Kentucky football (1-0) is set to open SEC play at home against No. 20 Ole Miss (1-0) in week two of the 2025 season.
WHAT TO WATCH-
Both teams competed against non-conference programs in week one with the Wildcats beating Toledo 24-16 and the Rebels demolishing Georgia state 63-7.
While there may not be a ton of history between the two programs, Lane Kiffin and Mark Stoops have been longtime foes since they first met as coaches in 1997 when Stoops was on the Wyoming sideline coaching and Kiffin was a part of the Fresno State coaching staff.
The last time the Rebels and Wildcats took the field was last season in Oxford when Kentucky pulled off a shocker by upsetting the then No. 6 Rebels 20-17.
That win turned out to be the only conference win for the Wildcats and a huge loss for Ole Miss who ended up on the outside looking in during the College Football Playoff.
When the Rebels were last in Lexington back in 2020, they went home with a 42-41 overtime win.
Furthermore, the last four times the Wildcats and Rebels have met dating back to 2017, the game has either came down to the last play of regulation or even overtime in two of those affairs.
If history is any indicator, then expect some drama and a tight one in Lexington this Saturday.
OFFENSE-
Zach Calzada is expected to be under center for the Wildcats to make his second start of the season.
In his Kentucky debut, the Incarnate Word transfer finished with 85 passing yards, 14 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown along with an interception.
The rushing attack led the way for Kentucky against Toledo as Dante Dowdell finished with 129 yards and a touchdown.
However, the backfield in Lexington is a duo as Dowdell is accompanied by Seth McGowan, who finished with 78 yards on the ground in his Wildcat debut.
When it comes to receiving, Kendrick Law is expected to lead the charge for Kentucky, but he was kept off the stat sheet in week one.
Josh Kattus led the way for the Wildcats in week one with 43 yards and his fellow tight end Willie Rodriguiez was just behind him with 31 yards.
Switching gears to the visiting Rebels, Austin Simmons leads the offense at quarterback.
While the Wildcats are going with experience with the seventh-year player in Calzada, Ole Miss is going with youth in the 19-year-old Simmons.
For reference, when Calzada played his first season at Texas A&M in 2019, Simmons was 14 years old.
In his debut with the Rebels, the youngster threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns along with two interceptions.
Kewan Lacy led the ground attack for Ole Miss with 108 yards and three touchdowns.
Logan Diggs also had a successful day on the ground with 91 yards and a touchdown.
When it comes to the receiving core, senior Harrison Wallace II finished with 130 yards on five catches along with a touchdown.
DEFENSE-
Switching to defensive units, the Wildcats kept Toledo off the board until the 9:38 mark in the fourth quarter.
Along with the lengthy scoreless run, Kentucky sacked quarterback Tucker Gleason three times with Alex Afari Jr. getting one and Stevan Soles Jr. tallying the other two.
The Wildcat defense also forced one turnover with an interception and also forced two fumbles that the Rockets recovered.
As for the Rebels, they only allowed one score, and it came midway through the second quarter against Georgia State.
Like the Wildcats, the Ole Miss defense secured an interception and one sack in the win over the Panthers.
When looking at total yards allowed, Kentucky gave up 329 yards and the Rebels allowed 260 yards in week one.
What do the odds say?
When looking at the all-time matchup, Ole Miss holds a 29-14-1 advantage. The rebels are 11-11-1 on the road against the Wildcats.
As for this matchup, ESPNBET Ole Miss is favored to win by 8.5 points on the road. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky a 16.4% chance to pull off the upset.
With both teams looking to start conference play 1-0, all that remains is kickoff from Kroger Field, which is set for 3:30 ET on Saturday, Sept. 6. The game will air live on ABC.
