KSR Today: Beginning the Bye Week with Bush Hamdan and more

Good morning, Cats fans. Kentucky took care of business on Saturday night against Eastern Michigan, moving to 2–1 on the season, and now the schedule gives the Wildcats a little mid-September breather. Today marks the start of the first of two bye weeks this fall, so Mark Stoops will not hold his usual Monday press conference or be heard on his coach’s call-in show tonight.

That means no official injury updates or depth chart tweaks from the head coach today, but there will still be plenty to discuss as the team gets a week to regroup before heading back into the grind of SEC play. From what we learned in Saturday’s win to what’s ahead during the bye, we’ll have you covered at KSR, as always.

Let’s dive into the headlines to kick off a quieter, but still important, week in the Bluegrass.

Bush Hamdan in for Stoops on the coach’s show

While Stoops takes the day off from talking, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan will take his place on the Monday evening call-in show. Hamdan and special guests Josh Kattus and Ty Bryant will sit with Tom Leach from 6-7 p.m. to take calls from the UK Sports Network listeners. Got something you’d like to say to Hamdan or the two players? Call in to have that conversation.

A new KSR Football Podcast at 2 p.m.

Before we hear from Hamdan, the KSR Football Podcast will share its takeaways from the Eastern Michigan game. Tune in live on KSR’s YouTube channel at 2 p.m. or catch the audio version in podcast form as Nick Roush, Drew Franklin, Adam Luckett, and new co-host Van Hiles break down the latest with the Wildcats and more on Monday of the bye week.

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Kentucky-Eastern Michigan Link Dump

Before we close the book on the Kentucky-Eastern Michigan game, make sure you’re caught up on KSR’s top football stories from the weekend.

• Let’s take a look at it: Kentucky vs. Eastern Michigan
• Kentucky Offense Takes Flight in Blowout Win Over Eastern Michigan
• Watch KSR’s Rapid Reaction after Kentucky beat Eastern Michigan in Lexington
• Enjoy the top plays from Kentucky’s win over Eastern Michigan
• Offense carries Kentucky to blowout win over Eastern Michigan
• Mark Stoops impressed by Cutter Boley but doesn’t commit to starting quarterback
• Multiple Wildcats Suffered Minor Injuries in Eastern Michigan Win
• Kentucky uses tight ends to help solve explosive play problem
• Cutter Boley Pays Rent in Tight End Touchdown Passes
• Redshirt freshman RB Jason Patterson made the most of his opportunity against EMU

New AP Top 25

Ohio State, Penn State, and LSU held down the top three spots in the new AP College Football Poll, which was revealed yesterday. Behind them, Miami and Georgia each moved up a spot to No. 4 and 5, while Oregon slid from fourth to sixth despite a win over Northwestern.

Other notable moves on UK’s schedule:

• Ole Miss jumped from No. 17 to No. 14 by beating Arkansas
• Tennessee stayed put at No. 15 following the crushing loss to Georgia
• Texas fell from No. 7 to No. 8 amid Arch Manning worries
• Vanderbilt did not move after winning at South Carolina, surprisingly
• Auburn moved up two spots to No. 22
• South Carolina fell from the Top 25

KSR’s new Kentucky High School Football Top 25

Soon, KSR will update its Top 25 for high school football around the Bluegrass. This week, my undefeated Madisonville Maroons better be ranked after a huge win over No. 3 Paducah Tilghman. There will be an emergency meeting at KSR HQ if the committee doesn’t include my alma mater.

Last week’s rankings.

Kentucky Volleyball swept Houston

No. 3 Kentucky Volleyball hosted Houston on Sunday and made quick work of the Coogs. It was a clean sweep as the Wildcats won 25-16, 25-23, 25-13 in Memorial Coliseum, completing an unbeaten opening weekend in Lexington. Kentucky defeated No. 10 SMU in four sets on Saturday.

[No. 3 Kentucky Sweeps Houston to Cap Perfect Lexington Weekend]

A big On3 announcement incoming

Our parent company, On3 Sports, has a huge announcement to make later this morning. Stay tuned for a shift in the college basketball media landscape. I’d tell you now, but they’d fire me.

Ryan Lemond hosts today’s KSR

Ryan Lemond will host the first Monday show without Matt Jones, who is off on a South African safari. Unfortunately, we had to postpone JoJo Kemp‘s debut as the MMQB, but the KSR crew will still break down Saturday’s game and more from 10-12. Tune in.