Know Your Foe: Can UK football turn its season with an upset of No. 21 Texas?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky hosts No.21 Texas Saturday at Kroger Field; kickoff 7 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
- Arch Manning led Texas in upset of Oklahoma, improving pass and rush production.
- Kentucky seeks first SEC home win; Texas features Quintrevion Wisner’s return.
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Preview: No. 21 Texas at Kentucky football
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Texas game at Kroger Field.
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Scouting Kentucky football’s next opponent, the Texas Longhorns:
Game details for Kentucky vs. Texas
Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) will face No. 21 Texas (4-2, 1-1 SEC) on Saturday at Kroger Field (seating capacity of some 61,000) on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
The game will kick off at 7 p.m. EDT and be telecast by ESPN.
Coach Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns upset No. 6 Oklahoma 23-6 last Saturday in Dallas.
Kentucky-Texas history and trends
Texas leads the all-time series with Kentucky 2-0.
UK coach Mark Stoops is 0-1 against Texas.
Texas head man Steve Sarkisian is 1-0 vs. Kentucky.
Kentucky is 2-12 in its past 14 SEC home games and has lost its past eight such contests.
Since entering the SEC in 2024, Texas is 3-1 in true road games. The Longhorns are 0-1 this season, having lost 29-21 at Florida on Oct. 4.
Most recent Kentucky-Texas football game
Last season, in the first meeting between Kentucky and Texas in 73 years, the No. 3 Longhorns defeated the Wildcats 31-14 before 102,811 fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 23, 2024.
The defeat left UK with a 4-7 overall record and ensured that the Wildcats could not reach the six-win threshold necessary for bowl eligibility. That snapped an eight-year bowl streak for UK.
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers completed 20 of 31 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Texas outrushed Kentucky 251 yards to 21 and outgained the Wildcats overall 442 yards to 232.
Kentucky got an offensive lift from a pair of true freshmen. Tight end Willie Rodriguez led Wildcats receivers with three catches for 53 yards. Quarterback Cutter Boley came off the bench in the second half and completed 10 of 18 passes for 160 yards with an interception.
Kentucky-Texas: Three things to know
1. After a so-so start to the season, Texas quarterback Arch Manning played his best game of 2025 to date in the upset of No. 6 Oklahoma. Manning, the third generation of his family to become an SEC starting quarterback, completed 21 of 27 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown vs. the Sooners.
The 6-foot-4, 219-pound New Orleans product was also the Longhorns’ second-leading rusher, running four times for 34 yards vs. OU.
In Texas’ first two contests this season vs. power conference teams, road losses to Ohio State and Florida, Manning completed only 55.9% of his throws (a combined 33 of 59) for 333 yards with three touchdowns versus three interceptions.
2. Part of the reason for Arch Manning’s sluggish start to the season had been offensive line struggles in front of the quarterback. Manning was sacked six times in the 29-21 loss to Florida at The Swamp. The Longhorns entered last Saturday’s game with Oklahoma tied for 68th in the FBS in sacks allowed, having surrendered nine in five games.
There was good news and bad news for the Longhorns’ offensive front against the Sooners. On the plus side, Texas allowed only one sack of Manning against OU, and the Longhorns outrushed the Sooners 136 yards to 48.
However, even in victory, Texas surrendered a whopping 12 tackles for loss to Oklahoma.
3. Another factor in the slow start of the Texas offense in 2025 has been a hamstring injury suffered by starting running back Quintrevion Wisner in the season-opening 14-7 loss at then-No. 3 Ohio State. Wisner gained 80 yards on 16 carries vs. the Buckeyes, then did not play again until two games ago at Florida.
Wisner looked rusty against the Gators, running for only 11 yards on eight carries.
However, in the win over Oklahoma, the 6-foot, 194-pound Wisner looked more like his normal self. He carried 22 times for 94 yards and also caught five passes for 34 yards.
Kentucky saw in last season’s loss at Texas how good Wisner can be, as he ran for 158 yards on 28 carries and scored a touchdown.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 7:18 AM.
