Preview: Kentucky Faces Southern Miss in Season-Opener

It's officially football time in the Bluegrass, BBN. Later on tonight, the Kentucky Wildcats will open the 2024 season against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at 7:55 p.m. ET under the lights inside Kroger Field. After long weeks of talking, it's time go out and show all the work that has been put in over the offseason.

Kentucky will have a couple of new looks on the offensive side this season with a new quarterback in Brock Vandagriff and Offensive Coordinator Bush Hamdan, which has Big Blue Nation very intrigued to see the new-look offense. Something that has been said a number of times when listening to coaches or simply just talking to people is just how much depth the team has, especially the defense, which has multiple deep positions. The roster, on paper, looks like one of the best of the Mark Stoops era. But, it's also met with a grueling schedule. It's worth noting that with the schedule the Wildcats have this season, 9-3 will be seen as an amazing season and could very well put them in the playoffs. It's just how it is now with Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC. Even with the tough schedule, Kentucky has plenty of opportunities to make some real noise this season. You can check out Kentucky's tough schedule for yourself here .

First, Kentucky will get their first matchup of the season with Southern Miss. The Wildcats are currently seen as a massive favorite. Southern Miss is coming off of a 3-9 season, but have added a bunch of transfers this offseason. They will be led by new quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who played at Florida State last season. Defensive Coordinator Brad White called Rodemaker a big challenge for Kentucky's defense. He will have a weapon at wide receiver, Ti Mims, who Southern Miss head coach Will Hall raved about in his press conference earlier this week. That's a duo to watch for on offense for the Golden Eagles. On defense, they have a lot of experience returning on their front-seven that isn't from the transfer portal. Offensive Coordinator Bush Hamdan talked a little bit about their defense this week.

Essentially, the Wildcats are nearly 30-point favorites in Saturday night's game, and are looking to start the season right. Depth and experience has been talked about a lot with this Kentucky team, and they'll put their new-look offense and a defense that could be as talented as both the 2019 and 2021 defenses, which both rank as one of Kentucky's best defenses ever. That's some high praise before even playing a game, but now the Wildcats will get to show what all the talk is about.

Kentucky will kick off the 2024 season at 7:55 p.m. tonight inside Kroger Field. You can catch all of the action on the SEC Network if you are not attending the game. In the meantime, checkout Kentucky's depth chart for the game below while you wait for kickoff.