Kentucky
First Down Kentucky: College Football Teams I'll Never Buy and Can't Quit
Happy Friday, Big Blue Nation! It’s a slow news day in the world of college football, which gives me the opportunity to share some thoughts about a few programs before Talking Season takes over our lives.
Over the next six weeks, you’ll hear analysts make the case for some teams to make a run to the CFB Playoff, while casting others by the wayside as pretenders. For example, Missouri will get plenty of praise following an 11-win season with the easiest schedule in the SEC on the horizon, but I’m not buying back-to-back outstanding years from Eli Drinkwitz, especially after losing his defensive coordinator to LSU.
That brief synopsis provides some analysis. You won’t get much more from me in this post. I’m using all gut and no brain to share why you should, or shouldn’t buy into the hype this talking season.
Never Buy: Miami
Mario Cristobal is recruiting like he did at Oregon and hitting the portal hard. I don’t care. Yes, the ACC is a terrible conference. Racking up wins shouldn’t be too challenging, especially if they can get a big in-state win over Florida out of the gate. But the problem with The U is not getting a big win or two, it’s sustaining success. Consistency evades that place like a vegan and a barbeque. Don’t believe the hype.
Can’t Quit: Iowa Unders
Just because Brian Ferentz has left the building, doesn’t mean the Hawkeyes will quit punting to win. Brian’s Dad is just as responsible for their offensive woes. Nevertheless, they’re still going to punt and win a bunch of games this fall.
Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. New members can try 1 month for $1.
Never Buy: Notre Dame
Notre Dame gets judged on different criteria because of they aren’t affiliated with a conference, yet they still get many of the same perks. The Fighting Irish may be good enough to get into the CFB Playoff, but like so many other times over the last 15 years, that doesn’t mean they’re good enough to actually win any games in the postseason.
Can’t Quit: Alabama
I don’t care if Nick Saban is gone, that successful stink isn’t wearing off anytime soon. Kalen DeBoer wins everywhere he goes and he’s got a Heisman Trophy contender under center. Sure, Jalen Milroe has his faults, but his ceiling is good enough to win plenty of big games in Tuscaloosa. Alabama will no longer be the rolling ball of butcher knives that suffocates the rest of the sport, but you will not find me betting on the Empire to collapse overnight.
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Never Buy: Nebraska
This one is a bit touchier subject. I actually got a feeling Matt Rhule will make a significant step forward in year two at Nebraska. The schedule isn’t too daunting this fall. They could be 7-0 when they travel to Columbus to play Ohio State. I’ll probably play with fire and lose money betting on early-season success.
The problem is that even if Nebraska is an eight or nine-win team, their fans still believe they’re one of the biggest brands in the sport. They might be a big brand, but they aren’t a team that’s going to dictate who wins the National Championship.
Can’t Quit: Utah (and Cam Rising)
Trusting teams to succeed in the first year of a new conference is a fool’s errand, one I will happily complete. Why do I trust that Kyle Whittingham moving conferences? Because he’s done it before. The Utes won eight games in their first year in the Pac-12, and that was after moving up from the Mountain West. The Big 12 should be more palatable this fall than last season’s Pac-12.
Utah is making the move with Cam Rising under center, a quarterback who is playing in his seventh college football season. That’s more than enough experience for the Utes to navigate their way to the CFB Playoff.
Never Buy: Texas
Remember when Sam Ehlinger said Texas was back? That was five seasons ago. They’ve been back approximately 72 times since and had to completely start from scratch with a new coach. Sark has this ship well-equipped to bring Texas back, but now they gotta be “back” in the SEC. We sure they’re ready for that? I’m not buying Longhorn stonks in advance.
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GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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