Kentucky vs. Murray State – UK Athletics

Preview

After having last weekend off, Kentucky returns to action this Saturday, hosting intrastate rival Murray State at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 1:30 PM ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus and ESPN Plus.

In its last game, Kentucky battled nationally ranked Tennessee in Knoxville before falling 28-18. UK is now 3-6 on the season.

Murray State enters Saturday’s game 1-9. The Racers lost to Missouri 51-0 in their season opener and are currently on a seven-game losing streak.

Cat Scratches: White Hopes UK Defense Will Take ‘Pride in Performance’

Kentucky has three football games left in the 2024 season and the Cats hope to finish the campaign strong. It starts with a game against Murray State on Saturday at Kroger Field (1:30 ET, SEC Network Plus).

UK defensive coordinator Brad White spoke after Wednesday’s practice, and he discussed the message he communicated to his unit during last week’s opener and during this week’s practice.

“Execution, it’s about execution,” White said. “Football, especially defensively, is about tackling. You have to be a great tackling football team, you have to run around, you have to make an effort. We have to fit our running gap correctly. It is clear that the explosives this year have been far too high, the number of them. We have played well in spurts but we have to play consistently and that starts on Saturday.”

White wants his defense to be proud of how they play this week, and the rest of the season … Read more

Kentucky vs. Murray State

The series

• The two teams have only ever met twice in the all-time series, with Kentucky leading Murray State 2-0.
• Both contests were played in Lexington, as UK defeated MSU, 37-6, in 2003 and again, 48-10, in 2018.

The tapes

• Dean Hood, the Wildcats’ director of player development since January 2024, returned to Lexington after serving four seasons (2020-23) as the football coach at Murray State.
• Prior to MSU, Hood spent three seasons on UK head coach Mark Stoops’ staff as special teams coordinator while also coaching outside linebackers (2017) and defensive backs (2018-19).
• He announced his retirement from coaching on January 1, 2024, ending a coaching career that spanned 37 years.

By the numbers

1
Time this season a UK player has rushed for at least 100 yards in a game (Jamarion Wilcox vs. Tennessee)

9
Kentucky’s defense is ninth in the nation in red zone defense

18
Consecutive regular-season wins for Kentucky against non-conference opponents, second-longest streak in nation (Georgia, 26)

120
Career receptions for UK wide receiver Dane Key. He needs 11 more catches to break into the UK top 10

377
Career points for UK kicker Alex Raynor, who is second in the nation among active players