Aug 21, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky football schedule for the 2014 season has been announced in conjunction with the Southeastern Conference schedule released Wednesday by the league office.
Next year’s slate will include timing adjustments for games against rivals Louisville and Tennessee. As requested by the SEC and the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Kentucky vs. Louisville game will be moved to the final game of the regular season beginning in 2014.
The leagues moved the game as a result of adjustments in scheduling brought on by the conference expansions undertaken in both the SEC and ACC. The SEC went to 14 schools a year ago and the ACC will be at 14 football-playing institutions when Louisville joins the league in the summer of 2014. For the `14 season, the Cardinals will play host to the Wildcats on Nov. 29.
The UK vs. UofL game had been played early in the schedule since the series was renewed in 1994. For Kentucky, moving the game to the end of the regular season also will require another adjustment. Tennessee has been scheduled as the Wildcats’ final foe since 1953 and the Volunteers will now move to Nov. 15, 2014, meaning that UK will close the regular season with a pair of rivalry games.
The switch of the Kentucky-Louisville game date means that there will be four SEC vs. ACC in-state rivalry matchups on the final weekend of the season. The Florida-Florida State, Georgia-Georgia Tech and South Carolina-Clemson tilts also are on that weekend.
The remainder of Kentucky’s non-conference schedule in 2014 includes three home games – the season opener against the University of Tennessee at Martin on Aug. 30, followed by Ohio University on Sept. 6. The Wildcats will play host to the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Oct. 11. This will be the first time that UK has played UT Martin. UK last played Ohio in 2004 and ULM in 2009.
The Wildcats continue to kick off the SEC schedule against Florida on Sept. 13 in Gainesville, the sixth consecutive season that UK’s league lidlifter comes against the Gators. One other significant timing change comes with the Vanderbilt game. Having played VU in November every season since 1953, the Wildcats will host the Commodores on Sept. 27, 2014.
Kentucky will continue to play the other Eastern Division opponents, with South Carolina and Georgia at home and Missouri on the road. UK’s permanent opponent from the Western Division, Mississippi State, will visit Commonwealth Stadium. Kentucky’s rotating opponent from the SEC West will be a game at LSU, which replaces Alabama from the 2013 schedule. The Wildcats last tangled with the Tigers in 2011.
Here is Kentucky’s complete 2014 schedule:
Aug. 30 – UT Martin
Sept. 6 – Ohio University
Sept. 13 – at Florida
Sept. 20 – open
Sept. 27 – Vanderbilt
Oct. 4 – South Carolina
Oct. 11 – ULM
Oct. 18 – at LSU
Oct. 25 – Mississippi State
Nov. 1 – at Missouri
Nov. 8 – Georgia
Nov. 15 – at Tennessee
Nov. 22 – open
Nov. 29 – at Louisville
