Venue & Game Details
Kickoff: 7:30 PM ET
Venue: Kroger Field, Lexington, Kentucky
Surface: Natural Grass
Broadcast: ESPNU (Clay Matvick, Chase Daniel)
Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro, Dick Gabriel) — AM 840 WHAS / 630 WLAP, FM 98.1 WBUL, Sirius XM 81
Weather Forecast (Kickoff)
Conditions: Clear skies
Temperature: ~74°F (23°C) at kickoff, cooling to ~68°F by the fourth quarter
Humidity: ~60%
Wind: Light ESE breeze at 4–6 mph
Impact: Ideal football weather — no wind or precipitation concerns; perfect for the run game and special teams.
Injury Report
Kentucky Wildcats
QB Zach Calzada — Doubtful (shoulder); did not practice most of the week.
CB DJ Waller — Questionable (undisclosed), missed last week.
QB Cutter Boley — Expected to start (redshirt freshman making first start of 2025).
Eastern Michigan Eagles
No major injuries reported; full offensive and defensive depth expected.
Recent Form
Eastern Michigan
L 27–52 @ Texas State — Defense gashed for 392 rush yards.
L 23–28 vs. LIU (FCS) — Allowed 231 rush yards; offense produced 3 TDs but couldn’t close.
Kentucky
W 24–16 vs. Toledo — Strong run game, defense forced turnovers.
L 23–30 vs. Ole Miss — Led 10–0 early, but offensive miscues and poor tackling on the perimeter proved costly.
Series History
All-time: Kentucky leads 2–0.
2017 — UK 24, EMU 20 (late INT sealed win).
2019 — UK 38, EMU 17 (239 rush yds, 2 INTs forced).
Trend: Wildcats have won 8 straight vs. MAC opponents since 2004.
Key Player Matchups
QB Cutter Boley (UK) vs. EMU Secondary — Boley’s first start; EMU allowing 231 pass YPG and has yet to force a turnover in 2025.
RB Seth McGowan & Dante Dowdell (UK) vs. EMU Run Defense — Kentucky’s 1–2 punch averaging 178.0 rush YPG; EMU allowing 311.5 rush YPG (2nd-worst in FBS).
LB Alex Afari (UK) vs. RB Dontae McMillan (EMU) — Afari leads UK with 23 tackles; McMillan averaging 8.0 YPC with 2 total TDs.
WR Jay Maclin (UK) vs. CB Barry Manning (EMU) — Maclin is UK’s top deep threat; Manning leads EMU with 9 tackles in coverage.
QB Noah Kim (EMU) vs. UK Pass Rush — Kim has 437 pass yds, 3 TD, 0 INT; UK’s front has 5 sacks in two games.
Betting Trends & Angles
Kentucky: 1-1 ATS in 2025; 17-6-2 ATS in last 25 non-conference games; 9-2 ATS vs. Group of Six since 2019.
Eastern Michigan: 0-2 ATS in 2025; 30-11 ATS as road underdog since 2015; 3-1 ATS vs. Power 5 since 2020.
Totals: UK 1-1 O/U; EMU 1-1 O/U.
Situational: EMU has not led in its last 18 quarters; UK playing first night game of 2025.
Game Odds
Eastern Michigan Eagles 48.5
Kentucky Wildcats – 26.5
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odd Direct as of Friday, September 12, 2025
