Monday Huddle: Kentucky now has opportunity to Remember November

“Remember November” is a common adage in college football emphasizes that the games played in the final month of the season that determine how a team is judged. Ultimately, most of the oxygen in this sport will be on those fighting for the final playoff spots. Kentucky is not in the playoff discussion but this team now has a chance to turn the season around after a brutal five-game run to start SEC play after winning a 10-3 slugfest against Auburn.

Kentucky is very much still a flawed football team. However, this is a group that has shown some improvement throughout the season and keeps getting off the mat when adversity hits. There is now a path to six wins if UK can steal one more game on the road and take care of home field. This program has done much more of the former than the latter recently.

UK’s latest win gives the program some unexpected life heading into the final four games of the season. Can they take advantage of this new opportunity? They will need to end a long losing streak at home in the final power conference game at Kroger Field this season on Saturday or we will just be right back where we started before the Auburn game.

The walls were closing in on this era of Kentucky football. The Cats found the stop button. Do they have a flip button on their remote? We’re about to find out entering the huge Week 11 contest against Florida. We will “Remember November” this year one way or another.

KSR’s Monday Huddle is back to set the table for another football week as the Cats attempt to end a third bad streak this weekend at home under the lights against the Gators.

First Down: The most damning streak for Kentucky football could end on Saturday

Many things have gone wrong for the Kentucky football program recently. Over the last two years, three embarrassing streaks have emerged. UK had not scored more than two offensive touchdowns in a game, UK had lost a bunch of power conference games in a row, and UK had lost a bunch of power conference games in a row at Kroger Field. Kentucky ended the two touchdowns or less streak at 13 games when the Cats scored five touchdowns against Tennessee. One week later, the Cats ended an 11-game losing streak to power conference programs with the win over Auburn. Now only one streak stands.

Kentucky has lost 11 consecutive games against power conference foes at home. Ten of those losses have occurred against SEC competition. Saturday night will be the final power conference game at home this season. It’s UK’s final chance to end the program’s most embarrassing streak. They will face the last team they beat at home.

In Week 5 back in 2023, Kentucky (4-0, 1-0) hosted No. 22 Florida (3-1, 1-0) for a noon kickoff on ESPN. “SEC Nation” was in town and Mark Stoops asked the Big Blue Nation to “pound some beers” before the noon kickoff against Billy Napier‘s Gators.

Mark Stoops believes the #BBN will bring it for a Noon kickoff against Florida at Kroger Field.

🎥 See all of his Florida Week Press Conference: https://t.co/tCSd9Fp9S7 pic.twitter.com/Bfo3ucQgrA

— KSR (@KSRonX) September 25, 2023

The fanbase responded with a great atmosphere and the team delivered. Kentucky rushed for 329 non-sack yards over nine yards per attempt as Ray Davis went nuts (26 carries, 280 yards, 4 total touchdowns) and the defense got the party started with a first quarter interception by Trevin Wallace after a huge hit by Deone Walker. UK rolled to a 33-14 win as the Big Blue Nation continued the party in the Kroger Field parking lots on that September afternoon.

But it felt like everything changed after that week. Ten days later, Stoops asked a caller on his radio show to “pony up” and Kentucky has gone just 9-19 in the 28 games since. The Cats have not won a power conference home game since that day with some blowout losses along with one-possession defeats against Tennessee (2023), Georgia (2024), Vanderbilt (2024), Ole Miss (2025), and Texas (2025).

Now they have one final chance to end it against the same opponent where they earned their last big win at home.

Entering this season, there was a lot this program had to get corrected, but the biggest item was ending this home losing streak. Kentucky let Texas off the hook and didn’t have enough to get over the hump in the fourth quarter against Ole Miss. Things got sideways in a hurry against Tennessee. But for the first time this year, UK will be playing an unranked SEC team. They have to take advantage of this opportunity. If they do not, it will be harder to sell the “we are an improved football team” card. You have to win games at home.

The fanbase stilly mostly seems out on Stoops. That only changes if his team starts winning SEC home games again. This is the biggest — and perhaps only — storyline this week.

Second Down: This is another good matchup for Kentucky

I’ve discussed the “styles make fights” philosophy a lot in recent weeks. College football is a very unique game because of how many different styles there are. Your style of play can dictate how games are played and how opponents play you. Tennessee was an awful matchup because they forced Kentucky to play out of their comfort zones. Auburn and Texas were very good matchups for Kentucky because they were flawed offenses who were built to attack the teeth of Kentucky’s defense and didn’t necessarily have the the capability to attack UK’s biggest weakness.

