Paul Finebaum Names SEC Program That's 'Sucked' the Last Two Seasons

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 10:00 PM ET

The 2024 college football season was disappointing for several programs, including the Kentucky Wildcats, who finished with a record of 4-8 under head coach Mark Stoops.

This marked Stoops' worst season at Kentucky since his initial year in 2013. It followed a successful 10-3 record in 2021 and two consecutive 7-6 seasons.

Compounding the challenges, the Wildcats lost a key assistant, associate head coach Vince Marrow, who had been with Stoops since he took over as head coach. Marrow departed Kentucky to become the general manager for the Louisville Cardinals.

On "The Paul Finebaum Show," SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum noted the disappointing 2024 season followed two others of similar results.

"It just comes at perceptively a vulnerable time," Finebaum said. "I'm sure you could spin it the other way, for all of Vince's greatness, the last two years sucked. Mark Stoops does not help himself very much because he can be surly. He can be defensive. By the way, so can I and so can you, probably, but it's not a good look when you do it in some of the circumstances he has done it in."

ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) is a metric used to evaluate team strength and predict future performance throughout the season. This year, the FPI is not optimistic about Kentucky's chances of bouncing back.

The FPI forecasts that Kentucky will win only five games, just one more than last season. A major factor behind this prediction is the team's challenging schedule. Athlon Sports' Kyle Wood ranks Kentucky's schedule as one of the toughest in the conference. Before November, the Wildcats will host the Ole Miss Rebels, Texas Longhorns and Tennessee Volunteers, in addition to playing away games against the South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs.

The second half of the season does not provide much relief either, as Kentucky will face road games against the Auburn Tigers, Vanderbilt Commodores and rival Louisville Cardinals in the season finale. Additionally, the Florida Gators will visit Lexington in November.

Kentucky opens the season against Toledo at 12:45 p.m. ET on Aug. 30.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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