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2026 Kentucky

6–⁠1 (4–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Will Stein. The season’s Wikipedia article records 5–⁠1, over six games to the seven on file here.

Schedule and results

Kentucky in 2026, game by game: won vs. Youngstown State 45–13; lost vs. No. 12 Alabama 17–45; won at No. 9 Texas A&M 31–21; won vs. South Alabama 45–21; won at South Carolina 35–34; won vs. No. 10 LSU 35–34; won at Oklahoma 21–13+32−28Won 45–13 vs. Youngstown State+32Youngstown StateLost 17–45 vs. No. 12 Alabama-28No. 12 AlabamaWon 31–21 at No. 9 Texas A&M+10No. 9 Texas A&MWon 45–21 vs. South Alabama+24South AlabamaWon 35–34 at South Carolina+1South CarolinaWon 35–34 vs. No. 10 LSU+1No. 10 LSUWon 21–13 at Oklahoma+8Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsYoungstown StateW 45–⁠1375%
Sep 12vs12AlabamaL 17–⁠4537%
Sep 19at9Texas A&MW 31–⁠2122%
Sep 26vsSouth AlabamaW 45–⁠2164%
Oct 3atSouth CarolinaW 35–⁠3449%
Oct 10vs10LSUW 35–⁠3448%
Oct 17atOklahomaW 21–⁠1335%
Oct 24vsVanderbiltPreview67%
Nov 7atTennesseePreview32%
Nov 14vsFloridaPreview64%
Nov 21atMissouriPreview38%
Nov 28vsLouisvillePreview54%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 24
  2. Wk 7: 15
Record
6–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP now
No. 15 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 15
Points
229–⁠181
Coach
Will Stein
Elo
1600 +101 this season
SP+ rating
8.0 No. 46 of 138; offense No. 31, defense No. 60, special teams No. 88
SRS
15.9 No. 17 of 138 in FBS
Returning
19% of last season’s EPA, No. 101 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 60 roster talent No. 23 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Sloan
Defensive coordinator
Jay Bateman
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense54th of 138
  • Defense37th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1446%1.1254th of 138
Defense0.0344%1.1737th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.03 def		48% off
42% def		—42nd off
23rd def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense49%6.4 yds10%3.3015%
Defense47%8.5 yds11%3.0016%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.1own 3113% allowed
Defense3.6own 2818% caused

CORE rating 10.3, 27th of 138 (offense 3.1, defense -7.2).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsKenny Minchey QB1,552 yds
Passing touchdownsKenny Minchey QB13 TD
Rushing yardsC.J. Baxter Jr. RB484 yds
Rushing touchdownsC.J. Baxter Jr. RB8 TD
Receiving yardsKenny Darby WR436 yds
Receiving touchdownsHenry Boyer TE3 TD
TacklesGrant Godfrey LB67 tkl
SacksMi’Quise Grace DL4 sacks
InterceptionsJordan Castell DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Kenny Darby WR★★★★No. 218
Matt Ponatoski QB★★★★No. 219
Andre Clarke Jr. CB★★★★No. 249
Lincoln Watkins TE★★★No. 634
Isaiah McMillian CB★★★No. 634

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.920
Running backs23.00.851
Receivers53.20.884
Offensive line33.00.843
Defensive line23.00.883
Defensive backs33.30.886
Athletes and specialists13.00.848
Whole class173.20.873

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 111

The 2026 roster

111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 31

The 2026 portal
Coleton Price OL★★★★from Baylor
Lance Heard OT★★★★from Tennessee
Tegra Tshabola OL★★★★from Ohio State
Kenny Minchey QB★★★★from Notre Dame
Elijah Barnes LB★★★★from Texas
C.J. Baxter Jr. RB★★★from Texas
Nic Anderson WR★★★from LSU
Jamarrion Harkless DL★★★from Purdue
Jordan Castell S★★★from Florida
Tavion Wallace LB★★★from Arkansas
Aaron Gates S★★★from Florida
Antonio O’Berry DE★★★from Gardner-Webb

And 19 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 27

Dante Dowdell RB★★★★to Georgia
Cutter Boley QB★★★to Arizona State
Cameron Miller WR★★★to Ole Miss
Darrin Strey OT★★★to LSU
Austin Ramsey DL★★★to Kansas State
Cam Dooley S★★★to Florida
D.J. Waller Jr. CB★★★to Louisville
Evan Wibberley OL★★★to Louisville
Hardley Gilmore IV WR★★★to Baylor
Jacob Smith DE★★★to Louisville
Javeon Campbell DE★★★to Alabama A&M
Jerod Smith II DL★★★to Louisville

And 15 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Kentucky4–⁠16–⁠1
Georgia4–⁠16–⁠1
Tennessee3–⁠16–⁠1
Ole Miss3–⁠15–⁠1
Florida3–⁠25–⁠2
Alabama3–⁠25–⁠2
LSU2–⁠25–⁠2
Missouri2–⁠25–⁠2
Mississippi State2–⁠24–⁠2
Auburn2–⁠24–⁠2
Texas1–⁠24–⁠2
Oklahoma1–⁠23–⁠3
Texas A&M1–⁠34–⁠3
South Carolina1–⁠33–⁠3
Arkansas1–⁠33–⁠4
Vanderbilt0–⁠43–⁠4

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.