Season in a sentence
The season was so bad many Kentucky fans were left hoping Texas A&M would try and hire Mark Stoops again.
Three Highs
- The Ole Miss Win
Mark Stoops cost me some money that day in Oxford. People love to talk about Northern Illinois over Notre Dame and Vanderbilt over Alabama, but Kentucky beating Ole Miss in Oxford may have been the biggest upset of the year, knowing what we know now.
- The Georgia Loss
I mean they went 4-8, so there weren’t a lot of highs this season. A one point loss to the SEC Champs honestly felt like a win.
- Brock Vandagriff retiring
I’m not sure what happens when transfer portal quarterbacks get to Lexington. However, once they arrive they are either a huge disappointment or a huge weirdo when it comes to condiments. Looking at you, Will Levis.
Three Lows
- The season itself
Kentucky came into the season projected to win seven games from Vegas and finished 4-8, while failing to score over 20 points against a Power Four team all season long.
- The front seven were disappointing
I couldn’t have been higher on the front seven for Kentucky coming into this season. They returned six starters and the one new addition was a former All-American from Georgia. They were pretty average, though.
- Striking out in the portal
Maybe we take a break from recruiting quarterbacks in the portal and taking any of Georgia’s leftovers for a while. It did not go well.
The Offense
What offense? Kentucky failed to score over 20 points in any game this season against a Power Four opponent averaging 14.1 ppg. They finished 110th or worse in the country in passing, total, and scoring offense. For the fourth straight season their quarterback finished top three in the league in interceptions. Kentucky starting quarterbacks have thrown 43 combined interceptions in the last four years which is the most of anyone in the SEC.
Offensive Grade: F-
The Defense
Kentucky finished with a top four passing defense in the SEC, allowing only 183.7 yards per game. That’s about where the accolades and positives end. They ranked 10th or worse in every major defensive statistical category, including 15th in rushing yards allowed, giving up more than 160 per game.
Between that and the lack of pass rush, I am still not sure how this unit underperformed this badly. They were top five in both those categories in 2023 and finished 15th in both in 2024. That’s after they returned six of seven starters and added Jamon Dumas-Johnson in the portal from Georgia.
Only four teams scored more than 30 points against them. While that should never be the benchmark for a defense, for a team that suffered six of its eight losses by double digits, one might assume they gave up significantly more points. In actuality, often their defense is what kept them in games. It was their offense and turnovers that drove some of the scores.
Defensive Grade: C-
Overall Grade
Kentucky was one of the biggest disappointments in the league this season. Part of that is a testament to where Mark Stoops has gotten this program, but the other part of it is how bad of a coaching job he and his staff did this season.
Think of the pieces the Wildcats had in place this season. Barrion Brown and Dane Key returned at wide receiver. You had a former five star at quarterback and I’ve already mentioned the defensive pieces several times. This was about as bad as it could’ve been and that’s with a win over a top five team on the road.
Following up the biggest road win in nearly 50 years for your program by losing six of your last seven is bad. Doing that and losing those games by 17 points per game is just flat out embarrassing and inexcusable.
Overall Season Grade: D
