We can’t predict how strong Kentucky’s future opponents will be, but the Wildcats’ SEC slate through 2029 is set and it’s no easy path. The league’s new nine-game schedule ensures challenging stretches every season.
The SEC unveiled the full four-year rotation Tuesday night, locking in opponents for each program. Every team keeps three permanent rivalry games, while the remaining 12 rotate over two seasons before flipping locations. After reviewing Kentucky’s draw, some key takeaways stand out.
A Stoops family showdown is set for next fall in Norman. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma’s all-time wins leader, built a legacy with the Sooners, while his younger brother Mark has done the same at Kentucky. Now, Mark’s Wildcats will face Oklahoma on Bob’s home turf.
Kentucky’s 2028 slate is set to be one of its toughest in recent memory. With Louisville locked in as the annual Power Conference opponent, the Wildcats will face five road tests, including hostile trips to LSU, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee.
Even Vanderbilt, once dismissed by Nick Saban as the easiest SEC venue, proved in 2024 that Nashville can’t be taken for granted. Add in the Governor’s Cup rivalry, and Kentucky will have no shortage of challenges away from home.
For Mark Stoops and the Wildcats, the 2028 season will demand resilience and depth, as every road environment promises to test their mettle in the nation’s toughest conference.
When the SEC unveiled the three permanent rival setup, Kentucky fans hoped for Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. On paper, that wish seems favorable, but it’s impossible to predict what either program will look like four years down the road.
Even so, the league delivered some balance. Kentucky will face at least one of the two every year through 2029. That means trips to LSU and Alabama can be offset with a stop in Nashville, while daunting slates featuring Austin, Gainesville, and Oxford will include the more manageable home matchup with Mississippi State.
For the Wildcats, that split offers a slight breather in otherwise grueling schedules. It doesn’t erase the difficulty of SEC play, but it does provide a bit of balance as Kentucky navigates marquee road tests against the league’s heavyweights.
Before the SEC expanded to include Texas and Oklahoma, scheduling looked much simpler. Each team faced its divisional slate, one fixed opponent from the other side, and rotated among the rest. For Kentucky, that meant annual games against the SEC East, a standing date with Mississippi State, and a cycle through the SEC West.
That structure gave the Wildcats regular familiarity with programs like Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, while matchups with powerhouses such as Alabama, LSU, and Texas A\&M came only once every few years. Now, with a 16-team SEC and a nine-game schedule, some of those rotations feel much longer.
For instance, Texas A&M hasn’t made a trip to Lexington in years, and fans on both sides have been waiting. With the new scheduling model, it could still take time before Aggie fans see Kyle Field’s maroon traded for Kroger Field’s blue.
Texas A\&M entered the SEC in 2012, but it won’t be until 2028 that the Aggies finally make their first conference road trip to Lexington. The only prior meeting between the two programs came in 2018, when Kentucky fell in overtime at Kyle Field.
Meanwhile, Kentucky will also break another scheduling drought when it heads to Fayetteville. Despite Mark Stoops’ lengthy tenure in Lexington dating back to 2013 and making him the SEC’s longest-serving head coach the Wildcats haven’t played at Arkansas during his entire run. That changes with the updated schedule rotation.
For context, Stoops’ stability is rare across the sport. Only three other Power Conference coaches have been in their roles longer, underscoring just how unusual it is that Kentucky hasn’t visited the Razorbacks in more than a decade under his leadership.
Mark Stoops has yet to coach a game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium during his Kentucky tenure. If he remains in Lexington, his first opportunity won’t come until 2027. The Wildcats’ last trip to Fayetteville was in 2012, a 49-7 blowout halted early by a weather delay.
The 9-game SEC schedule is no easy task, but it promises plenty of excitement. Kentucky fans will get the chance to travel to college football’s most iconic venues, while home crowds will consistently see big-time matchups at Kroger Field.
Wins won’t come easily, but Mark Stoops welcomes the grind. “Put the ball down and let’s play,” he said Monday, signaling his readiness to embrace the challenge ahead.
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