By Jamie H. Vaught
It was a very frustrating and ugly Saturday night for the Wildcats, a 2.5-point favorite who dropped to a struggling Auburn team 24-10.
With four regular season games remaining in 2024, including two extremely tough road matchups with Top 10 powerhouses Tennessee and Texas, Kentucky is in extreme danger of missing its postseason bowl party for the first time in a long time. Beginning with the 2016 season, the Wildcats have gone bowling for eight consecutive years.

With the disappointing loss to the Tigers, Coach Mark Stoops’ Wildcats dropped to 3-5, including 1-5 in SEC, and they need three more victories to become bowl eligible. In the 16-team conference, UK is No. 15, just ahead of hapless of Mississippi State.
Before the season, I had modest expectations for the Cats and I think the fans, for the most part, felt the same way. In my annual predictions column, I had picked Kentucky to finish with a regular season mark of 7-5 with wins over South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Auburn at home and road losses to Florida and Ole Miss. A 7-5 record. Just like the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
So, looking ahead, things are looking very bleak on paper for Kentucky. Perhaps, the Cats can surprise us on the field, but I seriously doubt it.
As a longtime Kentucky sportswriter who first began covering UK football in 1976 when charismatic coach Fran Curci was in charge, I have seen so many disappointing losses that I have lost count. Yes, there are some good memories – but not many -- like the bowl victories and a couple of 10-win campaigns in 2018 and 2021.
Add Saturday’s loss to Auburn to a long list of disappointments. It was a horrible night, and many unhappy fans left early in the fourth quarter. After leading 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Cats couldn’t do anything and saw Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter set a Kroger Field individual rushing record for an opponent, helping his team capture its first SEC victory of the season. Hunter gained a career-high 278 yards in only 23 carries, averaging 12.1 yards.
So disappointing. So frustrating. So sad. Especially after seeing success in UK football in recent years.
As you can tell, I’m in a bad mood. That’s how I feel about UK football right now.
But what if the Wildcats can find a way somehow to upset Tennessee Saturday night in Knoxville? Just like the famous 2011 win when wide receiver Matt Roark quarterbacked the host Cats to an improbable 10-7 win over the Vols.
Well, if that happens, I’d be feeling much better and more hopeful about the team.
However, as I said earlier, I’m still very frustrated about the season, and it’s going to be a long week for me and the Big Blue Nation.

Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About The Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro., he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com.
Commentaires