When Kroger Field belongs to everybody but Kentucky

It’s one thing to lose. It’s another to lose at home. But it’s something completely different when your home stadium stops feeling like home.

That’s what Kroger Field has become, not just a place where Kentucky loses football games, but where the visitors take over and celebrate on Kentucky’s turf while the home crowd heads for the exits. It happened in the 2024 season finale against Louisville, and it happened again Saturday night against Tennessee. Two straight rivalry games in Lexington, two straight home invasions that turned into mostly empty bleachers and orange or red.

By the time the fourth quarter began against the Vols on Saturday, most Kentucky fans had already gone home, leaving the stadium orange. And can you blame them? Tennessee already had 49 points on the board, the Rocky Top counter lost count, and Big Blue Nation was absent. They didn’t even boo on the way out this time, as far as I could tell. Most just shook their heads and left quietly.

Last year, Louisville did the same thing. The Cardinals came into Kroger Field in the regular-season finale and embarrassed Kentucky 41-14. They controlled the game, controlled the crowd, and by the fourth quarter, the stands were red. That day, Louisville fans stayed to celebrate their first Governor’s Cup win in years while Kentucky fans trudged out into the cold, wondering when it would start feeling like home again.

Now it’s happened twice in a row against the teams BBN hates most. Two different rivals, same story. The seats, the energy, the scoreboard all belonged to somebody else, and it wasn’t close.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Kroger Field was built into a home-field advantage during the best years of the Stoops era, a place that used to make visiting teams uncomfortable. The crowd was loud, the defense was tough, and wins over Florida, LSU, and even that one against Tennessee in 2017 felt like the start of something that could last. Instead, that edge is long gone. Kentucky has now lost 11 straight home games to Power 4 opponents. That’s every SEC opponent since September 2023 and last year’s Louisville game.

When Kentucky lost to Texas in overtime last week, I wrote, “The home losing streak hits double digits and Big Blue Nation has had enough.” At least fans stayed until the end for that one. By the time Tennessee closed out its 56-34 win on Saturday, it didn’t look like a home game. The home crowd checked out, and the team will need them back in two weeks for the Florida game. What will that turnout look like? Because it’s not just about losing anymore, it’s about losing at home over and over, and not even looking competitive against rivals.

We even had a brown bag sighting on Saturday, but, hey, at least he stayed for the fourth quarter?