KSR Today: NFL season kicks off, Jordan Wright is back
At long last, the NFL is back — real NFL, not preseason games with starters playing eight snaps before turning it over to the backups the rest of the way. The Buffalo Bills took on the world champion Los Angeles Rams in the league’s season-opener, a highly anticipated matchup between two of the league’s most dominant offenses.
This time around, though, only one of those offenses showed up on the big stage — and it wasn’t the one led by former Kentucky OC Liam Coen.
The Bills demolished the Rams on the road, bringing home a 31-10 victory that included 413 total yards, 23 first downs and zero punts. And that’s with four turnovers — Buffalo could’ve run the score up even more.
As for Coen’s Rams, they finished with 243 total yards on 3.7 yards per play — 4.0 yards per pass and 2.9 yards per rush. Star wide receiver Cooper Kupp dominated — as he usually does — with 13 catches for 128 receiving yards and a touchdown. Beyond him, though, it was a no-show for the unit.
It comes after reports claimed Coen was set to take over the “down-by-down” in LA as head coach Sean McVay took more of a backseat role with the offense — “like a CEO,” as Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com and Good Morning Football put it.
On the national broadcast Thursday evening, though, McVay was clearly calling the plays down on the sideline every time he was shown on camera, play sheet and all.
So who is to blame? Max Duffy says Coen is clearly on the hot seat following his underwhelming debut.
Jokes aside, plenty of time for Coen and the Rams to get things sorted out, but certainly not the debut they were hoping for.
Jordan Wright is back for the Wildcats
The NFL season has finally begun, but college football is in full swing, with the Kentucky Wildcats set to travel to Gainesville hoping to move to 2-0 on the young season.
They’ll be bringing help, as well, with the 6-foot-5, 231-pound pass-rusher now cleared to play for UK.
“It’s good to get Jordan back. He brings experience, brings another pass rusher, and another body to chase around a very good quarterback,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said Thursday. “We need all hands on deck and really glad that he’s back and cleared to play.”
The most productive edge rusher on Kentucky’s defense, Wright has racked up 15.5 tackles for loss, 11 passes defended, four forced fumbles, and two defensive touchdowns during his time in Lexington. Set to take on the Florida Gators led by standout quarterback Anthony Richardson, his return couldn’t come at a better time.
Elsewhere, still no update on Chris Rodriguez Jr., with the Wildcats still in the process of getting an answer on their standout running back.
“(Wright’s return) means we’ve cleared one hurdle and trying to continue to go over some other hurdles,” Stoops said.
It’s a start, at least.
Mark Stoops previews the Gators
What else did Stoops have to say during his final press conference before Kentucky’s trip to the Swamp?
He broke down the team’s options at running back with Rodriguez, Ramon Jefferson and JuTahn McClain all out this week and/or beyond, Kenneth Horsey’s adjustment to the left tackle position, his relationship with Florida head coach Billy Napier and the team’s motivation going into its first hostile road environment of the season.
Take a look at the complete presser below:
Hey, Louisville plays tonight!
Looking to see the Cardinals embarrass themselves again on the football field this week? It’s your lucky day.
Of the two college football games on this evening, Louisville is playing in one, taking on Central Florida down in Orlando. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
This comes after the Cardinals got destroyed to open the season, falling at Syracuse by a final score of 31-7. That was a game in which the Orange were called for a whopping 18 penalties for 107 yards.
Syracuse spotted Louisville an entire football field’s worth of penalty yards and still got waxed.
Will the Cardinals turn things around? Highly unlikely. We’ll find out regardless this evening.
John Calipari and his staff hit the recruiting trail
It’s not all football right now. In fact, today is a pretty important day in the basketball recruiting world. After some rest with the quiet period, the recruiting period is now open, meaning college coaches are able to make in-person contact with recruits while also hosting visitors on campus.
It’s a period that’s set to last through March, with a few dead periods in November and December for holidays.
John Calipari and his staff are set to hit the road today, with sources telling KSR that a trip to New Jersey to check out D.J. Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw will take place Friday.
In fact, Calipari is already in the northeast getting ready to roll.
From there, expect UK to be in for its current commits, Justin Edwards, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, in the near future, along with other trips to check out the likes of Ian Jackson and Tre Johnson in the class of 2024, among others.
Recruiting season is here.
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