How Kentucky football and No. 21 Texas match up — with a game prediction

How the Kentucky Wildcats (2-3, 0-3 SEC) and the No. 21 Texas Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s college football matchup — with a game prediction:

Quarterbacks

• Kentucky redshirt freshman Cutter Boley played the best game of his young college career in UK’s 35-14 loss at Georgia two weeks ago. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound product of Lexington Christian Academy completed 25 of 41 passes for 225 yards with two touchdown throws vs. one interception. Last season, as a true freshman, Boley played the second half of UK’s 35-13 loss at Texas and threw for 160 yards on 10-of-18 completions with an interception.

• After a slow start to the 2025 season that did not match his massive preseason hype, Texas redshirt sophomore Arch Manning has recently been taking steps forward. The 6-4, 219-pound product of New Orleans completed 21 of 27 throws for 166 yards and a touchdown in the Longhorns’ 23-6 upset of then-No. 6 Oklahoma last week in Dallas. Against the Sooners, Manning was exceptional on 3rd-down plays, completing 11 of 12 passes for 117 yards and a TD. More mobile than his uncles Peyton and Eli, Manning leads Texas in rushing on the season with 194 yards and five touchdowns.

Advantage: Texas

Running backs

• Kentucky’s Seth McGowan (431 rushing yards, seven TDs, 5.5 yards a carry average) is responsible for half of the 14 touchdowns UK has scored in 2025. The 6-1, 215-pound product of Mesquite, Texas, is fourth in the SEC in rushing, averaging 86.2 yards a game. McGowan left UK’s loss at Georgia with a leg injury, but Mark Stoops expressed optimism Monday that the back would be available vs. the Longhorns. McGowan began his college career at Oklahoma but did not play against Texas in his one season (2020) with the Sooners. Nebraska transfer Dante Dowdell averaged 79 rushing yards a game in UK’s non-league wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan but has averaged only 29.7 yards a contest in the Wildcats’ three SEC defeats.

• Texas junior Quintrevion Wisner sliced and diced Kentucky last season, rushing 26 times for 158 yards and a touchdown. This season, a hamstring injury has limited the 6-foot, 194-pound product of Glenn Heights, Texas, to only three games and a combined 185 yards rushing. In the win over Oklahoma, however, Wisner appeared to be rounding into form: He ran for 94 yards on 22 attempts and caught five passes for 34 yards.

Advantage: Even

Wide receivers

• Kentucky senior slot receiver Kendrick Law caught six passes for 64 yards and his first UK touchdown at Georgia. The Alabama transfer now leads the Wildcats in receptions (19) and receiving yards (174). True freshman Cameron Miller turned heads with his late-game performance in Athens. The 5-11, 167-pound product of Camden, New Jersey, caught three passes for 41 yards. “He’s certainly a guy that has to be in that rotation and get some reps,” Mark Stoops said of Miller. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get him the football.”

• Texas spreads the football among three capable wideouts. Ryan Wingo, a 6-2, 214-pound sophomore from St. Louis, leads the Longhorns in receptions (22) and receiving touchdowns (four) and is second in receiving yards (298). Redshirt freshman Parker Livingstone leads Texas in receiving yards (308) and is averaging a robust 20.3 yards a catch. He has 15 catches, three of which have gone for TDs. DeAndre Moore Jr. caught his first touchdown of the season last week vs. Oklahoma. On the season, the 6-foot, 192-pound junior has 15 catches for 240 yards.

Advantage: Texas

Tight ends

• Through five games, Kentucky senior Josh Kattus and sophomore Willie Rodriguez are having remarkably similar seasons. Kattus, a 6-4, 247-pound senior out of Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller High School, and Rodriguez, a 6-4, 252-pound sophomore from Covington Catholic, each has caught nine passes for 141 yards. The only difference is Kattus has two touchdown receptions compared to one for Rodriguez.

