The bar in Lexington was raised under Mark Stoops. Kentucky football fans have lived the joy of two 10-win seasons in the modern era, a pair of Citrus Bowl trophies, and an 8-win improvisational masterclass with a wide receiver playing quarterback.
That’s not ancient history — that’s our standard. And after 2024’s 4–8 stumble snapped an eight-year bowl streak, 2025 is about more than “getting back to a bowl.”
It’s about restoring belief, pride, and the legacy Stoops can leave after taking Kentucky to places it had never been.
Where Kentucky was when Stoops arrived
Rich Brooks reignited the program from 2006–09 with four straight bowls and three consecutive bowl wins (Clemson, Florida State, East Carolina). For a fan base starving for momentum, Brooks’ run mattered—he proved sustained competence at Kentucky was possible.
Then came the slide. Joker Phillips went 13–24 over three seasons (6–7, 5–7, 2–10), missing bowls in 2011 and 2012. By the time Stoops was introduced on Nov. 27, 2012, the program needed a rebuild in nearly every phase.
The climb: Stoops took Kentucky where it had never been
Stoops methodically rebuilt the roster and identity. The payoff:
- 2018: Kentucky broke long-standing barriers, went 10–3, and beat No. 12 Penn State in the Citrus Bowl behind Josh Allen and Benny Snell. It was the program’s first 10-win season since 1977.
- 2019: With Lynn Bowden Jr. at quarterback, Kentucky won 8 games and edged Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl on a last-minute TD—one of the most beloved single-season stories this program has had.
- 2021: Will Levis and Wan’Dale Robinson powered another 10–3 season capped by a Citrus Bowl win over Iowa.
Along the way, Stoops became Kentucky’s all-time wins leader and the SEC’s longest-tenured active head coach—accomplishments that speak to the stability he brought to a place that had too rarely known it.
2024: the setback that reset expectations
Last fall hurt. Kentucky went 4–8 (1–7 SEC) and missed a bowl for the first time since 2015. The season ended with a lopsided loss to Louisville that snapped the Governor’s Cup win streak and underscored how far the offense—and the “Big Blue Wall”—had fallen. Multiple outlets highlighted the sacks allowed and overall offensive regression; it wasn’t one problem, but the line was a recurring culprit.
All that context matters for 2025—because this isn’t a simple “win six, and we’re back” situation.
The new SEC reality
The league changed around us. Texas and Oklahoma are in; divisions are gone; and while 2025 keeps the eight-game conference slate, the SEC has approved a nine-game format starting in 2026, with three protected annual opponents and rotational balance. Translation: schedules stay unforgiving, and resume-building only gets harder.
So what’s on the line for Kentucky this season?
1) Restoring the bond with the fan base
The last decade taught Big Blue Nation to dream bigger. The standard now is competitive, physical, ranked-team-beating Kentucky football. A 4–8 year dents trust; a rebound season repairs it. This year has to feel like Kentucky again—cohesive identity on offense, a nasty front, and home Saturdays that tilt games our way.
2) Reaffirming Stoops’ legacy
Two 10-win seasons, two Citrus Bowl wins, signature road upsets—these are program-defining accomplishments. Another strong year re-centers Stoops’ narrative around the unprecedented heights rather than last season’s valley. Fans can be grateful for the climb and still honest about the standard; both can be true.
3) Competing in the portal/NIL era
Roster churn is the sport now. Kentucky’s path back runs through OL fixes, transfer hits, and reestablishing that physical identity that traveled so well in 2018–21. That’s how you win in an SEC that’s deeper than ever.
4) Reclaiming rivalry equity and big-stage credibility
Last November’s loss to Louisville stung. Flipping that script—and stacking credible SEC wins—rebuilds the national perception that Kentucky is a tough out every week.
Framing 2025: More than a bowl bid
A 6–6 season would technically stop the bleeding, but the mission is bigger: re-establish the arc Stoops built. When this program is right, it:
- Owns the line of scrimmage (think 2018’s finishing power and 2021’s balance),
- Leans into stars without losing the blue-collar edge, and
- Wins November games that change the way the league talks about Kentucky.
That’s the Kentucky fans fell in love with—and the identity that produced the most successful modern run we’ve had.
A grateful but honest bottom line
I’m appreciative of what Mark Stoops has done here. He took Kentucky to heights we hadn’t seen in the modern era and gave this fan base proof that great football is possible in Lexington. But after 2024, what’s on the line isn’t just “Be bowl eligible.” It’s the story we’re writing about Kentucky football in the expanded-SEC era: a program that had a magical window and faded—or one that absorbed a punch, regrouped, and returned to playing the kind of football that made Mark Stoops the longest tenured coach in the conference and the winningest coach in Kentucky football history. You don’t have to win 10 games again, but let’s win some games and play with that blue-collar edge.
The latter is still on the table. Now it’s time to go take it.