vs. Louisville: 6-4. The Cats haven’t lost to the Cards since 2017. They’ve outscored U of L 217-88. Louisville’s season record those first four years: 20-29. Last year: 10-4. This year: 7-4.

So Saturday is both a one-game season and a window into the next one. Louisville can look forward to a bowl game. Kentucky can look forward to some long, long months until the 2025 opener on Aug. 30. A win against Louisville would make the time seem shorter.

This story was originally published November 24, 2024 at 11:19 AM.

John Clay

Lexington Herald-Leader

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John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky, he covered UK football from 1987 until being named sports columnist in 2000. He has covered 20 Final Fours and 42 consecutive Kentucky Derbys. Support my work with a digital subscription