• A 6-4, 240-pound junior, Jack Endries has caught 11 passes for Texas for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Washington, a 6-4, 264-pound sophomore, has caught five passes for 79 yards and a TD. Last season’s Texas tight end, Gunnar Helm (now with the Tennessee Titans) caught five passes and had two touchdown catches vs. UK.

Advantage: Even

Offensive line

• A transfer from New Mexico State, Kentucky left tackle Shiyazh Pete is getting a baptism by fire in having to block dynamic SEC edge rushers. “He’s been a bit up and down,” Mark Stoops said of the 6-8, 322-pound Pete. “I think his second SEC game, it was better than the first. And that’s what you would expect.”

• Texas right guard DJ Campbell, a 6-3, 321-pound senior, is the veteran anchor of a youngish Longhorns offensive front (three sophomore starters) which has struggled at times in 2025. A product of Arlington, Texas, Campbell has played in 41 college games and started 34 of them.

Advantage: Even

Defensive line

• Kentucky defensive tackle Kahlil Saunders continued his strong senior season at Georgia with six tackles, including half a tackle for loss. The 6-5, 293-pound senior from Huntsville, Alabama, leads UK defensive linemen on the season with 17 stops. Junior end Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace had four tackles, including a half of a TFL, at Georgia.

• Texas sophomore rush end Colin Simmons leads the Longhorns in sacks (four) and quarterback hurries (five). The 6-3, 240-pound sophomore from Dallas also has five tackles for loss and a pass breakup. In his career to date, Simmons has 13 sacks.

Advantage: Texas

Linebackers

• Kentucky weakside linebacker Alex Afari Jr. had six tackles at Georgia and shared in a tackle for loss. The 6-2, 227-pound senior from Cincinnati has 37 tackles on the season and is fourth in the SEC in tackles per game with 7.4. Last season vs. Texas, Afari had seven tackles and a tackle for loss.

• Texas weakside linebacker Anthony HIll Jr. went camping in the Kentucky backfield last season. The 6-3, 238-pound product of Denton, Texas, had four tackles for loss, twice sacked UK quarterbacks and finished with 11 tackles overall, seven of them solo. This season, Hill Jr., a junior, has 37 tackles and has forced two fumbles.

Advantage: Texas

Defensive backs

• Kentucky free safety Jordan Lovett intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards at Georgia. The redshirt senior from North Hardin now has eight career picks at UK. True freshman cornerback Grant Grayton also had an interception at Georgia. The 6-3, 205-pound product of Laurel, Maryland, has now appeared in three games and has five tackles, a pick and a pass defended.

• Texas left cornerback Malik Muhammad intercepted two John Mateer passes in the Longhorns’ win over Oklahoma. A 6-foot, 188-pound product of Desoto, Texas, Muhammad also has 11 tackles and three passes defended this season. Redshirt senior free safety Michael Taaffe leads Texas with 41 tackles and also has a sack and a pick. Strong safety Jelani McDonald made eight tackles against Oklahoma. A 6-2, 199-pound junior from Waco, Texas, McDonald has 29 stops, two interceptions and three passes defended on the season.

Advantage: Texas

Special teams

• After eight-straight made field goals to start his college career, including a 51-yarder, Kentucky redshirt freshman place-kicker Jacob Kauwe had his first miss in the loss at Georgia when he shanked a 26-yard attempt. Senior punter Aidan Laros is averaging 46.3 yards on 21 kicks and has pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line 11 times.

• Punt returner Ryan Niblett essentially clinched the Texas upset of Oklahoma when he took an OU punt 75 yards for a touchdown with 9:54 left in the game to put the Longhorns ahead 20-6. For the season, Niblet is third in the FBS in punt returning with an average of 21.6 yards a return. Place-kicker Mason Shipley is 8 of 10 on field goal tries with a long make of 48 yards. Punter Jack Bouwmeester is averaging 46.9 yards a kick.

Advantage: Texas

Prediction

Texas 38, Kentucky 13

This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 6:00 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