A new era of Kentucky football has taken the city of Lexington hostage, as Will Stein and his staff have Kentucky heading back in the right direction after a few years of not living up to the Kentucky standard. After hearing Coach Stein talk in the offseason, the early matchup with Alabama was a must-see on the travel schedule, as I wanted to see firsthand for myself the renewed excitement from Big Blue Nation in the Kentucky football program. What a lot of people don’t realize, Kentucky has a very passionate football fan base that has needed a young guy at the helm to lead the charge for all of Big Blue Nation. Sure, some might call him cocky, but Coach Stein is a lifelong Kentucky fan who now has a chance to lead his childhood team into a future where, with the right investments, anything is possible. 

In a radio interview with Kentucky Sports Radio in the days before Saturday’s Alabama game, Coach Stein sent a resounding message to the Big Blue Nation: bring the juice. For the build-up before kickoff and the entire first half, Kroger Field was electric once again, showing the rest of the nation the power of the Big Blue Nation. 

So, let’s talk about it. 

First things first, Kentucky fans brought the energy on Saturday, and it played a huge role in creating this unreal environment at Kroger Field. It started Friday night, when lines at the grocery stores were extra long, liquor store owners were talking about Kentucky football, and a buzz around Lexington returned that hasn’t been there in a few years. Once Saturday rolled around, the parking lots filled early in the morning, and students started lining up about three hours before the gates opened, a line that stretched from gate one all the way to the polar side of the stadium, from one end zone to the next. According to a few former students, that level of excitement hasn’t been there in the student body in a few years. Then you add the time spent tailgating and partaking in adult beverages, and the vibes inside Kroger Field once kickoff rolled around gave Kentucky a true home-field advantage that caused issues for Alabama in the first half. Staying on the topic of the environment inside Kroger Field, the crowd pop when Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace picked off Keelon Russell to give the Wildcats the early 7-0 lead over Alabama was unlike anything I’ve heard before. 

Second, staying with the fans, as we’ve seen with Kentucky football over the years, and really in college football, fans can make a difference. I encourage every member of Big Blue Nation to keep supporting this coaching staff. Often Kentucky fans will talk about wanting a competitive football program, but at the first sign of adversity, a good bit of the fan base shifts the entire focus to Kentucky basketball, which, in the past, was understandable, but this isn’t the past. As we’ve seen with other successful programs, it all starts with continued support and investment from the fan base, creating an environment that gives the hometown Kentucky Wildcats an advantage. Another word of advice is not to be afraid to stand up and cheer; often, we see even on the basketball side of things where the more well-endowed fans tend to take over the lower levels, and the energy shifts to the upper-deck fans; those upper-deck Kentucky basketball fans carry the Big Blue Nation, and Kroger Field needs those fans to make a difference for Coach Stein and the boys. Take the first-half energy from the Alabama game and bring it to the South Alabama game next Saturday and beyond, and you’ll be shocked by the next level Kentucky football could reach. 

As for the action on the field, we’ll start with the building blocks. Kentucky’s new system under Coach Will Stien has plenty of potential, but it also comes with first-year depth problems. We saw evidence of that on Saturday when Kentucky played Alabama close for the first half, but when the second half rolled around, Alabama depth at almost every position took full control. If you go back and watch the tape, Kentucky wasn’t outmatched by Alabama; they simply lacked depth, and in year one with a shortened recruiting cycle, that’s to be expected. That doesn’t mean it’s same-old Kentucky; it just means Kentucky has to go through the growing pains of a new coach in the toughest league in college football. For example, people inside Big Blue Nation were upset with the call to go for a fake punt at the end of the third that failed, but I saw a head coach take a risk and bet on his team, showing the confidence he has in his guys. Again, in the first year, that’s not the end of the world. Coach Stein will get better at playcalling as the season goes on, but he trusts his guys; that confidence is rare in an analytics world. 

Another big takeaway from the action on the field was the defense’s potential this season. The offense will follow suit, but the defense looked incredible in the first half and showed real promise. Going as far as giving Kentucky their first points with an interception, quite literally bringing the house down as they gave Kentucky an early 7-0 lead over the Crimson Tide. As a unit, Kentucky finished with four sacks and two turnovers, with Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace scoring a touchdown off an interception and forcing another Alabama turnover with a forced fumble. Kentucky has some dudes on that defensive side of the ball; it’s a unit that could win Kentucky a game or two this season. 

On offense, the Wildcats struggled to get anything going as Alabama cycled through their defensive rotations. Despite a turnover and a few incompletions, Kenny Minchey showed strong upside on Saturday, finishing with a touchdown and 146 yards. Elsewhere in the SEC, a few other position groups stood out: the offensive line allowed only four sacks and, most importantly, finished the day with just two penalties, which Kentucky fans aren’t used to seeing from an offensive line group. As for the learning opportunities, the running back room has got to do what running backs do and make the play. The better they are, the better the offense can be, as a good rushing attack is at the core of a strong passing game. Then you have Willie Rodriguez at tight end, an absolute beast who, as expected, is a huge player for this Kentucky offense. He led the Wildcats in receiving yards with 49 yards and no touchdowns, but it was an overall solid performance on Saturday. I know you can nitpick the offense; this unit has plenty of room to grow. They’ll only get better with time. 

At the end of the day, there are no moral victories in college football, but this program has plenty of growth opportunities not only this season, but in the future as well. Realistically, given the difficulty Kentucky faces, reaching a postseason bowl game in year one of Coach Will Stein’s era would be a massive momentum booster for Kentucky football in 2027. With that said, adversity is coming. I would just strongly encourage the Kentucky fans to trust the process and understand that although you might not see it in year one, the results are coming as Coach Stein looks to take where Coach Stoops took the program under his watch into a new era by closing the gap and turning the investments into football that competes for championships. It’s been a while, but it’s been done at Kentucky before; trust the process and keep supporting this program despite the adversity to come. 

Kentucky returns to action on the road on Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field against the 9th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies. 

Photo credits:

Mitch Davis – TheMitchDavisShow.com

Kentucky Athletics