KSR Today: Shaking off South Carolina, preparing for Georgia

Good morning, friends. Big Blue Nation is still feeling the sting of Saturday night’s game in Columbia. Kentucky had a chance to find some life in SEC play, but instead left Williams-Brice with more questions than answers after a frustrating loss to South Carolina.

Now, it’s about getting off the mat. The Wildcats head to Athens as a 22.5-point underdog against Georgia later this week, a tall task by any standard. They’re getting Georgia after a loss, so the Bulldogs are hungry after slipping seven places in the new poll.

Mark Stoops will open Georgia Week with his Monday press conference this afternoon, offering updates on his team and laying out how the Wildcats plan to regroup before a second straight road game. From there, the buildup begins for Saturday’s trip between the hedges.

It’s a new week, and the schedule only gets tougher. Let’s get to today’s headlines.

Monday with Mark Stoops

Facing intense pressure from the fan base, Mark Stoops will face the music today with his usual speaking engagements. First, he will talk to the media, then he will hear from the fans.

Monday Press Conference
Stoops will hold his weekly press conference later today to share the latest on Kentucky Football after the second-quarter collapse and loss at South Carolina. He will likely address the QB situation and other unanswered questions ahead of another road trip, this one more challenging than the last. 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, many of whom are upset by Kentucky’s latest SEC loss.

New KSR Football Podcast picks up the pieces

Between Stoops’ two Q&As, the KSR Football Podcast will discuss the loss to South Carolina and the state of the program heading into the trip to Athens. 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, including Mark Stoops’ Monday comments, and lots more on the Monday of Georgia Week.

South Carolina trolled Kentucky with KSR videos

Should we send a cease-and-desist letter to South Carolina for its social media trolling yesterday?

Thanks y'all! pic.twitter.com/CEMMAC5HON

— South Carolina Football (@GamecockFB) September 28, 2025

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Georgia dropped seven places in the AP Top 25; Ole Miss up to No. 4

By losing to Alabama over the week, Georgia dropped seven places in the new AP College Football Poll. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 12 as they host unranked Kentucky in Athens in the fifth game of the season for both teams.

The new Top 25 includes three more teams on Kentucky’s remaining schedule: No. 9 Texas, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 16 Vanderbilt. Unbeaten Ole Miss moved up to No. 4 by beating LSU in Oxford.

See the new poll here.

KSR’s new Kentucky High School Football Top 25

Around lunchtime, KSR will update its Top 25 for high school football around the Bluegrass. This week, you can expect Trinity to once again retain its No. 1 spot after a big win over St. Xavier, ranked third in the state. Christian Academy-Louisville should be No. 2 for a second straight week, following a win over Bowling Green.

The committee will reveal its new order in a few hours. Until then, read last week’s rankings before the new Top 25 drops.

The Reds are playoff-bound

Congratulations to Matt Jones and all of the Cincinnati Reds fans who read KentuckySportsRadio.com. Cincinnati clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and only the fifth time since 1995. Postseason play begins tomorrow with Game 1 of the NL Wild Card series against the Dodgers.

The Americans tried to come back in the Ryder Cup

As if Kentucky’s loss to South Carolina wasn’t enough, golf fans suffered through an embarrassing Ryder Cup for the Americans. However, the good guys tried to make it close on Sunday, winning five of the first six singles matches to make the Europeans uncomfortable. Still, the Europeans held on in the end, winning 15-13. Shane Lowry drilled the winning putt on 18 to push with Russell Henley for the game-winning half point. We’ll get ’em next time… in two years.

Dusty Bonner is KSR’s Monday Morning QB

Former UK quarterback Dusty Bonner will join Ryan and me for Monday’s radio show as we recap the disappointing loss in Columbia and all that came with it. Tune in from 10 a.m. to noon for the last Monday without Matt, who returns from South Africa later this week. Bonner will be on for the entire second hour to discuss Kentucky-South Carolina.