KSR Today: Get off the mat for Mississippi State

ksr-today-kentucky-mississippi-state-mark-stoops-will-levis — Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. It was a tough weekend for the Kentucky Football team, but Will Levis’ massive debut for the Tennessee Titans took some of the sting off it, for me at least. After the 33-27 loss to the Vols, there was nothing I dreaded more than waking up and dealing with Vol fans in Nashville; being able to shove Levis’ spectacular performance in the faces of those who dragged him in the preseason definitely helped.

Alas, it’s a new week, one that culminates with another must-win game. This one takes place at Mississippi State, where Kentucky has not won in the Mark Stoops era. The Cats sit at 5-3 (2-3 SEC), just one win shy of bowl eligibility. Will it come on Saturday? The Bulldogs are 4-4, 1-4 in the SEC, coming off a 27-13 loss to Auburn. Mississippi State is not a great football team, but if Kentucky can’t snap its losing streak in Starkville, the rest of the season may be really white-knuckled.

Plenty to do before then, including a basketball exhibition vs. Kentucky State on Thursday. Let’s break it down.

Mississippi State Game Week is here

Mark Stoops’ Monday Press Conference

Kentucky needs to rinse the bad taste of the Tennessee loss out of its mouth quickly to prepare for a Saturday night showdown in Starkville (7:30 PM ET, SEC Network). After the loss to the Vols, Mark Stoops said he was disappointed in his team, but encouraged by the progress the passing offense made. After a day of film review, we’ll hear more from Stoops at Noon ET at his weekly press conference. We’ll have a full replay and Rapid Reaction for you shortly thereafter.

Mark Stoops’ Call-In Show

Stoops will speak again tonight, addressing fans on his call-in show at 6 p.m. on 630 WLAP and iHeart Radio. After three straight losses, the most recent being to one of the teams we hate the most, the BBN is uneasy. Good luck to the call-in screener tonight.

We’ll find out the Alabama game time

Ready to look ahead to the Alabama game yet? Game times for November 11 will be announced today around lunch. When will the Cats kick it off vs. the Crimson Tide? Here are the other games on the slate for that day if you’d like to register your predictions:

No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 1 Georgia
No. 8 Alabama vs. Kentucky
Florida vs. No. 13 LSU
No. 19 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Missouri
Auburn vs. Arkansas
Vanderbilt vs. South Carolina
Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M

Kentucky is favored vs. Mississippi State

The Cats opened up as a 3.5-point favorite vs. Mississippi State on FanDuel. Make of that what you will.

KSR Football Podcast at 8 p.m.

You’re probably still mad about the Tennessee loss. We are too. After the dust settles from a busy Monday, Freddie Maggard, Drew Franklin, Nick Roush, and Adam Luckett will convene to share their thoughts on the Cats’ third straight defeat. Tune in to the KSR YouTube Channel at 8 p.m. for some group therapy. On Saturday night, Roush spoke for us all when sharing his frustration with another loss to the Vols.

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Oct 29, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) celebrates with his family after a win against the Atlanta Falcons at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

What a Sunday for Will Levis

Boy, did BBN need a pick-me-up on Sunday; Will Levis delivered and then some. In his NFL debut, Levis started for the Tennessee Titans in place of an injured Ryan Tannehill and made NFL history, becoming the first-ever quarterback to complete 65% of his passes for 225+ yards and four touchdowns. He is also the first former Kentucky quarterback to throw four touchdowns in an NFL game since George Blanda in 1968.

The Titans fanbase also needed a pick-me-up, and by the end of Levis’ dazzling debut, the crowd at Nissan Stadium was chanting his name. After leading the Titans to a much-needed win over the Atlanta Falcons, Levis found his family in the stands, a heartwarming moment for the former Cat who slid to the second round of the NFL Draft in April. Look at him now.

What a moment for the Levis family 💙 pic.twitter.com/0w0oIp4Cjf
— Titans (Oilers Version) (@Titans) October 29, 2023

In his first career start, Will Levis threw 3 of the 10 longest touchdown passes by air distance this season.

