KSR Today: Getting ready for South Carolina and UK's first road trip of 2025

Good morning, KentuckySportsRadio.com. Today, the calendar turns to South Carolina Week and Kentucky’s trip to Columbia coming up on Saturday. The Wildcats get back to work after a weekend off, the first of two bye weekends this season. The basketball team also gets back in the practice facility today with fewer restrictions. More on those things in a moment.

On a personal note, I, too, am returning to work after stepping away last week. Last Monday, one of my best friends in the world, Manny Robertson, passed away very unexpectedly. Thank you to everyone here on the website and on the radio show for allowing me the time away to grieve and spend time with his friends and family.

Manny was special, known for being a friend to everyone. I’m one of many who were lucky to be close to him. Lexington lost a legend, and the turnout for his service on Saturday was a testament to what he meant to people from all walks of life. The UK fight song and “My Old Kentucky Home” were played at the funeral, and the procession made a lap around Rupp Arena. He loved the Wildcats.

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Mondays with Mark Stoops returns

After a week off from his Monday obligations, Mark Stoops gets back to the regular routine today as his Wildcats prepare for the Gamecocks.

Monday Press Conference
First, Stoops will hold his weekly press conference later today to share the latest around Kentucky Football coming out of the bye week. Stoops will likely take questions about the QB situation, the status of Kentucky’s injured secondary, and more ahead of the first road trip of the season. KSR will have all of Stoops’ comments later this afternoon.

Mark Stoops Call-In Show
Then, tonight, Stoops will sit down with Tom Leach for his Monday evening call-in show. Tune in from 6-7 p.m. on the UK Sports Network for another round of comments from Stoops and conversations with his radio listeners.

New KSR Football Podcast

Between Stoops’ two Q&As, the KSR Football Podcast will discuss any Monday morning news and all that Stoops says at lunch. Tune in live on KSR’s YouTube channel at 2 p.m. or catch the audio version in podcast form as Nick Roush, Adam Luckett, Van Hiles, and I break down the latest with the Wildcats and more on the Monday of South Carolina Week.

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Kentucky’s opponents in the new AP Top 25

By beating Florida on Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes jumped Penn State and LSU to claim second place behind No. 1 Ohio State in this week’s update to the AP College Football Poll. Behind them, Georgia is the next ranked SEC team at fifth.

The new Top 25 includes three teams on Kentucky’s remaining schedule: No. 10 Texas, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 18 Vanderbilt. Another upcoming opponent, Auburn, previously ranked No. 22, dropped out of the rankings after losing to No. 11 Oklahoma.

See the new poll here.

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, you can expect Trinity to retain its No. 1 spot after shutting out Male in a 46-0 win at Male. Behind Trinity, KSR’s No. 2 team, St. Xavier, suffered a 26-24 home loss to Elder (Cincinnati, OH), so we’ll see how the committee punishes the Tigers for losing to an out-of-state power, if at all.

Read last week’s rankings before the new Top 25 drops later.

Kentucky Basketball practice ramping up today

It’s an exciting Monday for Kentucky Basketball because, starting today, Mark Pope can spend more time with his players. The NCAA limit jumps from eight to twenty hours per week, with one mandatory day off, as the team prepares for its upcoming season. They’re called CARAs: “countable athletically related activities” with the staff and players.

More: Ramped up practice begins on Monday for Kentucky basketball

KSR will be live from Highlands High School today

Monday morning’s show will broadcast live from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, at Highlands High School, where Ryan Lemond and I will interview Jared Lorenzen’s son, Tayden, who wears the family number 22 for the Bluebirds. The show is not open to the public, but we hope you’ll tune in from 10 a.m. to noon to hear from Tayden and more on UK’s upcoming trip to South Carolina.