LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — LSU coach Lane Kiffin has never had an easy time against Kentucky, and the Wildcats' new coach is eager to make his next game very challenging.
Sure, Kiffin is 4-1 all-time against the Wildcats during previous stints at Tennessee and Mississippi. Each game was decided by seven points or less with two games going to overtime. Kentucky’s lone win against a Kiffin-coached team came in 2024, when the Wildcats beat the Rebels 20-17
in Oxford. Kiffin has never lost in Lexington after a 30-23 win last season.
On Saturday night, Kiffin and 10th-ranked LSU (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) visit Kentucky with a sold-out crowd waiting. His Tigers have won two straight since their loss at Mississippi, also a night game.
“To go on the road like last time at night into that environment I think will help us,” Kiffin said.
Will Stein has Kentucky off to a 4-1 start overall and 2-1 in the SEC with both league wins on the road including last week’s 35-34 overtime win at South Carolina. Kiffin called that a really good comeback in a tough place to play, and he said the Wildcats are well-coached.
“He's got them playing with a lot of confidence,” Kiffin said of Stein.
LSU is the third ranked team the Wildcats have played this season. A second-half collapse resulted in a 45-17 loss to now-No. 6 Alabama, but the Wildcats followed that up upsetting then ninth-ranked Texas A&M at College Station. Kentucky has won three straight.
The Tigers amassed 731 yards of offense in their first five games, including 367 rushing yards in a 63-14 rout of McNeese State last week. LSU’s offense, averaging 547.8 yards per game, ranks No. 3 in the nation and best in the SEC.
“They have an elite team, elite coach, guy that can really be an impact coach in college football, both in recruiting and then the X's and O’s,” Stein said. “I think he does a great job. ... they’ve done a really good job in the recruiting aspect, and they are building a really good roster. It’s going to be a big task for us and it’s going to take our very best."
The Wildcats struggle on third down, and Kentucky’s defense ranks last in the SEC and 122nd nationally defending the run. The Wildcats have been very opportunistic forcing 10 turnovers, which is ninth in the country. They also lead the conference in quarterback hurries with 100.
“They don’t screw up a lot,” Kiffin said of the Wildcats.
Kentucky offensive coordinator Joe Sloan spent the previous two seasons at LSU and coached alongside Tigers defensive coordinator Blake Baker. Kiffin said the coaches knowing each other probably neutralizes what effect that could have on the game, and Stein agrees.
“Their history is deep,” Stein said. “We’re a lot different than the LSU offense was last year. He’s adapted to his personnel this year. There are always changes that happen each season and you can think about some stuff that maybe you did in the past in a practice situation, but Blake’s probably thinking about that too. We try not to make it bigger than what it is.”
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