In his 13 years as head coach of Kentucky, Mark Stoops has ended countless losing streaks. In addition, he’s set a number of positive marks. However, there’s one current streak the UK head man would love to end. That is seven straight home SEC losses. He’ll get another crack at it on Saturday when the Wildcats host Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss at 3:30 pm on ABC. Let’s look at both teams, give you some series history, and pick a winner as Kentucky Looks For Two Straight Against Ole Miss.
Cats Want To Build On Win
Work To Do
The Wildcats went into last Saturday as the trendy upset pick in college football. After all, they were playing a Toledo squad picked to win the MAC and possibly a playoff contender. UK played like a Stoops coached squad, knocking off the Rockets by eight behind a good rushing game and defense.
As expected, two transfers led the way with Dante Dowdell going for 128 and a score. Of course, 79 of that came on a fourth-quarter score, which gave the Cats a 15-point lead. In addition, Seth McGowan added 78 and another score. All totaled, the Cats ran for 220 yards.
That helped offset a subpar debut for Zach Calzada, who completed 10 of 23 passes for 85 yards and an interception. While, he did rush for one score. The UK signal caller struggled with throwing the deep ball. Of Calzada’s 23 attempts, eight were longer than 20 yards. Unfortunately for the BBN, all were incomplete, but two did draw penalties.
As a result, many message board coaches are already calling for Cutter Boley to take over. However, the actual head man says a talk is premature and believes he’ll do very well.
In order to beat the Rebels, UK’s going to have to be consistent in their offense game. Speaking of their opponent, let’s look at the Rebels as Kentucky Looks For Two Straight Against Ole Miss.
Scouting The Rebels
Ole Miss comes into the game also sporting a 1-0 record. They had a much easier time than the Cats, beating Georgia State 63-7. Kiffin’s offense rang up 695 yards against the Panthers. Austin Simmons takes over under center from Jaxson Dart. In the season opener, Simmons went 24-37 for 400 yards and four touchdowns. Although he did have two interceptions.
Kiffin is one of the best in the country at adding through the transfer portal. That was certainly evident in the season opener. Missouri transfer Kewan Lacy ran for three touchdowns and 109 yards. Logan Diggs added 91 and a score. Penn State transfer Harrison Wallace III led the receivers with five catches for 130 yards. Alabama transfer Caleb Odom added four receptions for 57 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Ole Miss was led by Linebacker T.J. Dudley, who had nine tackles, including one for a loss and a pass defended. Although they did allow 191 yards rushing to Georgia State. For an offense like Kentucky’s that wants to run the ball, that could be a key to a victory.
Now that we’ve looked at both teams, let’s go through the rivalry as Kentucky Looks For Two Straight Against Ole Miss.
Series History
Saturday marks the 47th time the Cats and Rebels have met on the gridiron. Currently, Ole Miss leads the series 30-15 with one tie. That came back in 1952. The last four meetings have gone down to the wire.
Back in 2017, a Benny Snell touchdown gave the Cats the lead late. While the Rebels went 71 yards in 14 plays. A D.K. Metcalf touchdown grab with five seconds left gave Ole Miss a 37-34 win.
Special teams miscues doomed the Cats in 2020. UK led by 14 in the third quarter and could have been more except for a missed field goal. Ole Miss rallied with 21 straight points. A Chris Rodriguez touchdown run sent it to overtime. Terry Wilson gave the Cats the lead, but Matt Ruffolo missed the extra point. The Rebels scored, got the PAT, and won 42-41.
Two years later UK nearly pulled the upset in Oxford. Trailing 22-19, the Cats had two chances to win. Unfortunately, Will Levis fumbled at the 10-yard line. After the defense held, Levis found Barion Brown on a 51-yard strike. On the next play, Levis hit Dane Key for the apparent winning score. However, it was called back by an illegal motion flag. Levis fumbled again the next day, and the upset bid was lost.
Last season, the Cats finally got the job done in Oxford. On a fourth and seven, Brock Vandagriff found Brown on a 63-yard strike. Two plays later, the Cats took the lead. Ole Miss missed a game-tying field goal, giving the Cats a 20-17 win.
We’ve reached prediction time in our game preview as Kentucky looks for two straight against Ole Miss.
Who Wins On Saturday?
As we mentioned in the beginning, Kentucky is 2-11 in home SEC games since 2021. Taking it a step further, they’ve lost seven straight. The last win came back on September 30th, 2023, when they drilled Florida 33-14.
A season ago, the upset loss to Kentucky pretty much ruined the Rebels’ chances of making the College Football Playoff. They’d like nothing more than to get revenge on Saturday. UK wants another repeat performance as a big underdog.
In the end, look for Kentucky to stay close before the Rebels pull away in the fourth.
Ole Miss 27-17
Thanks for checking out our preview as Kentucky looks for two straight against Ole Miss. We’ll be back after the game with a recap.
Main Photo: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
