Kentucky Football predictions for the 2026 season
· Yahoo Sports
After Mark Stoops spent 13 seasons leading Kentucky Football to a ton of wins, the program has a fresh face and is ready to tackle a new era.
Will Stein, a Kentuckian regarded as one of college football’s best offensive minds, was named the head coach of Kentucky on December 1, 2025.
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Now, on September 5, 2026, the kickoff of the Will Stein era will officially be underway!
Here is how I believe the Wildcats’ 12-game schedule will play out.
GAME 1: YOUNGSTOWN STATE- Saturday, Sept. 5 | 1 p.m. ET | Kroger Field
Youngstown State will be bringing in one of the best players in all of FCS football in quarterback Beau Brungard. He comes off a season in which he won the Walter Payton Award and threw for 3,230 yards and 26 touchdowns, and added 1,486 yards and 27 touchdowns on the ground for the Penguins in 2025.
I believe Will Stein’s first game as a head coach will go well, though. I think Big Blue Nation gets to see a glimpse of what Stein and his offense will bring to Kentucky, a big-time change from the Stoops era.
Prediction: Kentucky 45, Youngstown State 14 — Kentucky W
GAME 2: ALABAMA- Saturday, Sept. 12 | 3:30 p.m. ET | Kroger Field
There aren’t many brands in all of sports bigger than Alabama football, and even though Nick Saban isn’t on the sidelines anymore, the logo still holds a ton of weight. Kalen DeBoer comes into this season with a young first-year starting quarterback in Keelon Russell.
The Crimson Tide will come to town for each team’s second game of the year, looking to leave Lexington with another victory. Kentucky hasn’t been able to knock off Alabama in a game since 1997, when the Wildcats won an overtime game 40-34 in Lexington.
As for this year, I think Kentucky comes up just short. Alabama still has those weapons that it has always had. They bring back some veteran defensive pieces, and I still believe DeBoer is a great football coach and will leave with a victory.
Prediction: Alabama 27, Kentucky 20 — Kentucky L
GAME 3: TEXAS A&M- Saturday, Sept. 19 | 3:30 p.m. ET | Kyle Field — College Station, Texas
Following Alabama, the schedule doesn’t drop off at all. Next week, Kentucky will head to Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, to face off against the Aggies of Texas A&M. Many members of Big Blue Nation, including myself, still have a horrible memory of Texas A&M handing the 2018 Kentucky squad its first loss, in overtime, after a 5-0 start.
Texas A&M made the College Football Playoff last season and has hopes of getting back to that point and even further. The Aggies bring back their starting QB Marcel Reed and many other skill positions around him, and I think it’s too much for Kentucky to handle.
Prediction: Texas A&M 30, Kentucky 16 — Kentucky L
GAME 4: SOUTH ALABAMA- Saturday, Sept. 26 | 12:45 p.m. ET | Kroger Field
After as hard a two-game stretch as imaginable for Kentucky, the Wildcats come back home with an opportunity to get right. South Alabama comes to Lexington and delivers somewhat of a reset game for Will Stein and his squad.
I think Kentucky rolls in this one and gets back to .500 on the season.
Prediction: Kentucky 41, South Alabama 17 — Kentucky W
GAME 5: SOUTH CAROLINA- Saturday, Oct. 3 | Williams-Brice Stadium | Time TBD
Kentucky will face off with a familiar foe in Shane Beamer, in an odd circumstance where Kentucky travels to South Carolina back-to-back years. The Wildcats got handled in 2025, 35-13, so hopefully it’s a much different outcome this year.
Unfortunately, I think Kentucky drops this game. The Beamer years at South Carolina have been up and down, and after last year’s down year, I think the Gamecocks will have a great year in 2026.
Prediction: South Carolina 30, Kentucky 24 — Kentucky L
GAME 6: LSU- Saturday, Oct. 10 | Kroger Field | Time TBD
The talk of the town in college football this offseason has been Lane Kiffin and his shocking move to take the LSU job while Ole Miss was still in the College Football Playoff. Now, Lane Kiffin went out and assembled an elite transfer portal class and retained some of the best players from the previous Tigers’ roster, like Whit Weeks and Trey’Dez Green.
Also, a fun storyline in this game is the recruiting battle for the prized transfer-portal QB, Sam Leavitt. He ended up at LSU, but Kentucky was in the mix for quite some time. Kentucky also pursued the Tigers’ third-string quarterback, Landen Clark, to be Kentucky’s backup before he chose LSU. Joe Sloan, who spent four years in Baton Rouge as a QB coach and then offensive coordinator.
I think LSU’s talent overwhelms Kentucky in this one, and even though it’s in Lexington, I think the Tigers run away with this one.
