Mark Stoops, resurgent Kentucky deserve credit for 2025 turnaround

It’d be understandable if you wrote off Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats after a 2-5 start to 2025 that had the markings of an impending dismissal written all over it. 

After revitalizing a consistently mediocre program and bringing two 10-win seasons to Lexington, Stoops and the ‘Cats went 4-8 in 2024 and looked no better through the first seven games of 2025, only beating Toledo and Eastern Washington. 

Kentucky handed South Carolina its only Southeastern Conference win of the season to date and looked lost against the likes of Georgia and Tennessee. 

Kentucky quietly turning things around 

But with respect to Stoops, his team did not quit on themselves or their head coach. Over the last three weeks, Kentucky is 3-0 (2-0 SEC) and on the doorstep of bowl eligibility. 

The Wildcats’ first SEC win of the season – a 10-3 road win over Auburn – certainly wasn’t pretty, but it got Kentucky on the board. The next week, Kentucky rolled over Florida 38-7 before beating a previously undefeated FCS squad in Tennessee Tech 42-10 on Saturday. 

Make no mistake: Kentucky hasn’t played the most vaunted teams in America over the past three weeks. But the Wildcats haven’t stopped fighting and have proven that they can band together and win games. 

Remaining on the schedule is a road trip to Nashville to take on No. 14 Vanderbilt (8-2) which will still be playing for a College Football Playoff berth. But the Commodores are far from invincible, as losses to Alabama and Texas and an escape over Auburn have shown. 

A road trip to an in-state rival in No. 20 Louisville is another great opportunity for Kentucky, regardless of whether or not they take down Vanderbilt. The Cardinals are no longer fighting for a CFP bid after a stunning loss to Clemson on Friday, and in a rivalry game, anything can happen. 

Regardless of how the final two games of 2025 play out, Kentucky is still in the fight and has done a nice job of bouncing back after a start to the season that could only be described as less than inspiring.