Florida is much more Auburn or Texas than it is Tennessee.

The Gators run a version of a pro-style offense that will use condensed sets, a heavy dose of traditional 11 personnel usage, and will not be hitting the tempo gas pedal. Oh, and this offense has major passing game issues.

Former five-star recruit DJ Lagway is averaging under seven yards per attempt with eight touchdown passes and 10 interceptions and has only produced more than 20 non-sack rushing yards twice this season. The Gators rank No. 99 in passing success rate and No. 114 in EPA/dropback. The passing game has had some moments of success at home but has mostly struggled to find consistency all season.

The Gators have ran the football well (No. 26 in rushing success rate) but this offense could have issues attacking Kentucky’s problematic pass coverage. Meanwhile, Florida’s defense ranks No. 106 in yards per dropback allowed. Kentucky’s pass-heavy offense could find some success in this matchup.

Styles make fights in college football. Kentucky matches up very well with Florida.

Third Down: Take advantage of the momentum

Kentucky has had a lot of problems as a program to fix. The coaching staff really leaned into the transfer portal in the offseason to help fix those issues. Some were culture tweaks where the staff made minor daily changes to build a better team. But one big picture issue that has hovered over the Wildcats has been the inability to stack wins and build on momentum when it has arrived.

In 2022, UK got a big win at Florida before spoiling a chance to pickup a huge ranked road win against Ole Miss. The Cats dropped a winnable game. They would go just 3-5 the rest of the way and never won consecutive games after that loss in Oxford.

In 2023, UK beat a bad Vanderbilt team on the road before hammering Florida at home. The Wildcats then turned around and played sloppy and undisciplined football in a prime-time game in Athens versus No. 1 Florida. The very next week, the team collapsed at home against Missouri after a hot start. UK never won consecutive games for the rest of the season. Even after ending the program’s long SEC West road game losing streak and upsetting top-10 Louisville, UK found a way to lose very winnable games against South Carolina and Clemson.

In 2024, things got off to an ugly start with an embarrassing home loss to South Carolina. Kentucky responded by hammering an 11-win Ohio team and beating a top-five Ole Miss team on the road. UK’s defense was playing dominant football and the offense was starting to show real improvement. That all went away after the bye week in a 20-13 loss to Vanderbilt where UK could not stop making mistakes. The season crumbled after that home defeat.

Kentucky has found success and a momentum-building opportunity in every recent season. Over the last three years, they have failed to capitalize. The moment has arrived again in 2025.

College football is a game of momentum. The pendulum can swing in crazy directions in this sport. You can ride a wave to some high heights or the wave can take you to some cataclysmic lows. We’ve seen how the low end can go for Kentucky. Now this program has a chance to see what the high end can bring if they can take advantage.

This program has a real chance to turn this season — and perhaps the direction of the program — around right now. Will they take advantage?

The week ahead at KSR

Game week is here, and KSR will provide the Big Blue Nation with in-depth pregame content from now until kickoff arrives on Saturday night at Kroger Field. Kentucky’s final SEC home game of the season has arrived in Week 11. Can the Cats finally end this dreaded home losing streak? Mark Stoops seems ready for that to be over.

“It is special going on the road and winning, but I acknowledge how important it is — it’s been a while since we had one at home, and so we’re going to go back to work. The players already said it, the coaches will be in that office — we’re gonna get home late tonight, but we’ll be in that office tomorrow morning working, and the players will as well, and let’s go get one at home,” Stoops said after the Auburn win. “It’s important for us and for our fanbase.”

We will have full coverage of Stoops’ press conference on Monday. From there, practice reports and daily podcasts will take over as Saturday quickly approaches. We will also get an SEC availability report on Wednesday that will give us an official status update on where UK sits on the injury front.

Over at KSR+, we will have our in-depth scouting report on Florida published on Thursday along with some more preseason content before this Week 11 game arrives.

Much is on the line again this week for the Kentucky football program. The Cats have a chance to to build on some some in-season momentum and realistically changed how this season was viewed in the final four weeks of the season. Can they capitalize?

We’ll find out on Saturday night.