2021 Kentucky Wildcats football team

2021 Kentucky Wildcats football
2021 Kentucky Wildcats football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Record	0–0 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Mark Stoops (9th season);
Offensive coordinator	Liam Coen (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Brad White (3rd season)
Home stadium	Kroger Field; (Capacity: 61,000)
	Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 1 Georgia x#^	8	–	0	14	–	1
No. 18 Kentucky*	5	–	3	10	–	3
Tennessee	4	–	4	7	–	6
Missouri	3	–	5	6	–	7
South Carolina	3	–	5	7	–	6
Florida	2	–	6	6	–	7
Vanderbilt	0	–	8	2	–	10
West Division
No. 2 Alabama x$^	7	–	1	13	–	2
No. 11 Ole Miss	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 21 Arkansas	4	–	4	9	–	4
Mississippi State	4	–	4	7	–	6
Texas A&M	4	–	4	8	–	4
Auburn	3	–	5	6	–	7
LSU	3	–	5	6	–	7
Championship: Alabama 41, Georgia 24
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * – Kentucky vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 Kentucky Wildcats football team represents the University of Kentucky in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats play their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky, and compete in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They are led by ninth-year head coach Mark Stoops.

Previous season

Kentucky finished the season with a record of 5–6 (4–6 in the SEC) and as Gator Bowl champions. Kentucky entered the 2020 season fresh off an 8–4 record and a Belk Bowl championship.

Offseason

Position key

Back	B	Center	C	Cornerback	CB	Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE	Defensive lineman	DL	Defensive tackle	DT	End	E
Fullback	FB	Place Kicker	PK	Guard	G	Halfback	HB	Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR	Offensive tackle	OT	Offensive lineman	OL	Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS	Split end	SE	Punter	P	Punt returner	PR	Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB	Safety	S	Tight end	TE	Wide receiver	WR

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year

SEC media days

The SEC Media Days will be held July 19-22, 2021 at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham - The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (East Division)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Rank	Team	Votes
Media poll (SEC Championship)
1
2
3

Preseason All-SEC teams

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Years at Kentucky
Mark Stoops	Head coach	9th
Vince Marrow	Associate Head Coach/Tight end coach	1st
Liam Coen	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach	1st
Brad White	Defensive coordinator/Outside linebackers coach	4th
Jemal Singleton	Running backs coach	1st
Jon Sumrall	Inside linebackers coach	3rd
Frank Buffano	Safeties coach	2nd
Eric Wolford	Offensive line coach	1st
Jovon Bouknight	Wide receivers coach	2nd
Anwar Stewart	Defensive line coach	2nd
Mark Hill	Strength and conditioning	6th
Reference:

Schedule

Spring game

The Wildcats are scheduled to hold spring practices in March and April 2021 with the Kentucky football spring game to take place in Lexington, KY in April 2021.

Regular season

The 2021 Wildcats' schedule consists of seven home games and five away games for the regular season. Kentucky will host four SEC conference opponents Florida, LSU, Missouri, and rival Tennessee. Kentucky will travel to four SEC conference opponents Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. Kentucky is not scheduled to play SEC West opponents Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M in the 2021 regular season. The Wildcats bye week comes during week 8 (in October 23, 2021).^[1]

Kentucky's out of conference opponents represent the ACC, Independents, Southern, and Sun Belt conferences. The Wildcats will host three non-conference games which are against Chattanooga from the SoCon, Louisiana-Monroe from the Sun Belt , and New Mexico State from the FBS Independents. The Wildcats will travel to Louisville, KY to face in-state rival Louisville for Governor's Cup to close out the season.

Date	Opponent	Site
September 4	Louisiana–Monroe*	Kroger Field Lexington, KY
September 11	Missouri	Kroger Field Lexington, KY
September 18	Chattanooga*	Kroger Field Lexington, KY
September 25	at South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC
October 2	Florida	Kroger Field Lexington, KY
October 9	LSU	Kroger Field Lexington, KY
October 16	at Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA
October 30	at Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS
November 6	Tennessee	Kroger Field Lexington, KY
November 13	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN
November 20	New Mexico State*	Kroger Field Lexington, KY
November 27	at Louisville*	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (Governor's Cup)
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 3) released prior to game

Game summaries

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks

	1	2	3	4	Total
Louisiana-Monroe	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Date: September 4
Location: Lexington, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	ULM	Kentucky
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
ULM	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Missouri Tigers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Missouri	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Date: September 11
Location: Lexington, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Missouri	Kentucky
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Missouri	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Chattanooga Mocs

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chattanooga	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Date: September 18
Location: Lexington, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Chattanooga	Kentucky
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Chattanooga	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at South Carolina Gamecocks

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0
South Carolina	0	0	0	0	0

Date: September 25
Location: Columbia, SC

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Kentucky	South Carolina
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
South Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Florida Gators

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 2
Location: Lexington, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Florida	Kentucky
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

LSU Tigers

	1	2	3	4	Total
LSU	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 9
Location: Lexington, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	LSU	Kentucky
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
LSU	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Georgia Bulldogs

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0
Georgia	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 16
Location: Athens, GA

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Kentucky	Georgia
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Georgia	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Mississippi State Bulldogs

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 30
Location: Starkville, MS

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Kentucky	Mississippi State
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Mississippi State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Tennessee Volunteers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 6
Location: Lexington, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Tennessee	Kentucky
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Vanderbilt Commodores

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0
Vanderbilt	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 13
Location: Nashville, TN

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Kentucky	Vanderbilt
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Vanderbilt	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

New Mexico State Aggies

	1	2	3	4	Total
New Mexico State	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 20
Location: Lexington, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	New Mexico St	Kentucky
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
New Mexico St	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Louisville Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0
Louisville	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 27
Location: Louisville, KY

Sources:

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Kentucky	Louisville
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Louisville	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Rankings

Ranking movements
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP
Coaches
CFP	Not released															Not released

Statistics

Scoring

Scores by quarter (non-conference opponents)

	1	2	3	4	Total
All opponents	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Scores by quarter (SEC opponents)

	1	2	3	4	Total
SEC opponents	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Scores by quarter (All opponents)

	1	2	3	4	Total
All opponents	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0

Media affiliates

Radio

WHAS (AM) (News Radio 840 WHAS), WBUL-FM – Nationwide (Dish Network, Sirius XM, TuneIn radio and iHeartRadio)

TV

CBS Family - WKYT (CBS), CBS Sports Network
ESPN/ABC Family - WTVQ (ABC), ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, SEC Network)
FOX Family - WDKY (FOX), FOX/FS1, FSN
NBC - WLEX, NBC Sports, NBCSN

References

^ "Seven Home Games Highlight Kentucky Football 2021 Schedule". UK Athletics. UK Athletics. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

[1] "Seven Home Games Highlight Kentucky Football 2021 Schedule". UK Athletics. UK Athletics. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

[1]

v t e Kentucky Wildcats football
Venues	Stoll Field/McLean Stadium (1916–1972) Kroger Field (1973–present) E.J. Nutter Training Facility (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Centre Florida Indiana Louisville: Governor's Cup Tennessee Transylvania: Battle On Broadway Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Marching band Bluegrass Miracle 2003 Arkansas game Big Blue Nation
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks
Seasons	1881 1882–1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold