KSR Today: Is it Kentucky Football Season Yet?

by:Nick Roush•08/24/21•

RoushKSR

The month of August is unnecessarily long. It has no business being 31 days long. July has 31 days. The extra day of summer is only prolonging our wait for the Kentucky football season to begin.

At one point last week, I actually muttered the words, “Man, it feels like camp is flying by.” I spoke too soon. Training camp is technically complete since classes commenced on campus Monday. Yet there are still two more weeks of preseason practice.

We will meet with the players and coaches twice this week before getting into game mode. The preseason position preview series has concluded, but to keep things fresh we will be introducing you to the new kids on the block, starting with wide receiver Chris Lewis. KSR has plenty more in store for the BBN today.

Ranking the Best Wins (and Losses) of the Stoops Era

Sometimes BTI bakes up the hot takes until they burn down the house. He’s done just that at the perfect time, the slowest time of the year. You will not be surprised to see that despite his best efforts, BTI does still in fact suck.

He kicked things off on Monday by ranking every single victory by Mark Stoops at Kentucky. The top three victories should have been in this order:

2018 at Florida
2016 Lamar Fumbles
2018 Penn State Citrus Bowl

Of course, the maniacal BTI took emotion out of the equation and ranked the Penn State win first. On paper, you could argue it was the best, but the heart outweighs the head. The Florida victory lifted a weight off the Kentucky football program’s shoulders that truly changed the trajectory of the Stoops era forever.

BTI is stirring up a big stink again this morning by ranking every one of Stoops’ losses. Finally, something for the self-loathing Kentucky “fans” to enjoy.

New Alliance

Today is a new day in college athletics, or is it? This afternoon the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 will announce a new Alliance between the conferences, according to The Athletic. A counterpunch to the SEC after the conference added Oklahoma and Texas, this is a well formulated PR stunt by the new conference commissioners. The have-nots are trying to catch up with the haves by adding strength in numbers.

If this Alliance has scheduling teeth, which it’s not expected to, it could throw a wrinkle in Kentucky’s schedule. Instead of playing SEC rivals in the final week of the regular season, the Alliance could push the ACC to play Big Ten or Pac-12 schools in the non-conference. Luckily, game contracts are scheduled so far in advance, this stupid Alliance will probably fold to realignment before that bridge is ever crossed.

New Big Blue Baby

Hopefully Liam Coen’s child is not actually blue. This world is only big enough for one Tobias Fünke. Kentucky’s offensive coordinator is welcoming a new life into the world just before the Wildcats’ season kicks off. It’s gotta be a good omen for the 2021 season, right?

That was just one of a few things we learned from Monday’s Louisville Alumni Association Kickoff Luncheon. If you haven’t seen Stoops’ remarks yet, his outlook on the current off-the-field situation is enlightening. Speaking of….

New Charge for Vito Tisdale

Monday afternoon WDRB’s Jason Riley uncovered a marijuana possession charge for Vito Tisdale from July. He plead guilty and received two years probation. The incident in March he was charged with last week would not violate his probation.

Legality aside, it’s a bad look for Vito. Some folks laugh off marijuana charges in 2021. Others say it’s one too many missteps in one offseason for a football team. Stoops will most likely remedy the problem by finding a solution somewhere in the middle.

Week One Broadcasters

We now know exactly who will be on the call for every opening week college football game. Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb and Alyssa Lang will be in Lexington for the noon kickoff between the Wildcats and the Warhawks on the SEC Network. If you really want to get hyped for all of the games, scroll through the lengthy list of Labor Day ball games.

Cats in the NFL

Landon Young enjoyed the Monday Night Football spotlight while playing for the New Orleans Saints, capping off a busy weekend for NFL Cats. Two reunited in Charlotte, Chris Westry and Phil Hoskins.