It will be a night of firsts on Saturday under the lights at 7:00 pm on ESPN at Kroger Field. The Texas Longhorns make their first-ever trip to Lexington to face Kentucky. Mark Stoops’ club would like nothing more than to spring an upset that hopefully jump-starts the rest of the season. In order to do that, the Cats will have to overcome a couple of negative streaks. Let’s take a look at both teams, give you the abbreviated series history, and give you a prediction as Kentucky prepares for Texas.<\/p>\n
Ever since he was given the reins of the offense, Cutter Boley <\/a>has played pretty well. In fact, he had his best game of the year\u00a0in the loss to Georgia.<\/a> The freshman completed 25 of 41 passes for 225 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. This is coming on the road against a top 30 defense. Boley’s continued improvement has been a bright spot in 2025.<\/p>\n Another positive for the Cats has been the running of\u00a0Seth McGowan.<\/a> Currently, he ranks fourth in the SEC, averaging 86 yards a game. Furthermore, his seven touchdowns put him third in the league. Taking it a step further, McGowan has scored exactly half of the Wildcats’ touchdowns this season.<\/p>\n While the staff says the offense is improving each week, they’ll certainly need it on Saturday as they face one of the nation’s best defenses. Let’s look at the Wildcats’ opponent as Kentucky prepares for Texas.<\/p>\n It’s safe to say 2025 hasn’t quite gone the way the Texas faithful thought. Considered a preseason lock College Football Playoff squad by many, including Last Word, who had the Longhorns in the championship game<\/a>.<\/p>\n Steve Sarkisian’s squad comes into Saturday night sporting a 4-2 record. Granted, there are a lot of schools that would love to be 4-2 and considered struggling, Kentucky included. However, they are coming off their best win of the year, dominating the “Red River Rivalry” 23-6 over previously unbeaten Oklahoma.<\/p>\n The offense is led by quarterback\u00a0Arch Manning, <\/a>who hasn’t lived up to the ridiculous preseason hype. Manning has thrown for 1,319 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with five interceptions. In addition, he leads the team in rushing with 194 yards and five touchdowns. He had one of his best games of the year against the Sooners, completing 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and a score.<\/p>\n When Manning throws it, Ryan Wingo <\/a>is his top target. The sophomore leads the Longhorns with 22 catches and four touchdowns and is second with 298 yards. Redshirt freshman\u00a0Parker Livingstone <\/a>leads the team with 305 yards and is averaging a whopping 20.5 yards per catch.<\/p>\nScouting The Longhorns<\/h3>\n