Monday Huddle: Kentucky finds itself in opposite spot of last year heading into Week 2

At this time last year, Kentucky was fresh off a shutout win in Week 1 over Southern Miss in a game that included a long weather delay and a cancellation in the third quarter. Meanwhile, South Carolina struggled at home with Old Dominion. The Cats entered Week 2 as a near double-digit favorite with most of the questions surrounding the Gamecocks heading into the second weekend.

Now the script has been flipped heading into this year’s matchup with Week 2 opponent Ole Miss.

The Cats are a two-possession SEC underdog heading into the first conference matchup of the season. Ole Miss is the team with high expectations and will be the squad that almost everyone will pick to win the game this weekend despite the fact that UK knocked off an elite Rebels team last season. Can this be a spot where UK pulls off another upset as an underdog?

The matchup is interesting. KSR’s Monday Huddle is back to set the table for a big early game for both programs as each tries to create some momentum early in the season.

First Down: Kentucky has a chance to end that long SEC losing streak storyline

There was a lot going on in the offseason at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. Mark Stoops and his staff went through a hard roster reset while they attempted to reset the program’s culture after a disappointing and embarrassing 4-8 campaign in 2025. With all of that going on, one of the biggest storylines of last season took a backseat.

It won’t take a backseat this week.

Kentucky started a long bowl streak in 2016. That was made possible due to success at home. From 2016-21, UK went six consecutive seasons without a losing year at home in SEC games. A 16-9 mark over that time included three separate 3-1 finishes in Lexington against conference competition in 2016, 2018, and 2021. A huge part of the winning recipe was to protect home field.

That has gone away over the last three seasons.

Kentucky still got to a bowl game with home SEC losing seasons in 2022 (1-3) and 2023 (1-3) but the bottom fell out in 2024 (0-4). The Cats went winless in all five power conference games at Kroger Field last season. Since beating LSU in 2021, UK is just 2-11 at home in conference games. The Wildcats enter this weekend’s contest against Ole Miss having lost seven consecutive SEC games at home.

There are many arrows trending down for the Kentucky football program as we begin the 2025 sprint. Perhaps the most alarming is that home record. It has been a long time since this fan base has gotten to enjoy a big home victory. That needs to change quickly.

With four ranked foes on the SEC home slate this season, there is more than a decent chance that the home losing streak could climb to 11 games. There remains a lot of doubt and negativity surrounding this program. Kentucky needs to win some home games to help eliminate that.

Saturday afternoon is a big opportunity in front of what is currently expected to be one of — if not the best — home crowd atmospheres of the season at Kroger Field.

Second Down: Austin Simmons makes his first career road start

Austin Simmons was a class of 2025 recruit who decided to re-class up two cycles to join Ole Miss in 2023. The former blue-chip recruit was a star baseball player who flipped from Florida to the Rebels. This was a player who completed his sophomore year of high school and then started his college football career.

The plan was for Simmons to take over once Jaxson Dart left the program. We are now seeing that plan be fufilled.

The left-handed quarterback impressed many college football followers when he came off the bench last year against Georgia and led Ole Miss on a long touchdown drive. There was much hype this offseason for Simmons due to his recruiting profile, Lane Kiffin‘s track record, and what was produced in a very small sample size. That hype will continue in Week 2.

Austin Simmons is DEALING 👀

He's got 341 Pass Yds and THREE TDs in his first start for @OleMissFB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nwE06xT2iR

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) August 31, 2025

In his first career start, the redshirt sophomore completed 20-of-31 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Simmons also chipped in 23 non-sack rushing yards but did struggle with some ball security with two interceptions and one fumble. Kiffin’s spread RPO scheme will protect Simmons, and give him some easy reads, but this is a young quarterback making his first road start.

Can Kentucky find out a way to rattle the talented but young player?

Run defense was a massive issue for Kentucky last year, but the Cats held their own against good quarterbacks throughout the season last fall. We could find out if that trend will continue in 2025 this weekend.

There is likely no scenario where Kentucky wins this football game if it turns into basketball on grass. Ole Miss can turn games into track meets when they get the RPOs working, hit the tempo gas pedals, and find explosives in the passing game. The Cats must find a way to fluster a young quarterback making his first road start to have a path to victory in this football game.

Third Down: Kentucky must win the pace of play battle

Styles can make fights in college football. Expect that to hold true again when Ole Miss and Kentucky meet for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

Mark Stoops wants to play ground-and-pound football with a ball control offense and a zone-heavy defense that does not allow explosives. Lane Kiffin wants to play all gas, no brakes football with a tempo offense that spreads the field and an aggressive defense that won’t be afraid to man up on the outside and occasionally give up an explosive play or two.

The winner of the style war will have a heavy advantage.

Back in 2020, Ole Miss won outright as a six-point underdog with a 42-41 overtime win at Kroger Field despite allowing 408 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns because they won the game control fight. That meeting turned into a track meet.

Last season, a 4-8 Kentucky team beat an outstanding Ole Miss team because UK’s defensive front and coverage took the Rebels out of just about everything they wanted to do on offense while Kentucky grinded out first downs and scored enough points to leave Oxford with a massive upset win.

In the most even matchup of this series in the recent half-decade, Ole Miss won 22-19 at home as a six-point home favorite in a true toss-up game in 2022 where a game-winning Kentucky touchdown was negated by an illegal shift penalty. Kentucky won that style battle and nearly won the football game despite multiple kicking gaffes and losing the turnover battle.

Styles make fights. Kentucky must make Ole Miss play in the mud.

Recent results tell us that Kentucky’s defense has a very good chance to give the potent Ole Miss offense some struggles based on recent meetings. This game could be won or lost based on if Kentucky’s offense can play complementary football. Much of this week will be focused on a rough passing game performance from the Cats last weekend. Some strides must be made but the run game is much more important this week. For Kentucky to shrink the game and extend long drives, completions needed on third downs but the run game is ultimately what will determine if UK can win this game. The Cats do not need to run wild but they need to be effective and efficient against a rebuilt Ole Miss front.

Georgia State rushed for 195 non-sack yards on 5.7 yards per attempt in Week 1 against the Rebels. Kentucky must establish the run and control this game with its ground attack. It’s a big week for Dante Dowdell, Seth McGowan, and that new Kentucky offensive line.

Kentucky must make Ole Miss play on their terms. That only happens if the rushing attack grinds out first downs and keeps the Ole Miss offense on the sidelines and forces Kiffin’s team to play out of their comfort zone.

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 afternoon. The wait for the program’s first big game was a short one.

We will have full coverage of Mark Stoops’ press conference on Labor Day Monday as we’re expected to hear updates on Jamarion Wilcox and Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace. From there, practice reports and daily podcasts will take over as Saturday quickly approaches.

Over at KSR+, we will have our in-depth scouting report on Ole Miss published on Thursday along with some more preseason content before this big Week 2 game arrives. This is a big moment for this football program.