Prediction: LSU 45, Kentucky 24 — Kentucky L
GAME 7: OKLAHOMA- Saturday, Oct. 17 | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | Time TBD
It just isn’t going to get any easier for Will Stein and Kentucky with the schedule the Wildcats were dealt. The first time Kentucky faces Oklahoma since the Sooners joined the SEC will be without Stoops on Kentucky’s sideline, which would’ve made for a fun storyline with his brother having quite the career in Norman.
This will be a homecoming for Jovantae Barnes, one of Kentucky’s running backs, who transferred to Kentucky this offseason to play for Stein and company after four years in Norman. It will also be a return to the place where it all started for Nic Anderson, who played their three years as a Sooner before making a stop at LSU, where he battled injuries prior to coming to Lexington.
This time around, the team that Kentucky knocked off in the 1951 Sugar Bowl gets to claim victory in this one, adding to their win total against the Wildcats. The two teams have only played three times in each other’s history, but that will certainly change now that they are in the same league.
Prediction: Oklahoma 31, Kentucky 13 — Kentucky L
GAME 8: VANDERBILT- Saturday, Oct. 24 | Kroger Field | Time TBD
Coming back home to Kentucky, the Wildcats will host the Vanderbilt Commodores with the hopes of getting back on the winning side of things. Vanderbilt will be without Diego Pavia for the first time in 20 years; it feels like. The man calling the shots now will be Blaze Berlowitz, a New Mexico State transfer like Pavia. Berlowitz was named the starter over freshman five-star Jared Curtis.
I think this game becomes a feel-good win for Kentucky, and at a time of desperation. After racking up three straight losses, the Wildcats get the winning feeling again.
Prediction: Kentucky 30, Vanderbilt 17 — Kentucky W
BYE WEEK- Saturday, Oct. 31
- Saturday, Nov. 7 | Neyland Stadium | Time TBD
Kentucky will travel to Knoxville to play one of its biggest rivals on the first Saturday of November. Will Stein and Cutter Leftwich were able to land Lance Heard, one of the best offensive linemen in the transfer portal this offseason, who played two seasons with the Vols in 2024 and 2025. It’s no secret that Tennessee has had Kentucky’s number in recent years, but that was under the last regime.
The question is now: Can the new staff flip what history tells us about the rivalry? My answer to that is yes, but not yet. Neyland Stadium is such a difficult environment, and it will be a super tough test for Kentucky late in the season.
Prediction: Tennessee 34, Kentucky 27 — Kentucky L
GAME 10: FLORIDA- Saturday, Nov. 14 | Kroger Field | Time TBD
This game will make many headlines, on top of it already being a rivalry built over years and years of facing off. Jon Sumrall, former Kentucky football player and coach, will return to Lexington for the first time since 2021. He will also bring former Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White as the Gators’ DC.
I think Kentucky snags the win in an emotional game for Kentucky fans, who wanted Brad White to be the man to get the job when Stoops’ run ended. Will Stein gets a win that will carry a lot of weight for Kentucky fans in mid-November against Florida.
Prediction: Kentucky 31, Florida 27 — Kentucky W
GAME 11: MISSOURI- Saturday, Nov. 21 | Faurot Field | Time TBD
Kentucky lost its last game to Missouri in 2023 in heartbreaking fashion, after the Tigers faked a punt and flipped the game on its head. Now, three years later, Missouri comes in with a very solid roster and a program that Eli Drinkwitz has built to national prominence, and Kentucky is starting a new era under Will Stein.
This year, I believe Missouri will be pretty solid all over. The Tigers’ elite running back from last season, Ahmad Hardy, went through a brutal offseason injury that is sidelining him for the start of the 2026 season, but he expects to be back for most of the season.
Outside of Hardy, they have other solid running backs and will be led by Ole Miss transfer quarterback Austin Simmons. I think Missouri steals a win at home against Kentucky in this one, unfortunately.
Prediction: Missouri 37, Kentucky 28 — Kentucky L
GAME 12: LOUISVILLE- Saturday, Nov. 28 | Kroger Field | Time TBD
This game will have a ton of emotions for Will Stein. He grew up in Louisville, attended Trinity High School, played for Louisville, and coached at Louisville. Even though Stein grew up a Kentucky fan, much of his football life has been spent in Louisville, so seeing that logo may shake things up internally.
I think he will understand the importance of the game and will use those emotions for good. Kentucky gets back on track and ends the season with a win in the Governor’s Cup in an exciting game.
Prediction: Kentucky 38, Louisville 31 — Kentucky W
2026 FINAL PREDICTION: 5-7 (2-7 SEC)I have Kentucky just barely missing a bowl game, but going over on the win total set by FanDuel Sportsbook at 4.5. I think this is just the beginning, and Kentucky competes in a ton of these contests in year one, and that results in winning them in year two. I am super optimistic and excited about the Will Stein era, and cannot wait to get the ball rolling against Youngstown State!
Let us know what your prediction is for the 2026 Kentucky Wildcats!