🏈 College Football
Kentucky Wildcats 2025 Season Preview
Last season was Kentucky’s first losing campaign since 2015 and it showed in the trenches. With two new tackles, a stable QB in Zach Calzada, and a deep backfield, Stoops has the blueprint to bounce back. Bowl eligibility isn’t the goal. It’s the expectation.
Last Year Was Rock Bottom. Now It’s Rebuild or Regret.
🧠 Key to the Season:
Massive Roster Turnover. Minimal Margin for Error.
Kentucky hit 4–8 in 2024. The lowest win total since Stoops’ first year and the first winless SEC campaign since 2013. The bowl streak? Snapped at eight straight.
So what did Stoops do?
He flipped the roster.
“We have 50 new players,” Stoops said. “That’s the most we’ve ever had in the transfer era.”
Kentucky has just three returning starters on each side of the ball. That’s either a crisis or an opportunity — and this staff is betting on the latter.
💪 Key Player:
Zach Calzada, QB (Senior)
He started 10 games at A&M back in 2021. Then disappeared.
Now he’s back in the SEC, with a rebuilt O-line, a few reliable targets, and one more shot to show he’s a starter at this level.
If Calzada holds up, Kentucky’s offense should be functional again. If not, Cutter Boley is waiting.
🔁 Top Transfer Impact:
Seth McGowan, RB (Senior)
Kendrick Law, WR (Junior)
Shiyazh Pete, OT (Senior)
This group sets the tone for the bounce-back:
- McGowan racked up 1,100 yards last year at New Mexico State and adds burst + power.
- Law arrives from Alabama with serious weight room strength and WR1 potential.
- Pete and fellow OL transfers (Wibberley, Braun, Wollschlaeger) bring 100+ career starts combined. The line is no longer a liability.
📤 Biggest Losses:
- Dane Key, WR → Nebraska
- Barion Brown, WR → LSU
- Raynor, K (SEC Special Teams POY) → Graduated
Losing two key WRs and the best kicker in the conference hurts. But with incoming talent and a fresh OC system, the offense has a clean slate.
📆 Key Game:
vs Florida – November 8
Forget Georgia. Forget Texas. This is the barometer.
Florida comes to Lexington, and by November, we’ll know if this roster of 50+ new faces gelled or just looked good on paper. Win it, and Kentucky’s bowling. Lose it, and it could all fall apart.
🔟 Top 10 Wildcats to Know:
- Zach Calzada, QB – The bridge between rebuild and return.
- Seth McGowan, RB – Versatile, explosive, built for the SEC.
- Kendrick Law, WR – Physical, fast, needs to be WR1.
- Ja’Mori Maclin, WR – Led UK in TDs last year.
- Josh Kattus, TE – Veteran presence, red-zone target.
- Shiyazh Pete, OT – Anchor for the revamped line.
- Alex Afari Jr., LB – TFL machine, vocal leader.
- JQ Hardaway, CB – Big body, press corner.
- Jordan Lovett, S – Defensive tone-setter.
- Ty Bryant, DB – Under-the-radar playmaker.
📊 2024 Recap (Burn the Tape)
- 20.6 points per game – 119th in the country
- 1–7 in SEC play
- No bowl for the first time since 2015
There’s nowhere to go but up. And Stoops knows it.
🧨 Unc’s Outlook
This is the biggest roster flip of the Stoops era. It’s risky.
But it’s necessary.
The offense will be better…even if just by default. The O-line is veteran-heavy, the backs have SEC legs, and Calzada gives them a floor.
On defense, Brad White’s group is always tough — but they’ll need the new front seven to gel fast. The secondary is deep and experienced, with Lovett, Hardaway, and Bryant back.
The schedule is rough — especially the back half — but there are winnable games in August and September. If they come out hot, 6–6 is on the table.
🎯 The Call:
Win Total Projection: 5.5
Predicted Record: 6–6
Massive turnover. Modest expectations. One step forward.
🟢 Game Buckets:
Likely Wins:
- vs Toledo
- vs Eastern Michigan
- vs Tennessee Tech
Toss-Ups (50/50):
- vs Florida
- vs Ole Miss
- vs Tennessee
- at Auburn
- vs South Carolina
- at Vanderbilt
- at Louisville
Likely Losses:
- at Georgia
- vs Texas
- at South Carolina (tricky spot early)