How Kentucky football and Eastern Michigan match up — with a game prediction

How the Kentucky Wildcats (1-1, 0-1 SEC) and the Eastern Michigan Eagles (0-2, 0-0 MAC) match up at each position for Saturday’s college football contest — with a game prediction:

Quarterbacks

• Kentucky starter Zach Calzada left the game late in UK’s 30-23 loss to then-No. 20 Ole Miss last week with a shoulder injury. In Calzada’s absence, redshirt freshman Cutter Boley, the former Lexington Christian Academy star, was thrust into action and set up a Wildcats field goal with a 38-yard pass to Hardley Gilmore. Whether the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Boley gets the start Saturday or whether the 6-4, 230-pound Calzada returns, UK needs to get its passing attack going. Through two games, the Wildcats are 118th out of 136 FBS teams in passing, averaging 136 yards a contest.

• Playing for his third school in four seasons, Eastern Michigan’s Noah Kim is off to a solid start in 2025. Through two games, a 52-27 loss to Texas State and a 28-23 defeat to FCS foe Long Island, the 6-2, 185-pound Kim is completing 65.1% of his passes and averaging 218.5 yards a game throwing. Kim has thrown three TD tosses vs. no interceptions. Over a career that has also included stops at Michigan State (2022 and 2023) and Coastal Carolina (2024), Kim has played in six games vs. power conference foes. His teams have gone 0-6 in those games with Kim completing 85 of 136 passes (62.5%) for 751 yards with three TD throws vs. six picks.

Advantage: Eastern Michigan

Running backs

• Through two weeks, Kentucky transfers Dante Dowdell and Seth McGowan are fifth and seventh, respectively, in the SEC in rushing. A 6-2, 227-pound junior who transferred to Kentucky from Nebraska, Dowdell is averaging 92.5 rushing yards a game. McGowan, a 6-1, 215-pound senior who transferred to UK from New Mexico State after beginning his career at Oklahoma, is averaging 85.5 rushing yards a game and leads Kentucky with three touchdowns.

• After starting his career at Weber State, Eastern Michigan’s Dontae McMillan has emerged as the Eagles’ featured back in his third season in the EMU program. A 5-10, 203-pound senior from Seattle, McMillan had a 40-yard touchdown run and a 33-yard TD reception in last week’s loss to LIU. For the season, McMillan has rushed for 136 yards on 17 carries, an average of 8 yards a rush. He has also caught four passes for 68 yards. A transfer from Michigan, Tavierre Dunlap is off to a slow start. The 6-foot, 215-pound redshirt senior has carried 21 times for only 58 yards. He did have a TD run vs. Texas State.

Advantage: Kentucky

Wide receivers

• Kentucky made good use of senior slot receiver Kendrick Law in the short passing game vs. Mississippi. Law, a 6-foot, 205-pound transfer from Alabama, caught six passes for 44 yards. Super-senior Ja’Mori Maclin set up a UK touchdown vs. Ole Miss with a 44-yard catch. Sophomore Hardley Gilmore set up a late field goal with a 38-yard reception.

• Eastern Michigan’s Terry Lockett Jr. will be the most accomplished receiver in Saturday night’s game. The 5-11, 182-pound redshirt senior caught 46 passes for 660 yards and five touchdowns last season. So far in 2025, Lockett has 13 catches for 140 yards. A transfer from North Carolina State, super-senior Porter Rooks has three catches through two games.

Advantage: Even

Tight ends

• Kentucky senior Josh Kattus is second on the Wildcats with five catches. The 6-4, 247-pound senior from Cincinnati only needs four more receptions to set a new personal high for catches in a season. Sophomore Willie Rodriguez made one catch vs. Ole Miss for nine yards. Combined, the UK TEs were targeted 11 times (Kattus six, Rodriguez five) against Mississippi with only three catches for 17 yards to show for it.

• Eastern Michigan’s Tanner Lemaster played for Kentucky in 2023 and 2024, appearing in only one game. Over his first two games for EMU, the 6-6, 247, Lemaster has three catches for 53 yards. Joshua Long, a 6-5, 243-pound sophomore from Los Angeles, has five catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Advantage: Kentucky

Offensive line

• Kentucky right guard Jalen Farmer continues to draw praise from Mark Stoops for his play. The UK coach said the 6-5, 318-pound junior, in his second year with the Wildcats after transferring from Florida, is “in the best place since he’s been with us. You know, the way he plays, he’s very powerful and plays with a lot of intensity.”

