Kentucky has thrived in MACtion

by: Adam Luckett3 hours agoadamluckettksr

Toledo-357341 — Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason - Photo by Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky’s overall scheduling philosophy will be forced to change in 2026 when the SEC switches to a nine-game conference schedule. That will cause some changes, but over the last decade, we understood the program’s overall philosophy. The Cats were going to schedule two Group of Six foes and once FCS opponent every season to play at Kroger Field. In the year that Louisville travels to Lexington, that gives the program eight home games. UK was scheduling to make bowl games and to get extra revenue from an eighth home game every other year. More often than not, those Group of Six goes came from the MAC.

This method has worked for UK.

Back in 2004, Ohio upset Kentucky. That was not a great moment, but the Wildcats have put together a long winning streak against the MAC since that stunning loss in the second year for head coach Rich Brooks. These games are on the schedule for a reason.

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Game	Result	UK Record vs. MAC
9/30/2006	Kentucky 45, Central Michigan 36	1-0
9/8/2007	Kentucky 56, Kent State 20	2-0
9/5/2009	Kentucky 42, Miami (Ohio) 0 \| Cincinnati	3-0
9/18/2010	Kentucky 47, Akron 10	4-0
9/10/2011	Kentucky 27, Central Michigan 13	5-0
9/8/2012	Kentucky 47, Kent State 14	6-0
9/7/2013	Kentucky 41, Miami (Ohio) 7	7-0
9/6/2014	Kentucky 20, Ohio 3	8-0
9/30/2017	Kentucky 24, Eastern Michigan 20	9-0
9/1/2018	Kentucky 35, Central Michigan 20	10-0
8/31/2019	Kentucky 38, Toledo 24	11-0
9/7/2019	Kentucky 38, Eastern Michigan 17	12-0
9/3/2022	Kentucky 37, Miami (Ohio) 13	13-0
9/24/2022	Kentucky 31, Northern Illinois 23	14-0
9/2/2023	Kentucky 44, Ball State 14	15-0
9/16/2023	Kentucky 35, Akron 3	16-0
9/21/2024	Kentucky 41, Ohio 6	17-0
8/30/2025	Kentucky 24, Toledo 16	18-0

Saturday will be Kentucky’s 19th non-conference game against a MAC foe since that Ohio loss. The Wildcats are 18-0 outright. Over the last 16 games, Kentucky owns a 10-6 against the spread record versus MAC foes. As a 17-point or more favorite, UK is 5-2 ATS versus MAC foes since 2009.

Eastern Michigan is the best road underdog in college football but Kentucky schedules MAC schools for a reason. This is a sport where the Cats typically win and win comfortably.