Kentucky Football Schedule 2021

2021 UK Football Schedule

The University of Kentucky football 2021 schedule is set for the upcoming season and it comes with lots of excitement! It will feature an opening game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (ULM) at Kroger field in Lexington, KY. ULM might be an unfamiliar opponent to some folks. They’ve played alongside the WKU in the Sun Belt, but finished 0-10 this past season.

Week 2 will officially kickoff the Wildcats SEC opener, facing off against the Missouri Tigers at Kroger Field. The Tigers have lost the last three outings against UK in Lexington, so they’ll be looking to snap that streak.

Week 3 brings the Chattanooga Mocs to Lexington, ending their opening home-game streak of the 2021 football season. Thereafter, the Wildcats will head to Columbia, SC to face-off against SEC opponent, South Carolina Gamecocks.

For UK to have a stellar season, they will need to pull off a strong performance during this group of games. Moreover, the Kentucky Wildcats football schedule is only getting started!

UK Football Schedule – Tough Stretch of SEC

Week 5 will lead to the toughest test thus far into Kentucky’s 2021 football season. The Florida Gators will come to Kroger Field, currently sporting the #17 ranking in preseason polls. Regardless of the rankings however, this game has developed into a nice rivalry of late, after many seasons with the University of Florida dominating UK as well as the SEC East.

Things get increasing more challenging into Week 6 when the LSU Tigers make their way to Kroger Field. They are one of the most elite teams in the SEC West for 2021. Well, let’s just say, in all of college football. Their early preseason ranking is #11, coming off a disappointing 5-5 season last year. This will be their first meeting in downtown Lexington, KY since the infamous 2007 overtime win. The Tigers went on to win the college football national championship that season.

Closing out this brutal stretch for the University of Kentucky schedule might be the most challenging game for UK all season. The Wildcats will travel to Athens, GA to face-off against the Georgia Bulldogs. Currently, the University of Georgia is ranked #4 in the preseason college football polls.

The Wildcat will get a much needed BYE week following this stretch. If UK wins just one of the games during this grueling stretch, it could be enough to propel them into the second half of the season. What they have on their side however is two-out-of-three of the games are at home.

Next up is Week 9, a road game that brings the Cats to Starkville, MS where they’ll face the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Mike Leach will be attempting to prove himself in year 2 of his tenure, which is certainly a possibility.

Another game at Kroger Field highlights Week 10, which is against a Tennessee team in rebuilding mode. This game is a must-win for Kentucky, certainly against this program, during this time.

The final SEC game of the 2021 Kentucky football schedule comes in Week 11 against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vandy may be the SEC’s weakest link again this season, so the Cats will need to pickup this game for sure.

SEE ALSO: KY State Holidays 2022

Non-Conference Games Closeout

Week 12 features a non-conference matchup against New Mexico State, followed by the infamous Governor’s Cup. That battle of the Commonwealth will be played in Louisville this season.

Governor’s Cup: Kentucky vs Louisville

The 2021 Governor’s Cup featuring Louisville vs Kentucky football will be played in Cardinal Stadium this season. This game didn’t happen in the 2020 season due to the pandemic. The SEC opted to omit all non-conference games, therefore it shelved. Set your calendars on this cross-state rivalry of Louisville vs Kentucky for November 27th.

This concludes the UK football schedule for the regular season. The Wildcats finished the 2020 season with a 5-6 record under Mark Stoops. That follows a 2019 season, where the head coach led the Cats to an 8-5 season.