Hello friends. It’s been a chilly, rainy day, and I spent a good chunk of it sitting in a lobby at the DMV. It’s not how I envisioned my Thursday unfolding, but that’s kinda been the case for the Kentucky football team in 2024. Once you start thinking things will go one way, boom, course correction.

The unexpected has been the one consistent for the Wildcats this fall, but that shouldn’t be the case when Kentucky hosts a not-so-good Murray State team on Saturday.

Numbers Crunch Begins

During Wednesday’s SEC Teleconference, Mark Stoops said that shrinking the number of scholarship players to 85 would be a challenge, “and that’s a severe understatement.” Instead of expanding to 105 players this summer, the SEC is keeping it at 85. The math isn’t mathing right away, so there’s going to be a numbers crunch.

What exactly does that mean? Fewer players in the high school recruiting class, more players leaving via the portal, and fewer incoming players via the portal.

The first domino fell on Wednesday night when WR/CB Ja’Kayden Ferguson announced his recruitment is 100% open and he’s no longer committed to Kentucky. It was amusing that his most recent Tweet was a few days prior in a Kentucky uniform, but it makes sense. Not only is he watching the Kentucky offense struggle from afar in Texas, but 21 players in a high school class is a lot for a program that will need help right away, not 2-3 years down the road.

There will probably be a few more decommits in the 2025 Kentucky football recruiting class. Don’t necessarily take that as an indictment on the trajectory of the program. “This team stinks. Who would want to play there?” To hit the portal hard, Kentucky has to have enough room on its roster.

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Kentucky Not the Only One Dealing with Quarterback Injuries

Brock Vandagriff needed a bye week to recover from a head injury. Fortunately, things are trending in the right direction for the Kentucky starting quarterback to take the first snaps for the Cats this Saturday against Murray State. The Wildcats’ SEC counterparts aren’t quite so lucky.

Missouri — Brady Cook is doubtful, putting Drew Pyne in jeopardy of facing the buzzsaw that is the South Carolina pass rush. The Gamecocks are 14-point favorites at home.

Florida — The Gators need to win two of their last three (LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State) to reach the postseason. It’s going to be hard to do if DJ Lagway can’t play. Listed as questionable on the availability report, if he’s able to play, his mobility will surely be limited by the hamstring injury he suffered against Georgia.

Tennessee — Tennessee needs a win at Georgia to keep its CFB Playoff hopes alive. They might have to do it without Nico Iamaleava, who suffered a head injury last week against Mississippi State. There’s been plenty of mixed messaging on his status, but as 10.5-point dogs, Vegas doesn’t believe in the Vols that much regardless.

Auburn — The Tigers shouldn’t have too much trouble against ULM, but you never know with Hugh Freeze. That’s why it’s significant that the Auburn head coach expressed concern about Payton Thorne‘s shoulder injury earlier this week.

We discussed all of these QB injuries and much more in this week’s college football preview.

Cool Gesture by the Lions to Za’Darius Smith

One of the biggest moves at the NFL trade deadline involved a former Kentucky Wildcat. Following Aidan Hutchinson’s injury, the Lions desperately needed to add to its pass rush and they found it by bringing Za’Darius Smith to Detroit. The Lions did not activate Big Z right away. Despite initial pushback from Smith, Dan Campbell insisted that Za’Darius got some much-needed R&R and peace of mind.

“He wanted me to take a week off because it was a bye, I haven’t had one,” Smith said. “And then, I actually stayed in Florida. You know we had the hurricane in Florida. I wasn’t able to get home. He told me he’d give me two days, and I actually went home and checked on the house. So that’s love from coach, man.”