Kentucky
Kentucky opens against Southern Miss, seeking fourth series victory in five meetings
Southern Miss at Kentucky, Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET (SEC)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Kentucky by 28.
Series record: Kentucky leads 3-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Southern Miss looks to bounce back from its second 3-9 finish in three seasons. The Golden Eagles also aim to break an eight-game skid against SEC teams, with its most recent win coming at Kentucky in 2016. The host Wildcats seek a strong start before a two-game conference stretch that includes No. 1 Georgia on Sept. 14.
KEY MATCHUP
Kentucky ranked 98th in FBS offense last season (339.5 yards per game) and looks to move up in many categories under new coordinator Bush Hamdan, who led a top-30 unit at Boise State in 2023. The Wildcats also break in a new quarterback in Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, who backed up Stetson Bennett and Carson Beck the past three seasons. Southern Miss’ defense looks to improve after yielding nearly 421 yards per game in 2023 (109th of 130 FBS teams). Third-down defense was the Golden Eagles’ upside as opponents converted just 38% of opportunities.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southern Miss linebacker Dylan Lawrence made a team-high 78 tackles last season and will again be counted on to set the tone for a defense seeking overall improvement. He had just one of the Golden Eagles’ 25 sacks but was key to their third-down defense and 17 takeaways. Lawrence is among 25 graduates on the roster.
Kentucky junior defensive lineman Deone Walker and linebacker J.J. Weaver each had at least seven sacks last season and anchor one of the Wildcats’ deepest units under Mark Stoops. Walker has been projected as a possible first-round NFL draft pick; Weaver is back for a fifth season after passing on the draft last spring.
FACTS & FIGURES
The Golden Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference West Division in a preseason poll of league coaches. … They are 4-16 against the SEC in season openers, earning their last win over Kentucky in 2016. … Wildcats receiver/returner Barion Brown has returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the past two openers. … Stoops begins his 12th season as the SEC’s longest-tenured coach following the January retirement of Nick Saban at Alabama. … The Wildcats received three votes in the preseason AP Top 25.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
Kentucky
Virginia woman arrested 30 years after newborn was found in a Kentucky landfill
More than three decades after a newborn’s remains were discovered in a Kentucky landfill, investigators say advances in forensic science have finally led to an arrest.
Jennifer Cummins of Fairfax County, Virginia, was taken into custody on January 6 in connection with the death of an infant known for decades only as “Baby Jane Doe,” Kentucky State Police announced this week.
The case dates to 1991, when a sanitation worker discovered the remains of a baby girl at the former Richmond Landfill in Madison County, near Eastern Kentucky University.
Despite early investigative efforts, authorities were unable to identify the baby or determine who was responsible, and the case eventually went cold.
Kentucky State Police detectives recently reopened the investigation using modern forensic tools and updated investigative techniques. With assistance from the State Medical Examiner, it was determined that the infant was born alive and healthy before being placed in a dumpster on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University.
The new information ultimately identified Cummins as a person of interest. In late 2025, the case was presented to a Madison County grand jury, which returned an indictment charging Cummins with murder.
“Even after decades of time that has passed, with the collaboration of new technologies, advancements, and persistence, we’ve been able to discover new leads in this case,” said Kentucky State Police Trooper Justin Kearney. “That’s why it’s so important for people to know these cases never go cold to us.”
Authorities have not released details about Cummins’ relationship to the child or the specific circumstances surrounding the infant’s death.
Kentucky State Police say the investigation remains active, and that investigators say they are still seeking the public’s help to resolve some unanswered questions.
Cummins is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center while awaiting extradition to Kentucky.
Kentucky
Kentucky Transfer WR Hardley Gilmore IV Commits to Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Montavin Quisenberry isn’t the only former Kentucky wide receiver to switch out blue for red this offseason.
Hardley Gilmore IV announced Thursday that he has committed to the Louisville football program.
He’s the fifth Wildcat to transfer to the Cardinals in this cycle, following Quisenberry, who committed earlier in the day, cornerback D.J. Waller plus defensive ends Jerod Smith II and Jacob Smith.
Gilmore is also the 11th portal pickup for UofL in the last three days, and their 15th transfer commitment overall in this cycle, beginning to offset 23 portal defections that UofL has seen so far. The 14-day transfer window officially opened up this past Friday, and is the only opportunity for players to enter following the removal of the spring window.