• At 6-8, 308 pounds, sophomore left tackle Mack Indestad was tabbed Third Team Preseason All-Mid-American Conference by the “Phil Steele College Football Preview.” Center Everett Small, right guard Terrance Saunders and right tackle Dodji Dahoue will all be making only their third college starts Saturday.

Advantage: Kentucky

Defensive line

• Kentucky redshirt senior tackle Kahlil Saunders tied his career high with five tackles vs. Ole Miss. Of the 6-5, 293-pound redshirt senior from Huntsville, Alabama, Mark Stoops says “Khalil I thought really showed up. Was very disruptive, played one of his better games since he’s been here.”

• The prototypical undersized MAC nose guard, Eastern Michigan’s Donovan Green is the veteran of the Eagles’ defensive unit. The 5-11, 300-pound product of Palmetto, Louisiana, has made 32 career starts. End Carter Evans made four tackles and hurried the QB twice vs. Texas State. Tackle Tyrell Martin made seven stops vs. LIU.

Advantage: Kentucky

Linebackers

• Kentucky weakside linebacker Alex Afari is off to a sensational start to his senior season. The 6-2, 227-pound Cincinnati product is tied for second in the FBS in solo tackles (16), is tied for eighth in the FBS in total tackles (23) and is tied for 38th in the country in tackles for loss (three). Middle linebacker Daveren Rayner made eight tackles vs. Ole Miss.

• Eastern Michigan middle linebacker Sterling Miles made a team-high eight tackles vs. Long Island. Weakside linebacker Marco Patierno had seven stops and a quarterback hurry vs. LIU. Undersized at 5-11, 205 pounds, bandit Bryce LLewellyn had five tackles and a TFL vs. Texas State and came back to make seven stops vs. Long Island.

Advantage: Kentucky

Defensive backs

• Kentucky strong safety Ty Bryant set up UK for 10 early points vs. Mississippi with a pair of interceptions that gave the Wildcats the ball in Rebels territory. Bryant, a 6-foot, 198-pound product of Frederick Douglass High School, also made 10 tackles vs. Ole Miss. Redshirt senior free safety Jordan Lovett, a 6-2, 208 pound North Hardin product, made nine tackles, including 1.5 TFL against Mississippi. D.J. Waller, UK’s starting field cornerback, missed last week’s game due to injury and Mark Stoops said Monday “more than likely he’ll be out this week.” Sophomore Terhyon Nichols started in Waller’s place vs. Ole Miss and was credited with two tackles and two pass breakups.

• Eastern Michigan starting nickelback Jaivian Norman played high school football for former Kentucky cornerback Maurice Douglass at Ohio’s Springfield High School. A 5-9, 184-pound junior, Norman made 25 tackles and was credited with two passes defended last season. This year, he has three tackles through two games. EMU has yet to intercept a pass this season.

Advantage: Kentucky

Special teams

• Kentucky redshirt freshman plack-kicker Jacob Kauwe has started the season 4 of 4 on field goal tries with a long of 45 yards. Senior punter Aidan Laros is averaging 43.1 yards on 11 kicks and has pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line six times. UK inserted wide receiver Troy Stellato as its punt returner last week but the Clemson transfer did not get to actually make a return on four Ole Miss kicks.

• Eastern Michigan punter Mitchell Tomasek is one of the best in the FBS. The senior will come to Lexington third in the country, averaging a robust 51.5 yards on 10 punts. A Columbus, Ohio, product, Tomasek has already been the first-team All-MAC punter twice, in 2022 and 2023. Place-kicker Rudy Kessinger is 3 of 3 on field goals with a long of 37 yards. Jayvin Norman, younger brother of defensive back Jaivian Norman, has been an effective kickoff returner, averaging 28 yards on five returns.

Advantage: Kentucky

UK-EMU prediction

Kentucky 41, Eastern Michigan 16

This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 6:30 AM.

Mark Story

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-444-4731

Mark Story has worked in the Lexington Herald-Leader sports department since Aug. 27, 1990, and has been a Herald-Leader sports columnist since 2001. I have covered every Kentucky-Louisville football game since 1994, every UK-U of L basketball game but three since 1996-97 and every Kentucky Derby since 1994. Support my work with a digital subscription