Kentucky football opened its 2025 season with a 24-16 win over Toledo.
The Wildcats entered the game with a very unpredictable team with over 50 new faces putting on blue and white for the first time on this opening day.
The Rockets were a tough opponent to start out the season as they are a powerhouse in the MAC conference with lofty expectations.
Toledo won the toss and elected to defer, which meant Zach Calzada and the offense would see the field first.
The Wildcats overcame a holding penalty on the first play of the game and got some momentum going as Calzada began to settle in with a few first downs and completed passes.
However, an overturned 32-yard gain on a pass from Calzada to J.J. Hester resulted in a punt for the Wildcats.
The offense took advantage of the turnover by the defense and continued to string together positive plays.
The defense continued to hold strong by forcing a punt on Toledo’s second drive of the game. To that point, the Wildcats had not allowed a first down.
The pick sent the defense right back to the field and they started to falter a bit as the Rockets found their footing on offense.
Toledo took the ball all the way down to the Kentucky 3-yard line where it went for it on fourth-and-2 and were stood up by the defense to result in a turnover on downs.
Following the score, the defense settled back in with a stop to force a punt, which gave the ball back to the offense as they looked to gain some separation.
After just two plays, Calzada connected with Willie Rodriguiez for a 23-yard completion but fumbled the ball and Emmanuel Mcneil-Warren recovered it for the Rockets.
The defense did its parts once again by forcing a turnover on downs by the Rockets, which allowed the offense to begin its drive from the 50-yard line.
After the Wildcats added to their lead, both teams punted the ball before Toledo ran out the clock to end the first half.
Toledo was first up on offense out of the locker room and were immediately stopped by the Wildcat defense and forced to punt.
In their first drive out of the half, The Wildcats strung together a few first downs including an 18-yard completion to Josh Kattus.
However, the drive ultimately stalled out and resulted in a punt by Aidan Laros.
The punt parade continued as the Wildcats’ defense forced another punt by the Rockets.
Calzada found Kattus once again for a 13-yard gain on third-and-5, but the drive stalled out and resulted in the fourth straight punt to open the second half.
After Toledo upped the tally to five straight punts, Calzada and the offense strung together three first downs that took the game into the fourth quarter of play.
The Rockets found their footing on offense and were helped by a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty by Kahil Sanders that set them up in the red zone.
Tucker Gleason punched in a 9-yard rushing touchdown that slimmed the Kentucky lead to 17-9.
The Wildcats forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing defensive drive following the touchdown.
Both teams exchanged punts before the Rockets put up a late touchdown to reflect in the 24-16 final score.
Following the win, Kentucky will be back in action at Kroger Field against No. 21 Ole Miss with kickoff set for 3:30 ET. The game will air live on ABC.
