Kentucky has 247 Sports’ Brad Crawford’s worst prediction in his 2025 SEC football win-loss projections: 3-9 and a win-less conference slate. Crawford talked about Mark Stoops as a scorching hot seat candidate.
“Patience has to be wearing thin for Mark Stoops. He once again puts all of his eggs in the transfer portal basket and needs several home runs or else. This is the toughest schedule the Wildcats have played during his tenure and includes eight games against possible ranked teams. Brutal. Kentucky’s only winless season in the SEC came during Stoops’ first year in 2013, but history might repeat itself,” Crawford wrote.
UK was one of the few SEC teams to let up a loss to Auburn in October. The Wildcats got dog-walked by Florida. Kentucky lost those two games by a combined 42 points.
Stoops already has a program that’s shaky and on the ropes. Going winless in SEC play and only beating Toledo, Eastern Michigan, and Tennessee Tech would surely be the end of his Lexington stay.
Moving in the wrong direction for so many years – Crawford’s predicted 2025 would mean a fourth straight year since Kentucky was a nine-game regular season winner that put the cherry on top with a Citrus Bowl win over Iowa – is what gets you fired.
The question becomes whether the athletic department can pay off a $37.5 million buyout tab for Stoops after the 2025 season.
Is UK still a box office draw on the hardwood? If not, maybe Stoops is too expensive to fire
