KSR Postgame Show: UK Football at Louisville (11/29/25)

Podcast: KSR Postgame Show
Date: November 29, 2025
Hosts: Matt Jones, Drew Franklin
Theme: Post-mortem of UK's humiliating 41-0 loss to Louisville and a call for sweeping changes in Kentucky football and athletics leadership

Episode Overview

This postgame episode follows UK's catastrophic 41-0 loss to rival Louisville, capping a disappointing 5-7 season for the Wildcats. Host Matt Jones, joined by Drew Franklin, uses the show as both a therapeutic space for fans and a pointed public forum to address what they consider the urgent need for change within the football program and broader UK athletics.

The show features a lengthy monologue from Matt, numerous calls from dispirited and angry fans, and an on-air moment where longtime Stoops defender Ryan Lemond dramatically flips to call for a coaching change. The episode is colored by stark criticism, moments of sadness about the end of an era, and questions about where UK football goes from here.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Game Itself: "Humiliating and Not Worth Breaking Down"

• Key Result: Louisville 41, UK 0. Second straight year UK has given up 41 points to the Cards.
• Matt’s Take: "Today is probably the most humiliating Kentucky Louisville game of the Stoops era…We were the favorite at kickoff. Louisville, beat-up, without their top 4 RBs, started a walk-on." (03:50)
  • Louisville's walk-on freshman RB (who played Corbin High last year) rushed for 113 yards—a damning stat.
  • The loss was “never close,” and "the moment they blocked that punt, it was over."
• Bigger Issue: UK’s players “quit” for the second straight week, against Vandy and Louisville—both games with a bowl bid on the line.

  "For the second straight week they quit. Which is in some ways even more embarrassing than the final result." (04:25)

2. State of the Program & Mark Stoops’ Tenure

Matt lays out his shift from incrementalist to advocating a clean break:

• Stoops revitalized a dead program, made UK competitive, produced NFL talent.
• The landscape has changed: “You cannot focus on the past. You have to focus on the future.”
• Stoops’ approach—“recruit and develop”—is outdated for the current, portal-driven, NIL landscape.

  "He’s been the best coach at Kentucky of my lifetime for the majority of his career... But it’s just not going to work in 2025." (09:05)

• Portal misfires, cultural issues, and poor fits (especially at QB) have compounded problems over two years.

  "There’s no way you can win in 2025 without crushing the portal. And it’s clear they don’t know how to do it." (11:41)

Stoops’ Postgame Comments:

• “You think I'm going to walk away? Are you kidding me? There's zero percent chance I'll walk away... zero means zero.” (07:12)
  • Interpreted by Matt and callers as "smug" and defiant, showing no willingness to adapt.

3. Fanbase & Hope: Severely Eroded

• Matt recalls a scenario from hockey’s “hope rankings”:

  “If they did an SEC hope rankings with the fan base next year, if we bring Stoops back, what place are we going to be in? …I'm going to say dead last.” (15:12)

• "Two weeks ago he had a chance. ...We got destroyed and we quit both times. How…am I going to see that and then assume that next year is going to be better?" (16:45)
• Callers (Isaac, Andrew, Todd): Express apathy and confusion about how UK could justify bringing Stoops back given the current atmosphere.

4. Financial & Administrative Obstacles

• Stoops’ buyout: $37 million if fired immediately; still $26 million next year.
  • The contract’s 60-day payout clause is severely limiting.
  • Even retaining him risks paying another huge sum should “next year” fail as well.
• Critique of AD Mitch Barnhart:
  • Praised for making UK more than a basketball school.
  • Criticized for "unforgivable" mistakes: being slow on NIL and granting egregious contract terms (huge, immediate payouts for both Stoops and Calipari).

    "You made a contract where not only do we owe the money, we have to pay it in 60 days. ...You did it not once, you did it twice." (19:20)

  • Assertion: It’s time for Barnhart to step aside as well—UK Athletics is “way behind.”

5. What Needs to Change: The Moral Imperative

• Matt invokes Tom Petty: "It's time to move on, it's time to get going." (23:30)
• Both Stoops and Barnhart have “expiration dates”—UK needs younger, more adaptable leadership.
• References to relationship analogies: “When it’s over, it’s over.”

  "When it's over, it's over. You can put it off for a million reasons, but when it’s over, it’s over." (17:40)

• Fans and callers overwhelmingly agree: Time for a new head coach, new athletic director, and new direction.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Stoops’ refusal to walk away:

  "He said zero four times. So you know his take on it? Well, this is my take. Kentucky football... it's time for a change." (07:37)

• Matt Jones after his long monologue:

  "If you want to have a successful program, a successful business, you cannot focus on the past. You have to focus on the future." (08:42)

• On buyout logistics:

  "Let's say you bring him back, you owe him $37 million. Let's say next year doesn't work... you owe him $26 million." (18:45, with Drew Franklin)

• Caller sentiment:

  "Fire Mark Stoops and Fire Barnhart." (33:20, ‘The Hateful Truth’ caller)

• Ryan Lemond’s change of heart:

  “To be honest, I changed my tune after this loss today... There will not be anybody lining up for season tickets. There won't be anybody lining up for NIL donation. The program needs a change, and to me, I changed today." (83:41)

Critical Fan and Host Dialogue (Timestamps)

05:59 – Vince Marrow tweets from sidelines with 6 mins left – sign of checked-out program
25:35–26:53 – NIL & Kentucky's "everything school" paradox; secondary sports impact
33:16 – Caller: "Fire Mark Stoops and Fire Barnhart" encapsulates fan mood
38:11 – Matt: “Who is excited to give to NIL for football next year? I don’t know who those people are.”
41:19 – Brad suggests three practical steps: negotiate buyout, secure funds, change leadership
48:25 – Matt credits Barnhart for generosity but reiterates systemic failures
53:30 – A young fan’s first games are bookends of 40+ point blowouts
58:12 – Concerns over insular hires (friends of Barnhart/Soups as AD or coach)
73:03 – Stock-analogy: letting Stoops’ “stock” drop rather than selling at its peak

Callers’ Main Themes

• Apathy or active frustration—many fans refuse to buy tickets or donate.
• Detailed critiques of NIL strategy and program philosophy.
• Recurrent analogies to relationships: the “expiration date” idea for Stoops’ tenure.
• Anxiety over the near-future: if Stoops stays, hope and momentum are dead.

Notable Segment Timestamps

• Game Recap and Emotional Fallout: 02:08–07:00
• Matt’s Manifesto on Change: 07:00–24:10
• Call-In Therapy (with callers Jerry, Todd, Isaac, etc.): 25:10–40:00
• Deep-dive on contracts, NIL, leadership: 40:00–52:00
• First on-air fan dissent against Stoops/Barnhart: 33:16
• Ryan Lemond flips on Stoops: 83:16–84:45

Episode Tone

• Reflective, sharply critical, occasionally somber
• Determined to advance the fan conversation beyond mere venting to action
• Matt alternates between eloquent, extended monologues and open, honest dialogue with fans
• Unvarnished honesty, e.g., “It’s over. And when it’s over, it’s over.”

Conclusion

This episode is an unfiltered reckoning for UK football’s leadership following the program’s latest humiliation. The hosts and fans agree: with a demoralized team, outdated leadership philosophies, and a disengaged fanbase, powerful institutional change is urgently required. By episode’s end, even the most loyal supporters have come around to the view that the Stoops era must end, and Matt closes by warning that any delay could turn a sad ending into a toxic one.

Memorable Closing Quote:

"If he's the coach Monday morning, then he's the coach. But I think we need to move on—for Kentucky football, for our fans, and for hope." (86:10—Matt Jones)