Kentucky College Football 2024 Season Preview
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Twitter: @charlie_cds3
Kentucky started with a bang in 2023 winning their first five games, including a 33-14 victory over then-ranked No. 22 Florida. However, the Wildcats then lost five of their next six games with their only win coming at Mississippi State (24-3). In their final regular season game, Kentucky defeated archrival Louisville on the road, 38-31, before falling to Clemson in the Gator Bowl, 38-35, in Jacksonville to finish 2023 with a 7-5 record. Will head coach Mark Stoops and the Wildcats rebound in 2024 making a run to the expanded 12-team college football playoff?
On offense, the Wildcats scored 29.1 points per game last season. When the season kicks off, Stoops and his staff have a new quarterback running the show, Brock Vandagriff, a former Georgia Bulldog. Senior wide receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key will be weapons on the outside for Kentucky. Key had 636 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and Brown chipped in with 539 yards and four scores last fall.
Kentucky gave up 24.8 points per contest on defense and held seven teams to under 100 rushing yards. Deone Walker is the star up front on the defensive line. After producing 55 total tackles and 7.5 sacks, Walker is a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Senior linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson will be featured in the middle despite injuries limiting him a year ago. In the secondary, junior cornerback Maxwell Hairston is looking to add to his breakout season after snagging five interceptions and racking up 68 total tackles in 2023.
The Wildcats open their season with four straight home games: Southern Miss, South Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio. Kentucky’s first road trip will be to No. 6 Ole Miss on Sept. 28 before the first bye week of the season.
On Oct. 12, the Wildcats will continue SEC play hosting Vanderbilt, and then travel to Florida to face the Gators on Oct. 19.
The two games before their second bye week are at home against Auburn on Oct. 26 and on the road in Knoxville on Nov. 2 to battle Tennessee.
On Nov. 16, the Wildcats host Murray State in preparation for their road to Texas on Nov. 23 to face the Texas Longhorns. The regular season concludes on Nov. 30 at home against archrival, Louisville, who they haven’t lost to since 2017.
The Wildcats avoid some big-time teams in the SEC including Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M; bowl eligibility is not out of the question for this team. With stars on both sides of the ball and a favorable schedule, look for Kentucky and head coach Mark Stoops to have another winning season in Lexington.
Season Prediction: 8-4
Photo credit: Jordan Prather-USA Today Sports; Kentucky DB Maxwell Hairston