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The official announcement will not be made until tonight about Kentucky’s “permanent” Southeastern Conference rivals for the next four years but On3’s Chris Low reported Monday that it would be Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina for UK.
There had been a lot of speculation, especially about Georgia and/or Vanderbilt, being on UK’s permanent rival list but Lowe put those theories to rest.
Instead, UK will get to play former SEC East Division rivals every year for the next four years.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops offered no insights about the new scheduling format when asked about Lowe’s information at his weekly press conference on Monday.
“I really have no comment. I’ve got my hands full if you haven’t noticed,” Stoops said. “I’ve got a lot going on. I’ve heard different things, different reactions, but I think those are opponents we have played for a long time. People are very familiar with them.
“I think you heard me say it over and over again, put the ball down and let’s play. Those decisions are made way above my pay grade, so it is what it is.”
South Carolina seemed like a logical choice since the Gamecocks do not have a long-standing SEC rival and Kentucky-South Carolina have had some feisty history recently. Also Kentucky’s biggest rivalry is Tennessee, a game UK fans certainly want to continue.
And why not Florida because these are the Gators of 10 years ago.
Florida and Tennessee both had unreal winning streaks against UK. The Vols beat UK 26 straight times and the Gators did it 31 straight before Stoops and the Cats won at Florida in 2018. Stoops has won four of the last six games against Florida.
Kentucky did not get Georgia, Texas or Alabama as a permanent foe but the Vols are no slouch and seem on an upward tick again.
One Response
How South Carolina was assigned and not Vanderbilt escapes my ability to comprehend. I thought Vanderbilt and Tennessee would be givens. The third team could have been anyone and Florida being second is ok with me, but South Carolina would not have been third on my list; that should have been Vanderbilt in my humble opinion.