Jul 17, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops talks to the media during the SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

ESPN predicts the winner between Kentucky and Toledo

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 10:38 AM ET

The start of the 2025 football season is coming up next Saturday for the Kentucky Wildcats as Mark Stoops's team prepares to take on the Toledo Rockets. This is a Toledo team that beat the doors off of Mississippi State in Starkville last season, and the Rockets are returning a lot of talent.

A lot of college football experts have Kentucky on upset alert in this football game, which is a big reason why the Wildcats are only a 7.5-point favorite in this game.

Despite all of the talk about the Wildcats being on upset alert, ESPN seems to like the Wildcats because their matchup predict or gives Kentucky an 81.9% chance to win this football game.

The big concern for this Kentucky football team right now has to be the quarterback position, and this is because a decision has not been made yet. Many believed Zach Calzada was going to be the starter, but now Cutter Boley is making a late push ahead of the season.

More than likely, Coach Stoops will make a decision on his starting quarterback by the start of next week, and most fans are hoping he goes with Boley.

Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Calzada is a one-and-done rental for the Wildcats, as this is his last year of eligibility. Knowing that all of the reports are saying that Boley and Calzada have been competing quite closely, it seems like it would make the most sense to go with the young Kentucky native Boley.

Per usual, the Wildcats are going to have an excellent defense that will make it tough for opponents to score. If Kentucky's offense is able to exceed expectations this season, that would be massive for the Wildcats and would likely lead to Kentucky winning more games than many expect.

Kentucky has an extremely difficult schedule this season, and it is getting started with a tough matchup in the MAC. With the seat warming up for Stoops in Lexington, finding a way to make a bowl game with how tough this schedule is would go a long way.

Kentucky kicks off against Toledo at 12:45 pm ET on Saturday, the 30th at Kriger Field.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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