Sep 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (left) and Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops (right) embrace after the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Kentucky's matchup with Ole Miss will make or break the 2025 season

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 7:01 PM ET

Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Kroger Field, and this game will make or break the season for the Wildcats.

Heading into the season, there wasn't a ton of excitement within this Kentucky football program. Some fans are ready to see a change at head coach, and fans just don't seem as excited as we have seen over the last five years.

The Wildcats were able to get the week one win over the Toledo Rockets 24-16, and with an SEC game around the corner, there still doesn't seem to be much excitement. The offense didn't have much of any fireworks in the passing game, and this game against Toledo was somewhat hard to watch.

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If Coach Stoops wants to keep fans engaged and excited for the rest of this season, the Ole Miss game is a must-win. The good news for the Wildcats is that Ole Miss is a team that Kentucky has given trouble over their last few matchups.

The last time these two teams played, Kentucky went into Oxford to take on a top ten Ole Miss team, and the Wildcats won this game 20-17. The Wildcats won this game by making it ugly, and that is exactly what Coach Stoops, and his team will try and do this season.

As sad as it is to say, with how tough the schedule is for the Wildcats, this game is one of the easier games on the schedule, and if they lose this one, their chance of bumping into a bowl game likely falls to zero.

Ole Miss has a quarterback in Austin Simmons who is young but looked really good in the Rebels' week one blowout win. Big Blue Nation needs to pack Kroger Field and find a way to make it hard for him to get into a rhythm.

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Kentucky's pass rush looked exceptional last week against Toledo, and for the Wildcats to get the win over Ole Miss, they will have to put a ton of pressure on Simmons.

Big Blue Nation loves their football team, and if the Wildcats find a way to pick up the win on Saturday, the fan base will be bought back into the rest of the season.

It is safe to say that if Ole Miss blows the doors off of the Wildcats in this game, fans will quickly get excited for basketball season and tune out on football.

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

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