KSR Today: Spitting, lightning, recruiting visits and injury reports
High school and week zero were the first tastes while week one of college was the appetizer spread, but now, the full entree is here. The NFL has joined the party to officially put us in overlap season with high school, college and pro football taking over our lives from Thursday through Monday every week from now until February. Isn’t it beautiful?
And what a start it was for the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys kicking off the season with the soothing sounds of the Sunday Night Football crew guiding the way on NBC.
Spitgate takes over the NFL opener
We didn’t even get to the first offensive snap before things went off the rails, Philly fullback and special teams ace Ben VanSumeren going down with a bad knee injury on the opening kickoff. While the team waited for the cart to come out for him, star defensive tackle Jalen Carter spat in Dak Prescott’s face and was immediately ejected from the game — again, without playing a single down.
It was later revealed Prescott spat first — not at Carter, but toward the ground in his direction, followed by a laugh as the two got in each other’s faces.
Way too much spit talk for my liking, but that’s how the tone was set to open the NFL season. It led to four straight touchdown drives for both teams and a 21-20 halftime score, on pace for a point total of 82 — far exceeding the over/under set at 58.5.
Then came the 65-minute second-half lightning delay, killing all of the scoring momentum down the stretch. The Eagles kicked a field goal to go up 24-20 before the stoppage, but that would be the last score of the day, sending the Cowboys home with the rivalry loss.
Don’t forget: KC vs. LAC on YouTube
We don’t have to wait until Saturday’s college football slate or Sunday’s full NFL schedule to keep scratching that itch. You’ll be able to watch Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce take on Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen in Brazil on Friday.
The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo with kickoff scheduled for 8 PM ET. The best part? No streaming service or subscription required to watch — it’s gonna be on YouTube.
Our friends at BetMGM list the Chiefs as three-point favorites with the over/under set at 46.5 points. Who are you taking?
Stoops does not preview Ole Miss — but KSR does!
The days of Stoops’ Thursday pregame press conferences are over, so don’t expect any late updates before the Kentucky Wildcats take on Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday. He says plenty in his Monday presser and call-in show. But we did get Bush Hamdan and Brad White talking about the offense and defense — along with their units’ top standouts — throughout the week.
Top 10
- 1Hot
NEW PRACTICE GYM
Only the best for Mark Pope
- 2New
Calzada Practices
UK splitting QB1 reps.
- 3
DAMN GOOD
Hamdan Confident in UK Offense
- 4
Passing Problems
UK has the worst passing attack in FBS
- 5Trending
"Cutter is going to play."
Get ready for the KY kid
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Elsewhere, two new KSR shows hit the YouTube feed on Thursday — one goofy and one serious.
Nick Roush and Adam Luckett shared their Week 2 picks in another edition of Pigskin Preview, followed by KSR’s Happy Hour featuring Tyler Thompson, Drew Franklin, Zack Geoghegan and me.
No major changes for Kentucky’s SEC Availability Report
How are the Cats looking ahead of the matchup? There was only one minor change from Wednesday’s first Availability Report — a good one. Redshirt freshman Aba Selm has been upgraded from questionable to probable while starting defensive talents Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace and DJ Waller Jr. both remain probable.
- DL Nic Smith: Out
- WR David Washington Jr.: Out
- WR Preston Bowman: Out
- WR DJ Miller: Doubtful
- RB Jamarion Wilcox: Questionable
- OL Aba Selm: Probable
- DE Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace: Probable
- CB DJ Waller Jr.: Probable
As for Ole Miss, TE Dae’Quan Wright was removed from the availability report while OL Terez Davis was downgraded to out and WR Caleb Cunningham was upgraded to questionable.
- WR Traylon Ray: Out
- TE Luke Hasz: Out
- OL Terez Davis: Out
- WR Samari Reed: Out
- WR Caleb Cunningham: Questionable
- DB Jaylon Braxton: Questionable
- CB Ricky Fletcher: Questionable
- CB Dante Core: Questionable
- OL Delano Townsend: Probable
Come get your Ole Miss hype video!
Friday Night Lights in Kentucky
KSR’s Game of the Week features top-ranked Trinity taking on Kentucky QB commit Matt Ponatoski and Moeller (OH) in Cincinnati — a big one for both the Wildcats and KHSAA football. That one is expected to favor the UK pledge with a projected score of 41-14, according to the Massey Ratings.
What about the other ranked games this week?
*RV indicates a team receiving votes in KSR’s Week 2 Top 25 Rankings*
| TIME (LOCAL) | MATCHUP | MASSEY PREDICTION |
| 7:00 PM | No. 1 Trinity vs. Moeller (OH) | 41-14 (Moeller) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 18 Cooper @ No. 2 Ryle | 34-21 (Ryle) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 22 Mayfield @ No. 3 Paducah Tilghman | 42-20 (Paducah Tilghman) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 12 Male @ No. 4 St. Xavier | 32-14 (St. Xavier) |
| 7:30 PM | No. 5 Boyle County @ Lexington Catholic | 42-10 (Boyle County) |
| 7:30 PM | No. 6 Christian Academy-Louisville @ No. 15 Lexington Christian Academy | 35-20 (Christian Academy-Louisville) |
| 7:00 PM | Campbell County @ No. 7 Highlands | 48-13 (Highlands) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 8 South Warren @ Greenwood | 42-12 (South Warren) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 9 Franklin County @ Pleasure Ridge Park | 42-6 (Franklin County) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 10 Owensboro Catholic vs. Apollo (@ Steele Stadium) | 47-14 (Owensboro Catholic) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 11 Covington Catholic @ Simon Kenton | 36-14 (Covington Catholic) |
| 7:30 PM | No. 13 DuPont Manual @ No. 24 Frederick Douglass | 28-14 (Frederick Douglass) |
| 7:30 PM | No. 14 Corbin @ Bryan Station | 42-21 (Corbin) |
| 7:00 PM | No. 16 Beechwood @ Dixie Heights | 43-20 (Beechwood) |
| 7:45 PM | No. 19 Bowling Green @ No. 17 Scott County | 35-28 (Scott County) |
| 7:30 PM | Great Crossing @ No. 20 Woodford County | 42-28 (Woodford County) |
| 7:30 PM | No. 23 Johnson Central @ No. 22 Mayfield | 35-21 (Johnson Central) |
| 7:30 PM | Wayne County @ No. 25 Bell County | 42-18 (Bell County) |
| 7:30 PM | RV Raceland @ Pikeville | 27-26 (Raceland) |
| 8:00 PM | RV Pulaski County @ North Hardin | 42-19 (Pulaski County) |
| 8:00 PM | RV Atherton @ Mercer County | 42-16 (Atherton) |
Mark Pope visits No. 1 Tyran Stokes (and others)
All eyes are on football, but Coach Pope and the basketball staff are working to close on the No. 1 recruit in the country. They flew out West to meet with Tyran Stokes not once, but twice on day two of the open recruiting period.
Other staff meetings included top-20 recruits Christian Collins and Tajh Ariza, along with four-star Josh Irving and Ethan Taylor.
Time to start adding some commitments. Until then, it’s football time in the Bluegrass.
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