Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Southern Miss
Info to Know
| Kentucky vs. Southern Miss | When: Sat., Aug. 31, 7:45 p.m. ET | Where: Kroger Field, Lexington, Ky. | TV: SEC Network | Radio: UK Sports Network |
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Preview
Kentucky kicks off the 2024 season against Southern Miss on Saturday at Kroger Field. The game is scheduled for a 7:45 kickoff and can be seen on the SEC Network. Kentucky finished last season at 7-6, while Southern Miss was 3-9 in 2023.
Kentucky and Southern Miss have met four times, with UK claiming victory on three occasions. The last meeting between the teams was the 2017 season opener, when the Cats beat the Golden Eagles 24-17 in Hattiesburg behind a pair of touchdown carries from Benny Snell.
Cat Scratches: Kentucky Defense Focused on Southern Miss
Fall camp has come to an end and it’s game week for the Kentucky football team. The Cats open the 2024 season on Saturday night against Southern Miss at Kroger Field (7:45 ET, SEC Network).
The Cats admit that they are tired of hitting each other and are ready to face an opponent. That fact alone gives UK defensive coordinator a level of comfort as the opener approaches. He knows that his unit is focused on their week one foe.
“There’s plenty of recent occurrences where if we don’t play well, you’re in a dogfight for four quarters and sometimes you’re on the wrong end or close to the wrong end,” White said. “Our guys understand that, I’ve got no worries about them (having) a letdown or looking ahead or any of that. Their sole focus has been Southern Miss. They dove hard into it, we tried to do a really deep dive.”
Season openers, especially in the era of the transfer portal, are always hard for coaches. Evaluating talent that previously played at other schools and figuring out how they fit into their new teams is exhausting. White knows this, but he wants his unit to focus on what they do and to follow the game plan…Read More
Kentucky vs. Southern Miss
• Kentucky leads Southern Miss, 3-1, including 2-1 in Lexington, in a series that began in 1949.
• The Wildcats last faced the Golden Eagles in the season opener in 2017, earning a 24-17 triumph in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
• In the meeting, Benny Snell Jr. rushed for 67 yards and two scores, tight end C.J. Conrad caught three balls for 97 yards and a score and current NFL star Josh Allen had 2.0 TFL, a sack and a forced fumble.
A Kentucky Win Would …
• Extend head coach Mark Stoops’ all-time school records for overall wins (64) and home wins (45).
• Improve his season-opener record to 8-3.
• Give UK 17 straight regular season non-conference wins and 15 straight regular season nonconference home wins
Nonconference Competition
• Kentucky has won 19 of its last 21 nonconference games.
• That stretch featured 16 straight nonconference wins, which was the longest active streak in FBS at the time, including four straight bowl wins. The streak began in the season opener on Sept. 1, 2018 and ended in the Music City Bowl game on Dec. 31, 2022.
• The Wildcats have won their last 16 straight nonconference games in the regular season.
• That streak is second in the nation behind Georgia (24).
• UK has won 14 straight nonconference games at Kroger Field, dating back to the start of 2018.
By the Numbers
3
Quarterbacks that UK center Eli Cox has played with during his time as a starter at UK (Will Levis, Devin Leary and, on Saturday, Brock Vandagriff)
5
Career interceptions for both Maxwell Hairston and Jordan Lovett, the most for any player on the current UK roster
10
Interception returns for a touchdown for Kentucky since 2020, tied for the most in the Football Bowl Subdivision over that span
16.5
Career sacks for UK outside linebacker J.J. Weaver
93
Career receptions for UK wide receiver Dane Key, who is entering his junior season
