After a frustrating 30-23 loss to Ole Miss, the Kentucky Wildcats get an opportunity to get things in order as they take on Eastern Michigan in the final game of a three-game home stand to start the season.
Led by 12th-year head coach Chris Creighton, the Eagles were picked to finish in the middle pack in the MAC. However, they have not had the start of the season they hoped for, sitting 0-2 after the first two weeks, coming off a loss to Long Island, an FCS program.
Similar to Kentucky, the Eagles
are dealing with a lot of turnover. On offense, they replaced all of their skill positions, including their leading rusher, starting quarterback, and five of their top six receivers from last year. On defense, that turnover is even worse, as they had to replace their top ten tacklers from a season ago.
While both programs are dealing with early-season growing pains from that turnover, there is a large talent gap in favor of the Wildcats. That is shown in the spread as Kentucky is tabbed as a 23.5-point favorite.
For Kentucky, Saturday’s game is their last opportunity to get things right on the field before a six-game SEC stretch that features five ranked opponents, including four currently in the top 15, and Florida.
Let’s take a look at the matchup.
Quarterback
The biggest storyline going into Saturday’s game is the quarterback position.
Through two games, Zach Calzada has looked far from the part of the quarterback Kentucky believed they were getting as a former SEC starter. Throwing for just 234 yards and completing less than half of his passes (47.2%), Calzada possesses a putrid 29.3 QBR. To make matters worse, he suffered a shoulder injury in the 4th quarter of the Ole Miss game.
Calzada’s poor play and injury have opened the door for Cutter Boley, who is expected to start on Saturday.
Last season, Boley appeared in four games last season. While he showed promise at Texas and against Murray State, he also failed to throw for over 50 yards against Louisville in his first career start. Just a redshirt freshman, Boley has a lot to show, but he also has a higher ceiling compared to the seventh-year QB in Calzada.
Clean Operation
Wasted timeouts, pre-snap miscommunication, and poor situational awareness. Those are things that take you out of games, and as ESPN announcer Sean McDonough said of Kentucky’s end-of-half blunder last Saturday against Ole Miss, which included three consecutive penalties after getting into field goal range, “That is what gets you fired if you’re on the hot seat.”
Mark Stoops, for much of his tenure at Kentucky, has been praised for taking care of the little things, playing clean and fundamentally sound football, but that has not been the case in recent seasons.
Go back to the 2023 Gator Bowl, where the Wildcats held a double-digit lead against Clemson in the fourth quarter, in what could be a key program win, but committed four turnovers in the final quarter. Or look at the Vanderbilt loss last season at home, as the Wildcats committed 12 penalties as they lost 20-13.
Mark Stoops addressed the operation concerns postgame and in Monday’s presser, citing his own frustrations.
Intensity will be lower, but Kentucky should show a cleaner operation against an inferior opponent, and hopefully that helps build better habits as a brutal stretch of SEC play begins.
What do the receivers have?
14 receptions for 166 yards. That is the offensive production from the receivers through two games, with nearly a quarter of that total (38 yards) coming off one play with Ole Miss playing prevent defense at the end of Saturday’s contest.
In short, it leaves much to be desired, especially when you consider how much Kentucky paid to return Ja’Mori Maclin and get former Alabama receiver Kendrick Law.
While Calzada has not been accurate, completing less than 50 percent (47.2%, 25/53) of his passes, the receivers are also failing to get open. The latter should not be a problem against an Eastern Michigan defense that has allowed nearly 500 passing yards through two games. That said, will Cutter Boley, heralded for his arm in high school, resolve the accuracy concerns?
Saturday is the opportunity to discover and see what this receiver core can truly do.
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles
- Game Time: 7:30 PM ET on September 13, 2025
- Location: Kroger Field
- TV Channel: ESPNU will have the coverage for this game.
- Announcers: Clay Matvick and Chase Daniel are calling the game.
- Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
- Radio: Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro have the UK radio call on the UK Sports Network.
- Satellite Radio: XM Channel 203, Sirius Channel 98, Internet Channel 966
- Replay: ESPN+ and SEC Network (check local listings).
- Rosters: UK | EMU
- Stats To Know: UK | EMU
- Advanced Stats
- Weather.com Forecast
- Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Kentucky as a 23.5-point favorite with an over/under of 45.5. ESPN gives the Wildcats a 95.3% chance of victory.
- Predictions: TeamRankings has Kentucky winning 35-10. Sportsbook Wire has the home team winning 46-17. DRatings.com picks the Cats to win 35-13. I think the talent gap is too large between the two teams and that the Cats will pull away early en route to a 37-13 win.
