Optimism is hard to find around Big Blue Nation ahead of the 2025 Kentucky football season. However, I’m an eternal optimist. You kind of have to be if you’ve spent most of your fall Saturdays in the stands of Commonwealth Stadium and Kroger Field.
While searching for a path forward, there is a successful path that feels familiar. If things go right for the 2025 Kentucky football team, it will feel a lot like the 2016 season, Mark Stoops’ improbable breakthrough that started the most impressive run BBN has ever seen in Lexington. Let me explain.It felt like the 2016 season was over as soon as it started. Kentucky blew a 35-10 lead to lose to Southern Miss at home, then got smoked on a sweltering hot day at Florida. Drew Barker was lost for the season to a back injury, and hope was in short supply.
A rough start could be in store for this Kentucky football team. A top 15 Ole Miss team will travel to Kroger Field in week two. The Cats will face Top 25 South Carolina and Georgia teams on the road before Kentucky fans get another chance to see their team at home against Texas, a popular preseason pick to win the National Title. As ugly as it may seem early, there will still be plenty of opportunities for wins in late October and into November.
