Kentucky Football's schedule was dubbed as one of the five most difficult in all of college football last month. Will Stein will be in up to waist against SEC competition in his first season, and the newly-released College Football Preseason Coaches Poll only makes things look all the more outrageous for Stein and Kentucky.
After the poll released (predictably missing Kentucky... for now), Dylan Ballard was quick to point out that Kentucky will play six of the 25 teams in nation this year. Of the ranked slate, the Cats will face off against No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 11 Alabama, No. 13 LSU, No. 18 Tennessee, and No. 25 Missouri.
Ballard also noted that Kentucky's ranked gauntlet doesn't even include Louisville, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, or Florida. Three of those are conference opponents that are sure to give a first-year Kentucky regime everything they can handle, and the lone outlier is Kentucky's most bitter rival.
One year removed from barely skirting by Toldeo in their home opener, Kentucky Football will play perhaps their hardest schedule this side of 2020. Beyond Youngstown State and South Alabama, it'll be all gas and no brakes for Will Stein.
The coaches’ poll is released, and Kentucky will play 6 of the top 25 teams this season.
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) August 4, 2026
Not including Louisville, South Carolina, Vandy, and Florida. https://t.co/tCbUqUmIFV
If Kentucky wants a remote fighting chance in the SEC, they'll have to win the winnable games as well as find a signature upset win somewhere along the way.
Kentucky Will Have to Overachieve to Compete This Season
Nobody is expecting Coach Stein to come up with eight or more wins this fall; at least, nobody who is concerned with giving the Cats coach a fighting chance in his new role.
However, Mark Stoops was fired on the tail-end of a five-win season. Did his season-ending shutout loss to the aforementioned Cardinals have something to do with his departure? No doubt, but had the Wildcats been in position to make a bowl, we could be having a different conversation right now.
Instead, looking down the line at one of college football's most challenging slates, Kentucky will likely have to put up to hit even the mark that saw Stoops get let go at the end of last season. If Stein manages to pull a big win (or two, or four) off, it'll almost certainly come at Kroger Field.
Kroger Field is Kentucky's Secret Weapon
Even at the end of Stoops' tenure, he was taking Ole Miss and Texas down to the wire in Lexington. You simply can't understate how vital the home crowd is for Kentucky Football, and Stein's first season behind the wheel should put a particular emphasis on this benefit.
Alabama, LSU, and Louisville will all play under the blue and white lights this season. It's unlikely that Kentucky will be favored in any of those contests, but that's the nature of overachieving.
I've already gone on the record predicting the LSU game as Kentucky's breakout moment this year, but any underdog win at home would do the trick. Get on the board in a way that nobody expects, and maybe Stein can find a way to snag an unexpected bowl game out of the gates from there.
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