KSR Today: Turning the page after a weekend of highs and lows

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. What a weekend, huh? It began with all of the fun and excitement from Rupp Arena on Friday, followed by the misery at Kroger Field on Saturday. Now, we move forward from both with mixed feelings about the Wildcats’ two major sports. It’s a big week, too. There’s one more preseason basketball game and an SEC road trip for Mark Stoops’ football team ahead. We’ll start there.

Kentucky goes back on the road to look for an SEC win

It’s back on the bus for the Wildcats, who will travel to Auburn this weekend looking to finally break through in SEC play. Kentucky sits at 0-5 in the conference after Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, and the road ahead doesn’t get much easier.

Meanwhile, Auburn picked up its first SEC win of the season, knocking off Arkansas in Fayetteville over the weekend. The Tigers return home with momentum for the Saturday night matchup on SEC Network.

This will mark Kentucky’s first trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium with a crowd since 2009, when Rich Brooks’ Wildcats stunned the Tigers in a memorable upset. A Mark Stoops-coached team last visited in 2020, playing in front of empty bleachers during the COVID season, the only other meeting at Auburn in the last 20 years.

We’ll hear from Mark Stoops today

It’s Monday, meaning Mark Stoops will host his weekly press conference and radio show today. First, Stoops will take questions from the local media about the loss to Tennessee and getting off the mat for a trip to a tough road SEC environment. You can find all of those comments here on KentuckySportsRadio.com later today.

Then Stoops will speak to the fans on his call-in radio show. He’ll sit down with Tom Leach at 6 p.m. for a conversation on the UK Sports Network.

You can also watch his postgame press conference from late Saturday night, if you want more Mark Stoops on your Monday, although I doubt many of you do.

The KSR Football Podcast goes live at 2 p.m.

Need even more football talk? The KSR Football Podcast will discuss Stoops’ job, the loss to Tennessee, and the state of the program in a new episode today. Tune in live at 2 p.m. on KSR’s YouTube channel or catch the audio version in podcast form as Nick Roush, Adam Luckett, Van Hiles, and I break down the latest with the Wildcats and more on the Monday of Auburn Week. The conversations are getting repetitive, as are the losses.

The Kentucky-Florida game time to be announced today

After the upcoming trip to Auburn, the Wildcats will host Florida in the SEC home finale in Lexington. We’ll learn what time the game kicks off when the SEC reveals its TV schedule for all league games on Saturday, November 8, later today.

Kentucky is getting 10 points at Auburn

Out in the desert, Kentucky is a 10-point underdog against Auburn. The total on the game is 47.5 points.

Brian Kelly fired at LSU

A new week, a new coaching change somewhere other than Kentucky. Yesterday, Brian Kelly was fired at LSU following a 49-25 home loss to the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday. The move adds to a rapid coaching carousel across college football and serves as a reminder that ADs are acting quickly around the country when coaches aren’t winning. Things are still business as usual in Lexington, though.

Movers in the AP Top 25

By beating Kentucky, the Tennessee Vols moved up three spots in the new AP Top 25 poll, climbing from No. 17 to No. 14. Louisville also rose three spots to No. 17, while Vanderbilt pushed further into the Top 10 at No. 9 this week.

1. Ohio State (7-0)
2. Indiana (8-0)
3. Texas A&M (8-0)
4. Alabama (7-1)
5. Georgia (6-1)
6. Oregon (7-1)
7. Ole Miss (7-1)
8. Georgia Tech (8-0)
9. Vanderbilt (7-1)
10. Miami (6-1)

Tennessee lost to Duke in a preseason basketball game

Tennessee hosted Duke in an exhibition basketball game on Sunday, only to lose to the Blue Devils in Knoxville, 83-76. Duke freshman Cameron Boozer stole the show with 24 points and 23 rebounds in the win, a remarkable performance by one of college basketball’s names to watch this season.

On the other side, Tennessee star freshman Nate Ament looked like a freshman, but still managed a double-double in defeat. New guard transfer Ja’Koby Gillispie was the Vols’ leading scorer with 19.

Kentucky Volleyball swept Bama

Kentucky Volleyball remained unbeaten with a sweep of Alabama at Alabama (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) on Sunday. Kassie O’Brien was the star with a freshman three-set match school record 50 assists in the win for the No. 3 Wildcats in Tuscaloosa.

KSR is in the studio today with special guest Josh Hopkins

With plenty to talk about on the show, Josh Hopkins will join the regular crew from 10 a.m. to noon. Tune in, and Go Cats.