Basketball School? Will Stein’s Kentucky Is Becoming the SEC’s Biggest Football Headache

Kentucky was supposed to spend Will Stein‘s first season learning a new offense, adjusting to a new coach and giving fans something to feel good about before basketball started.

Apparently, nobody told Stein.

Six games into his tenure, the Wildcats are 5-1, have beaten two opponents ranked in the top 10 at kickoff and are forcing their way into the College Football Playoff conversation. They just sent Lane Kiffin and LSU home with a 35-34 overtime loss.

For the second consecutive week, Stein put a game on a two-point conversion. For the second consecutive week, Kentucky won.

The SEC has another problem on its hands. And this one wears blue.

Will Stein Went for LSU’s Throat

After LSU scored a touchdown in overtime Saturday at Kroger Field, Kentucky answered with a 1-yard touchdown run from CJ Baxter.

Stein could have kicked the extra point and extended the game. Instead, he gave Kenny Minchey a chance to end it.

The quarterback spotted an opening in the middle of LSU’s defense and ran in the winning two-point conversion. Kentucky had beaten South Carolina by the identical score a week earlier, also choosing to settle the game with a two-point attempt.

Twice is enough to establish that the first decision wasn’t a momentary burst of courage.

Stein trusts his offense with the game on the line. More specifically, he trusts his quarterback to recognize what the defense gives him and act on it.

That matters for a program trying to convince its players they belong on the same field as the SEC’s most celebrated teams. Telling them they can win is easy. Handing them the deciding play makes the message harder to miss.

Kiffin Blinked. Kentucky Made Him Pay.

The most revealing coaching contrast came before overtime.

With LSU leading late, Kiffin considered going for a fourth-and-1 that could have helped close out the game. He chose to punt.

In the postgame transcript released by Kentucky, Kiffin explained that Kentucky’s two missed field goals influenced his decision to play defense and force the Wildcats to drive.

They did. Kentucky kicked the tying field goal and eventually put the outcome in Minchey’s hands.

Stein’s overtime decision wasn’t blind aggression. He acknowledged the difficulty of continuing to stop LSU’s offense with an injury-depleted defense. He liked his two-point play and accepted the risk.

Kiffin gave Kentucky another possession. Stein made sure LSU didn’t get another answer.

One result doesn’t prove every aggressive call is correct. It does show the cost of expecting an opponent to cooperate with your conservative one.

This Record Has Some Actual Substance

Kentucky’s 5-1 start includes a 31-21 road victory over Texas A&M, followed by overtime wins at South Carolina and against LSU.

Those results make it harder to dismiss the Wildcats as a team fattening its record before the real schedule begins.

The reality check is there, too. Alabama beat Kentucky 45-17 on Sept. 12. The Wildcats have won four straight since that defeat.

Stein’s team hasn’t established that it can beat everyone. It has established that one ugly loss didn’t define it.

Against LSU, Kentucky also found ways to win beyond its offense. Brock Coffman returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, and the Wildcats held the Tigers to 94 rushing yards. Kentucky climbed to No. 15 in the AP poll after the victory.

That is a team producing enough answers across the roster to survive its mistakes.

It is also a team living dangerously. Back-to-back one-point overtime victories should inspire confidence without creating the illusion that everything is fixed.

Kentucky Has Earned the Playoff Conversation

There is a difference between mentioning the playoff because a fan base needs entertainment and mentioning it because a team has built a credible résumé.

Kentucky has reached the second category.

At 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, the Wildcats are appearing in playoff projections from several national outlets, according to A Sea of Blue’s roundup.

Those projections award nothing. They do reflect how much the discussion has changed.

Kentucky now has games worth analyzing through the lens of playoff contention. Its next loss would affect more than bowl positioning. Its next major victory could move it closer to something the program has never accomplished.

That raises the standard for Stein. A promising debut is no longer the most exciting possible outcome.

Oklahoma Will Test How Far This Goes

Kentucky visits Oklahoma on Saturday, followed by Vanderbilt. November brings trips to Tennessee and Missouri, along with home games against Florida and Louisville.

There is plenty of room for this season to become complicated.

Oklahoma just beat previously No. 1 Texas, so Kentucky’s trip to Norman offers an immediate test of whether the Wildcats can sustain their momentum against another dangerous opponent.

Stein is enjoying the doubt while it lasts.

“People count us out,” he said after beating LSU. “Keep doing that. I appreciate that.”

That request is getting harder to honor.

Kentucky has already won in College Station and Columbia. It has beaten LSU in Lexington. Its coach keeps putting meaningful games on one snap and trusting his players to finish them.

Basketball will have its turn.

Right now, Kentucky football is making the SEC deal with it.

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