Despite Kentucky’s instability at quarterback this past season, Gilmore put together a productive 2025 campaign. Playing in all 12 games while starting five, the 6-foot-1, 165-pound receiver caught 28 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown. His reception and yardage total was second on the team to Kendrick Law.
The Belle Glade, Fla. native got immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2024. Appearing in seven games, Gilmore was able to haul in six passes for 153 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown vs. Murray State.
While Gilmore has shown high end potential on the field, he comes with some off-the-field baggage from last offseason. Last January after opting to transfer to Nebraska following his true freshman season, he was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly punching someone in the face at a storage facility in Lexington. Then this past April, he was dismissed from the Huskers for unknown reasons, and wound up returning to Kentucky.
“Nothing outside the program, nothing criminal or anything like that,” Huskers head coach Matt Rhule said at the time regarding Gilmore’s dismissal. “Just won’t be with us anymore.”
Gilmore and Quisenberry are the first of likely multiple transfer pieces that Louisville will add to their wide receiver room. Between graduation and the portal, the Cardinals are losing six receivers – including Chris Bell & Caullin Lacy.
In their third season under head coach Jeff Brohm, Louisville went 9-4 overall, including a 4-4 mark in ACC play and a 27-22 win over Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Cardinals have won at least nine games in all three seasons under Brohm, doing so for the first time since 2012-14.
More Cardinals Stories
(Photo of Hardley Gilmore IV: Jordan Prather – Imagn Images)
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Kentucky
Spotted lanternfly confirmed in 8 new Kentucky counties. About invasive insect
Spotted lanternflies congregate on grapevines
This undated video provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture shows adult spotted lanternflies on grapevines in Berks County.
PROVIDED BY PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, PROVIDED BY PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Entomologists have confirmed spotted lanternflies in eight more counties in Kentucky during 2025, according to a recent announcement.
These include Fayette, Franklin, Harrison, Pendleton, Robertson, Scott, Trimble and Woodford. The invasive insect was first found in the commonwealth in October 2023, in Gallatin County, and spread to counties including Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Grant, Henry, Kenton and Owen in 2024.
Here’s what to know.
What is a spotted lanternfly?
In short, the spotted lanternfly is a moth-like bug that’s not supposed to be in the U.S. The bugs tend to be red with black and/or white spots on their wings, according to the Department of Agriculture.
They’re native to China and first showed up in the U.S. in 2014. They’ve mostly been found in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the USDA reports, but they’ve also been found in Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.
One of the things that makes them so risky as an invasive species is that the eggs are thought to travel well, on everything from packages being shipped to moving boxes on U-Hauls.
Why are spotted lanternflies dangerous?
Spotted lanternflies can pose a major threat to the things such as orchards, vineyards and logging facilities. How? They tend to swarm and devour what they land on quickly, causing serious damage.
Their “waste product” — known as “honeydew” — can also attract molds and other bugs that further damage plants.
They pose a threat, according to the USDA, to everything from almonds, apples and hops to maple, oak and pine trees and more.
Is the spotted lanternfly in Kentucky?
Yes. The Kentucky Office of the State Entomologist said in a post to Facebook that the spotted lanternfly was confirmed in eight new commonwealth counties during 2025.
The species has been located in 16 counties total — Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Kenton, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson, Scott, Trimble and Woodford.
What to do about spotted lanternflies
The biggest thing you can do, according to the USDA, to help control the spread of the spotted lanternfly is to keep an eye out for them.
It is recommended that you inspect trees, plants and other surfaces on your property for bugs. It’s best to do that around dusk, the USDA says, because that’s when bugs tend to congregate, making them easier to spot.
Signs that a plant may be infected include the plant oozing, becoming moldy or developing a fermented odor, according to the USDA. You may also see a “buildup of sticky fluid” beneath the infected plant.
The agency also recommends you keep an eye out for egg masses on everything from plants to boxes that hold things such as holiday decorations and often sit unattended for much of the year. If you spot an egg mass, you should scrape it “into a plastic zippered bag filled with hand sanitizer, then zip the bag shut and dispose of it,” according to the USDA.
In Kentucky, you should report sightings to your Department of Forestry regional office or reach the UK at 859-257-7597 or forestry.extension@uky.edu. UK experts also ask that anyone who finds one send a picture with the location to reportapest@uky.edu.
Contributing: Mary Ramsey, The Courier Journal. Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.
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