What will Kentucky football’s final regular-season record be in 2026?
LEXINGTON — Kentucky football coach Will Stein is living a charmed existence. In his first season with the Wildcats, he’s 7-1. With a 5-1 record in SEC games, UK is in first place in the conference.
Even better for Stein’s squad: It has a little extra time to enjoy the current state of affairs. This week marks its only open date of the 2026 season.
Life couldn’t be more different for the man who succeeded Stein, however.
Drew Mehringer was tabbed to replace Stein as Oregon‘s offensive coordinator. Just seven games into his tenure as OC, Mehringer is gone. Ducks coach Dan Lanning dismissed Mehringer on Oct. 25.
Yet even while Stein and the Cats have far exceeded outsiders’ expectations so far — they were picked to finish 14th in the 16-team league this fall — there’s a sense among those within the program they still haven’t received enough recognition.
Yes, Kentucky is ranked in the top 10 in the latest editions of the two major polls (No. 8 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, No. 9 in Associated Press Top 25). But they remain behind teams that, on paper, haven’t accomplished as much this season. Per ESPN, UK has the country’s best resume, as of Oct. 25.
The Wildcats vow they’ll forge on.
"Everyone still doubts us, and we know that," senior defensive back Ty Bryant said Oct. 24 after the team’s 34-17 victory over Vanderbilt. "We try not to feed into any of that, but shoot, man. We’ve just got to continue to do what we do and put one foot in front of the other."
With eight games in the books for Kentucky, here are our game-by-game predictions for the team’s final four regular-season contests:
Kentucky predictions for 2026 college football season
Nov. 7: Kentucky vs. Tennessee
- Location: Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tennessee
- About the game: Before Tennessee fell in last-second fashion to South Carolina on Oct. 14, the matchup with Kentucky was set to be a top-10 battle. But the Volunteers (6-2, 3-2) remain in the rankings. Like UK, UT doesn’t play this week. Which team will be able to put the open date to better use? History certainly isn’t on the Wildcats’ side. The Vols have a commanding edge in the all-time series, ahead 86-26-9. Since Kentucky’s 17-12 win in 1984, it has just three more victories (2011, 2017 and 2020) in the last 41 meetings. On top of that: The Cats are just 11-45-6 against the Vols in Knoxville. Stein has already made plenty of history this season. But a desperate Tennessee team that can’t afford another loss if it wants to make the College Football Playoff is poised to eke out a narrow victory over the visitors.
- Score prediction: Tennessee 20, Kentucky 17.
Nov. 14: Kentucky vs. Florida
- Location: Kroger Field, Lexington
- About the game: Which Florida team will show up in Lexington on Nov. 14? The one that notched notable wins over Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas? Or the one that sho
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