There were excerpts from Kentucky first-year football coach Will Stein’s remarks in July’s Southeastern Conference Media Days that caught the attention of a once similar brash, young coach entering the league.
Stein brought more than just his high-octane offensive concepts with him from Oregon, he came with plenty of confidence in his own ability to make the Wildcats a winner and become the deciding factor in why future recruits would choose Lexington, Ky.
“I saw the young confidence,” LSU head coach Lane Kiffin said of Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Some may saw cocky. Probably, I did in that moment, (I saw) some of myself when I was young. He’s doing a great job. He did a great job on offense at Oregon. Really unique plays, mixture of personnel, tempo. He’s doing a great job.”
Since losing a halftime lead at home against Alabama, Kentucky has put together a three-game winning streak, fueled by road wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina.
The Wildcats (4-1, 2-1 in SEC) host No. 10 LSU (4-1, 1-1) in SEC action at 6 p.m. Saturday at Kroger Stadium.
“It’s a really challenging matchup for us this week,” Kiffin said. “Coach Stein’s done a great job over there. They play really sound on both sides of the ball. Playing with a lot of confidence and energy and overcoming some injuries. We’re going to have to play really well. (We’re going to) Prepare really well through the week to overcome our own injuries and be ready for a really challenging, really good SEC game.”
Kentucky followed its 31-21 win over Texas A&M two weeks ago by rallying from a 17-point deficit at South Carolina last week. The Gamecocks led 17-0 when the Wildcats outscored them 14-0 in third quarter and 25-14 in the second half, plus overtime.
There were two lead changes in the fourth quarter when Kentucky tied the game at 27-all on Adam Zouagui’s 29-yard field goal with 4:13 remaining in regulation.
South Carolina scored first in overtime and kicked an extra point for a seven-point lead.
Kentucky needed just two plays to get into the end zone and with a decision to make. Quarterback Kenny Minchey connected with tight end Henry Boyer for a 6-yard score and found tight end Willie Rodriguez for the two-point conversion and victory.
Former LSU wide receiver Nic Anderson had five catches for a touchdown, and one-time LSU commitment Kenny Darby of Airline High in Bossier City led the team with 12 receptions for 96 yards and a TD.
“I think he’s brought that youthful, confident energy in there,” Kiffin said of Stein. “You can see that by the way they play. By the way they kind of walk. That they have a lot of confidence. They were down big in that game at South Carolina. A lot of first-year teams would have folded in that moment, and they came all the way back and won.”
Kentucky led in its SEC opener at home with Alabama, 17-13, on Sept. 12.
The Crimson Tide, currently the nation’s No. 6 team, outscored the Wildcats 18-0 in the third quarter and 32-0 overall in the second half for a 45-17 victory.
“They got really physical, really controlled the line of scrimmage,” Kiffin said of Bama, which his team hosts on Nov. 7. “I thought Alabama looked great. They’ve got great offensive players, and we’ve kind of found out they’re doing that to everybody. It shows you that Kentucky’s a really good team and got beat in the second half by a great team.”
Kiffin said he’s hopeful LSU will follow a theme his team at Ole Miss used in 2025.
“When you’re a heavy first-year portal team, I believe you play stronger in the middle to the late part of the year because you’ve got to go through some growing pains with all of the new players,” he said. “My hope is, much like last year where we had that case at Ole Miss. We were really strong middle to late (in the) year and in the playoffs; (we hope) that would continue to be the case here. That we continue to improve, especially with (quarterback) Sam (Leavitt) missing all of spring.
“I like where we’re at but know we’ve got to go on the road,” he said. “With this new schedule, we have five SEC road games. These are really challenging.”
