It took all of three games for Will Stein to get his first signature win as a head coach, and it came just one week after his first major setback.
When Kentucky Football took a 17-13 lead over Alabama at halftime last week, it looked like it could be the first big victory under Coach Stein. However, a disastrous second half led to the Tide ending the game on a 32-0 run to come away with a 45-17 victory.
While it was just one game, that second-half performance — and really the offense overall — was so bad it had many of us wondering whether this team had the horses to make it through the season and into a bowl game.
Thankfully, Stein rallied the troops and helped guide Kentucky to a stunning 31-21 win at No. 9 at Texas A&M. It marks just the second top-10 road win the Cats have had since 1978. It’s also the program’s first win over the Aggies since 1952 when Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant was still roaming the sidelines in Lexington.
So yeah, while Kentucky still has some droughts it would like to end vs. programs like Alabama and Georgia, this was by far the longest drought the Cats have had vs. an SEC opponent, and that’s in the past now.
In addition, Stein becomes the first UK head coach to beat a top-25 team on the road in his first season. That matters, because this program has gone through some painful transitions when changing head coaches.
It took both Rich Brooks and Mark Stoops four seasons for Kentucky to make a bowl game.
It took Brooks five seasons before he got a top-10 win, while it took Stoops nine seasons to get his first.
Stein just did it in three games, and he now has Kentucky in position to make a bowl game for the first time since 2023. Joker Phillips is the only coach to ever lead the Cats to a bowl game in his first season, but let’s be honest; that largely came thanks to the work Coach Brooks did in guiding Kentucky to four straight bowls before Phillips took over.
Things weren’t as rosy when Stein took over, as Kentucky has gone 9-15 over the past two seasons with no bowl appearances.
Below, you’ll see several milestones Stein and the Cats hit today via UK statistician Corey Price.
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