KSR Today: Who wants to go bowling? Cats are one win away

Kentucky‘s home finale could have gone a number of ways for Mark Stoops and the Wildcats. On one hand, it was FCS competition and SEC teams are supposed to steamroll those teams. On the other, UK doesn’t have a perfect track record of winning comfortably in these games — an overtime win over EKU in 2017 and the five-point win over Chattanooga in 2021 stand out — and if there was ever a time to struggle, it was against the undefeated Golden Eagles, entering the matchup on a 15-game winning streak and Tennessee Tech set to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011 as a serious national title contender. A win over UT Martin next week would earn the OVC-Big South championship title and lock in an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

It’s a good team, and even with back-to-back SEC wins for Kentucky and things slowly trending back in the right direction, we all had the same thought in the back of our minds. Maybe a loss wasn’t likely, but a nasty rock fight to put that bad taste back in fans’ mouths? It wouldn’t have shocked anyone.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and the Wildcats beat up on the Golden Eagles to continue this feel-good streak for the blue and white. Cutter Boley threw for 236 yards and a touchdown while also bulldozing his way to the end zone for a rushing score of his own. Seth McGowan added 72 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, Dante Dowdell with 87 and a score. Kendrick Law is now fully unleashed with 11 catches for 124 yards, Hardley Gilmore IV added two catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Good defensive day, allowing just 264 offensive yards and 10 points to, again, a very good FCS football team.

And now, somehow, Kentucky is just one win away from bowl eligibility with two games to go. Imagine telling yourself that after that Tennessee blowout.

A feel-good day for the seniors

McGowan and Law stole the show among players suiting up in their final home game on Senior Day, but all 25 in their final year of eligibility deserve credit for this late-season turnaround.

“I love this team’s attitude and effort, and really greatly appreciate the seniors playing for the last time in Kroger Field,” Stoops said Saturday. “Some of those guys have been around a long, long time. Some of them are new, but all of them have had a great impact on our program, and they’ve shown great leadership. And I greatly appreciate them and their families being here today to celebrate a good victory, and now it’s on to the next.”

Waka Flocka Flame was a special guest (and helped rescue fans from an elevator)

It doesn’t surprise me to write the first part of that sentence — the Grove Street Party rapper is a regular Kroger Field attendee at this point, and he had a concert last night in Lexington. You should have expected to see Waka Flocka at the game.

Welcome back to Kroger Field, @WakaFlocka! pic.twitter.com/ctanQCo9dt

— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) November 15, 2025

But I did not expect to hear about Waka pulling open the doors of an elevator at Kroger Field with several fans stuck inside — that was apparently the case, sources told KSR’s Tyler Thompson. What’s next, rapping No Hands as he rescues young children from a burning building? I don’t know why he’d pick that song for that scenario, but you never know how you’ll react to emergencies.

For this one, he nailed the execution, allowing fans to get out of there and home safely.

Mark Stoops celebrates three-game winning streak

Fans left Kroger Field happy for a second straight week and now prepare for back-to-back local road games at Vanderbilt and Louisville to wrap up the regular season. You just need to win one to earn a postseason invite, two to start dreaming really big about the possibility of an 8-5 finish.

It could have been easy to give up after the Tennessee loss — or any of the weeks before — but the Wildcats held on and are now seeing the fruits of their labor.

“The next opportunity. We are really focused on that,” Stoops said. “I challenged the guys in there because they have brought it up. Like, okay, guys, keep this in perspective and let’s be ready to go Monday and that’s the mentality that we have to continue with.”

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Coordinators, players break down the victory

What went right in the 42-10 victory over the previously undefeated Golden Eagles? The offense is finally firing on all cylinders and the defense continues to make plays and keep scores to a minimum — just 20 points allowed in three weeks.

Bush Hamdan and Brad White talk about their sides of the football continuing to build momentum.

From there, Cutter Boley, Kendrick Law, Seth McGowan and Ty Bryant all talked to reporters about the winning streak and what’s ahead with bowl eligibility officially on the line.

KSR’s Rapid Reaction from Kroger Field

What did the KSR crew think of the blowout win? Nick Roush and Adam Luckett talk about it outside of Kroger Field shortly after the final whistle.

WBB moves to 5-0 with a 32-point win at Marshall

Back-to-back weekend road trips at Buffalo and Marshall, back-to-back wins for Kenny Brooks and the women’s basketball program. The Wildcats traveled to Huntington and left with a 76-44 victory to move to 5-0 on the young 2025-26 season.

Jordan Obi led the way with 17 points on 5-12 shooting, followed by Clara Strack with 15 points and 13 rebounds, Asia Boone with 14 points and Teonni Key with 10 to wrap up double-figure scorers — Amelia Hassett right behind with nine points and 14 rebounds.

As a team, the Cats shot 39.1 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from deep — not great, but better than the Thundering Herd, who finished 28.0 percent overall and 18.8 percent from three.

Up next? The biggest non-conference game of the season, taking on Purdue at home, live Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Kentucky VB takes on Arkansas on Senior Day

The weekend started with men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football wins. Can Craig Skinner keep that momentum rolling to wrap up the home schedule on Sunday?

Kentucky volleyball is set to host Arkansas on Senior Day this afternoon, live at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+ inside Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats (20-2, 13-0 SEC) enter the matchup riding a 17-match winning streak with a share of their ninth-straight league championship.

They will be honoring their lone senior, star Eva Hudson, as Senior Day ceremonies begin at 12:50 p.m. ET.

“Just certainly appreciative and thankful to have the opportunity to coach Eva this year,” Skinner said this week. “I know our team is appreciative of what she’s been able to do for us on the floor and the determination she brings. It’s been a pleasure.”

Cards beat Cats in 2025 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship

It wasn’t the storybook finish the UK women’s soccer program was hoping for, unfortunately, with the Wildcats knocked out of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship by none other than UofL. If Tuesday at the Yum! Center wasn’t bad enough, the Cards got yet another win, defeating the Cats in penalty kicks to send the in-state rival home and and their season.

UK broke a scoreless tie in the 47th minute, only for UL to respond with 11 minutes left in regulation. And then after 30 scoreless minutes in OT, the game went to a penalty shootout, the Cards earning the winning goal on the eighth attempt.

Kentucky finished the season 12-4-5, a run that included a fifth-place finish in the SEC (5-2-3) and a second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cats really need to win that football finale on the road…