🔹 47-yard TD to D. Hopkins: 56.1 yards (4th)
🔹 33-yard TD to N. Westbrook-Ikhine: 55.2 yards (5th)
🔹 61-yard TD to D. Hopkins: 51.7 yards (8th)

Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/goNMVDsw9X
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 29, 2023

Kentucky Basketball prepares for second exhibition

In case you were completely off the grid this weekend, the Kentucky Basketball team did get its first win of the preseason, beating Georgetown College 92-69 Friday night at Rupp Arena. It wasn’t the prettiest game to watch, as most of the freshmen showed some nerves, but veterans Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves carried the load, combining for 40 of Kentucky’s 92 points. Rob Dillingham was the top-scoring rookie with 16 points.

The Cats will be back in action Thursday vs. Kentucky State, the final tune-up before the regular season opener vs. New Mexico State on Nov. 6, one week from today. It remains to be seen if Zvonimir Ivisic will be cleared by the NCAA by then; on Friday, John Calipari said he was confident Big Z will be fine eligibility-wise, but UK will hold him out until the NCAA hands down its final word. A media opportunity is scheduled for tomorrow, so maybe we’ll know more soon.

Elsewhere in UK Sports…

Women’s Soccer advances to SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

Last night, the No. 7 seed Cats beat the No. 10 seed LSU Tigers to advance to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. The victory came after 90 minutes, 20 minutes of overtime, and some penalty kicks. Kentucky prevailed in PKs, 4-2. The Cats will face No. 2 Georgia on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET.

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Kentucky Men’s Soccer beats No. 2 West Virginia

A few weeks ago, the Kentucky Men’s Soccer team was in a rough spot. Ranked No. 3 to enter the season, the Cats struggled, losing several matches early on. Last week, they got back on track in a big way, beating No. 1 Marshall in Huntington. This past Friday, they followed that up with another upset, knocking off No. 2 West Virginia at The Bell on Senior Night.

Kentucky is now 5-6-4 overall this season, 2-3-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Cats play at Georgia Southern on Tuesday before preparing for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Kentucky Volleyball notches 8th straight win

The No. 15 Kentucky Volleyball team continued its winning ways on Friday, beating LSU in Baton Rouge in straight sets to extend its winning streak to eight. The Cats are now 11-7 on the season and 9-1 in the SEC, just one win behind Arkansas in the standings. On Friday night, they play at South Carolina, the first of three straight road matches.

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KSR+ SEC Previews continue with…Bruce Pearl!

To get ready for basketball season, Jacob Polacheck is previewing each team in the SEC over on KSR+, our premium sister site. So far, he’s profiled Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss, speaking with fellow On3 writers to learn about each squad. For his Auburn preview, he went straight to the top, speaking to Bruce Pearl in an exclusive one-on-one. Pearl detailed the Tigers’ roster in an interview we’ve unlocked to give you a taste of the excellent work happening over on KSR+.

Speaking of KSR+, after the loss to Tennessee, you better believe KSBoard was hopping too.

Rick Pitino “glad” St. John’s lost exhibition to Division II team

In another sign college basketball is near, Rick Pitino is saying ridiculous things again. Last week, he said he felt more pressure to succeed at Iona than at any other job in his career, including Kentucky and the New York Knicks. On Saturday, Pitino’s new team, St. John’s, turned some heads by knocking off Rutgers in an exhibition; however, the next day, the Red Storm came back to Earth, losing to Division II Pace 63-59.

“I’m really happy they won and I’m glad we did not come back against them because they deserved this victory and we did not,” Pitino said afterward. “If I asked for anything for a Christmas present, it was this loss.”

I never thought I’d say it a few years ago, but I’m so happy Rick Pitino is back.

The No. 1 player in the 2024 class is headed to Duke

Today in “News that won’t surprise you,” Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall player in the 2024 class, committed to Duke. Kentucky wasn’t a player in Flagg’s recruitment, but waking up to hear that the top prospect in the country will be a Blue Devil isn’t the greatest feeling in the world. Flagg is just one of seven unanimous No. 1 recruits in the country since 2000, joining LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Greg Oden, Andrew Wiggins, RJ Barrett, and Chet Holmgren. Flagg joins Duke’s top-ranked recruiting class, which also includes 5-star SF Isaiah Evans, 4-star SG Kon Knueppel, and 4-star SG Darren Harris.

The radio show is live from Hazard

Matt Jones, Ryan Lemond, Drew Franklin, and Shannon the Dude are ready to talk about the loss to Tennessee, Will Levis’ big day, and more today in Breathitt County. KSR starts one hour from now, but you can get the fun started immediately by turning on the KSR Preshow on 630 WLAP or iHeart Radio.

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