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KSR GAMEDAY: Kentucky Hosts Texas for the First Time

Nick-Roush-headshotby: Nick Roush10/18/25RoushKSR
Cutter Boley and Willie Rodriguez celebrate a Kentucky touchdown at Kroger Field, via Crawford Ifland, KSR
Cutter Boley and Willie Rodriguez celebrate a Kentucky touchdown at Kroger Field, via Crawford Ifland, KSR

The New World Order of college football has plenty of positives and negatives. One big positive for Kentucky season-ticket holders? They get to see big names like Texas at Kroger Field.

For the very first time, the Longhorns will take the gridiron in Lexington for a football game. Texas won the previous two meetings, a 7-6 victory in the 1951 season opener and last year’s 31-14 win at DKR. The Horns are bringing with them a bona fide celebrity at quarterback, Arch Manning.

Hyped as the next big thing in college football, Manning did not start the season like a bat out of hell. Even against Group of Five opponents, something looked off… until Red River. The last time we saw him suited up in a Texas uniform, he completed a season-high 21 passes for 166 yards and a score in a 23-6 victory over Oklahoma.

Fresh off an emotional win, the biggest of the season, Texas has to go on the road and play an SEC night game. The Horns could be vulnerable. Can Kentucky make the most of this opportunity? We’ll find out in the first home game at Kroger Field in 35 days.

Texas Without Starters on the Offensive Line

If you needed another reason to believe Kentucky might have a shot against the Horns, let me give you two.

First and foremost, Texas is without two starters on the offensive line. Manning will be on the road with a new center, as Cole Hutson has been ruled out. They will also be without starting left guard Connor Stroh. The running back room is extra light, too. CJ Baxter, their best short yardage option, has been limited after returning from a knee injury and has been ruled out. Texas also lost its RB3 when he chose to opt out, use his redshirt, and transfer.

Texas does a lot of things well, especially on defense, but there is one area where they are vulnerable. Florida showed that a quality rushing attack can be this team’s Kryptonite, and that is one thing this Kentucky offense does well. There is a path to an upset if Kentucky plays its best game Saturday night.

How To Watch/Listen to Kentucky vs. Texas

  • Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • TV: ESPN (Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Stormy Buonantony)
  • Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro, Dick Gabriel)
  • AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
  • FM: 98.1 WBUL
  • OnlineiHeart Radio
  • Sirius XM: 162 or 192 (UK)

Join KSR Plus! With a KSR Plus membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Texas is a 12.5-point favorite with a total of 43.5 on BetMGM. UT is 2-2 outright and 0-4 ATS under Steve Sarkisian in the game after Red River. UK is 6-1-1 ATS in its last eight games versus ranked foes with two outright upsets against top-10 teams. The Cats are 0-5 (1-4-1 ATS) in their last five home SEC night games. After a Kentucky bye week, Mark Stoops is 5-10 outright against SEC foes and 2-13 ATS.

[Learn more about the Texas Longhorns by reading the KSR Plus Scouting Report]

Saturday Gameday Schedule

11:00 am — Doors Open at Keeneland and KSBar and Grille
1:00 pm — Post Time for Race 1 at Keeneland
3:00 pm — The KSR Pregame Show
4:00 pm — LexTran Shuttles Begin Moving
4:45 pm — Cat Walk
5:30 pm — Kroger Field Gates Open
7:00 pm — Kickoff on ESPN

Chrome Domes Return

For the first time this season, the Wildcats will be shining, quite literally. Kentucky will be rocking chrome helmets with blue jerseys and blue pants. It is going to look great paired alongside the all-white Texas road uniforms.

