Fox Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt believes the SEC opener between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Kentucky Wildcats may be a more interesting game than many people outside both fan bases realize.
Alabama (1-0) is ranked No. 12 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll entering Saturday's matchup at Kroger Field in Lexington; Kentucky (1-0) is unranked.
Klatt noted on the Thursday edition of his popular video podcast and FS1 program that Keelon Russell played well in his first start at quarterback during Alabama's 48-10 victory over East Carolina. The color commentator on Fox's weekly "Big Noon Kickoff" games was concerned by one aspect of Russell's performance, though.
"I'm a little concerned that he had to scramble so much,"
Klatt said of Russell. "That offensive line struggled a year ago for Alabama. They need to run the ball better. They need to protect the passer better. We all know that.
"Ninety-five percent of those rush yards that Russell had came on the scramble. That's a bit worrisome for me, although he looked dynamic doing it. He's a threat on the outside and now you know why he won that job for Kalen DeBoer."
Russell beat Austin Mack for the starter's job in fall camp. He rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts and threw for 256 yards while completing 18 of his 30 passes against East Carolina.
"It's great for him that he got his feet wet and got a start against East Carolina before having to just go out on the road against Kentucky," Klatt said of Russell, a five-star recruit in the class of 2025 that ranked as the industry's No. 2 quarterback.
As for the Wildcats, Kentucky has a first-year coach in Will Stein, the former Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator under Dan Lanning. A big part of Stein's first roster in Lexington was the ability to bring in former Notre Dame commitment Kenny Minchey in the transfer portal.
Minchey made his first career college start in Kentucky's 45-13 win over Youngstown State in Week 1 and threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns. Texas transfer CJ Baxter rushed for 5.3 yards per carry and two scores in an impressive debut for Stein and the new-look Wildcats.
Kentucky had 506 yards of total offense against Youngstown State. Klatt praised Stein for bringing in not only Minchey and Baxter but a staff of experienced assistant coaches, particularly defensive coordinator Jay Bateman. Bateman held the same title at Texas A&M a year ago.
"What Bateman did best was put pressure on the quarterback and rush the passer," Klatt said. "They were not great against the run, A&M wasn't. They were terrific on third down, and they did a great job putting pressure on the quarterback. Now granted, you could say they had (second-round NFL draft pick) Cashius Howell.
"Fair enough, but there is some part of that scheme that is built to put pressure on the quarterback, and that's exactly where we all have maybe a question about this Alabama team."
Alabama football vs. Kentucky: Joel Klatt's final score prediction for SEC opener
While noting the oddsmakers' 10.5-point spread, Klatt closed by saying that the true strength of Alabama's 2026 team was its defense.
"I just come down to this: the Bama defense was great. I know we're all going to be talking about what we expect from their offensive line and what Keelon Russell can do at quarterback, but the real strength and I think the real identity of this team is their defense. I just don't know if Kentucky's going to be able to move the ball and sustain enough drives to sit there and cover that 10.5 (spread)."
For that reason, Klatt is taking the Crimson Tide to improve to 2-0 when they visit Lexington.
"I'm going to go with Bama here. I got Bama on the road, 28-17. Russell gets his first road win in the SEC. I'll give the 10.5 there, and I've got Bama."
Joel Klatt's record when picking Alabama football games
Klatt was 6-5 when picking Alabama games last year. He correctly predicted that Alabama would beat Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn, and would lose its rematch to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and lose to Indiana in the Rose Bowl.
Klatt incorrectly predicted the Crimson Tide would beat Florida State, and he picked both Georgia and Missouri to beat Alabama during the regular season. The Fox Sports commentator also took the Tide to beat Oklahoma in the regular season before picking the Sooners to win the rematch in the College Football Playoff.
TV channel, announcers for Alabama vs Kentucky in SEC opener
Time, channel, TV announcers for Alabama football vs Kentucky
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) September 9, 2026
📸 Jordan Prather, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con https://t.co/HAa6M0wFQj pic.twitter.com/BLcmGprqux
Kickoff for Alabama-Kentucky is 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised on ABC. Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy will have the call of the game from the broadcast booth at Kroger Field in Lexington. Katie George will report from the sidelines.
Additionally, the Crimson Tide Sports Network feed of the game featuring Alabama radio voice Chris Stewart and Tyler Watts can be heard on SiriusXM channel 229 and The Varsity App.
Alabama football schedule 2026
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates (W, 48-10)
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, prime time
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs, early window
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs, prime time
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers, TBA
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Aggies, TBA
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, TBA
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 1-0.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Joel Klatt gives score prediction for Alabama football vs Kentucky