College Football on TV

Washington at MichiganNoonFOX
No. 10 LSU at No. 17 VanderbiltNoonABC
No. 12 Georgia Tech at DukeNoonESPN
UConn at Boston CollegeNoonACC Network
Arizona at HoustonNoonFS1
Baylor at TCUNoonESPN2
Army at TulaneNoonESPNU
No. 14 Oklahoma at South Carolina12:45pmSEC Network
West Virginia at UCF1:00pmTNT
Purdue at Northwestern3:00pmBig Ten Network
Old Dominion at James Madison3:30pmESPNU
UNLV at Boise State3:30pmFS1
SMU at Clemson3:30pmACC Network
No. 4 Texas A&M at Arkansas3:30pmESPN
No. 5 Georgia at No. 9 Ole Miss3:30pmABC
No. 1 Ohio State at Wisconsin3:30pmCBS
Michigan State at No. 3 Indiana3:30pmPeacock
No. 7 Texas Tech at Arizona State4:00pmFOX
No. 22 Memphis at UAB4:00pmESPN2
Mississippi State at Florida4:15pmSEC Network
Washington State at No. 16 Virginia6:30pmThe CW
No. 8 Oregon at Rutgers6:30pmBig Ten Network
Maryland at UCLA7:00pmFS1
Penn State at Iowa7:00pmPeacock
No. 21 Texas at Kentucky7:00pmESPN
No. 11 Tennessee at No. 6 Alabama7:30pmABC
No. 20 USC at No. 13 Notre Dame7:30pmNBC
Pittsburgh at Syracuse7:30pmACC Network
Florida Atlantic at No. 19 USF7:30pmESPNU
No. 16 Missouri at Auburn7:45pmSEC Network
No. 24 Cincinnati at Oklahoma State8:00pmESPN2
No. 23 Utah at No. 15 BYU8:00pmFOX
Nevada at New Mexico9:45pmFS1
Florida State at Stanford10:30pmESPN

Jaland Lowe Injured in Blue-White Game

The Blue-White Game is supposed to be an entertaining exhibition for the most diehard members of BBN at Historic Memorial Coliseum. Everyone should leave smiling. Unfortunately, Steven Peake’s premonitions may have turned into a reality. The infamous Annabelle doll is in Lexington for ScareFest, and her curse may have hit Mark Pope’s program.

Kentucky point guard Jaland Lowe hit the hardwood hard and injured his right shoulder. Attendees heard Lowe say, “It popped out,” terrifying Kentucky basketball fans. Mark Pope did his best to calm the masses after the scrimmage.

“He tweaked his shoulder, so we’ll see,” Pope said. “We sat him down out of precaution. He’s an incredibly tough young man, so whatever it is, I’m sure he’ll battle it well.”

More from the Kentucky Scrimmage

It was an abbreviated scrimmage, where after one half of play, the second half turned into an Elam Ending, with the first to 34 earning a victory. Shooting from the Blue Team carried them to a win. Jasper Johnson, Trent Noah, and Andrija Jelavic each sank two three-pointers, with Jelavic banking one in from downtown. Johnson led all scorers with 10 points, Malachi Moreno had a game-high nine rebounds, and Brandon Garrison stole three passes in the exhibition.

What We Learned from the Blue-White Game
Jasper Johnson feels comfortable as lead guard
Pope, Johnson, and Dioubate Recap Blue-White
Takeaways from the WBB Exhibition
How Trent Noah can be like Koby Brea
Dioubate’s Physicality gets the Cats Going

Shohei Ohtani Did the Unthinkable

It should come as no surprise that the Dodgers finished the NLCS by sweeping the Brewers. How it happened, that’s something we may never see again.

Shohei Ohtani wasn’t just dominant from the mound, he was untouchable at the plate. He only allowed two hits and struck out ten in six innings. That’s an outstanding performance by any standard. When he took a break from throwing darts, he was blasting bombs. Ohtani became the first pitcher to hit multiple home runs in postseason history. He didn’t just hit two. He went yard three times, and blasted one ball out of Dodgers Stadium. Enjoy the greatness as much as Freddie Freeman is. Stuff like this just doesn’t happen, ever.

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2025-10-19