We are 206 days away from Will Stein‘s first game as the Kentucky head football coach. Youngstown State is the first opponent, but after that, nothing will come easy for the Cats.

The 2026 season will mark the first in which every team in the SEC is mandated to play 10 Power Conference opponents. As leagues and the CFP expanded, Greg Sankey was pressured into expanding the SEC schedule from eight to nine conference games. In order to preserve regional rivalries, like the Governor’s Cup, the SEC is requiring each team to play an additional game against an opponent from another Power Conference or Notre Dame.

This structure will inherently make things more challenging, even though Kentucky annually played a strength of schedule inside the Top 10.

Brad Powers, a well-known college football handicapper, used his power ratings to calculate the strength of schedule in January. Kentucky ranked third, behind only Texas and Oklahoma.

Our friends at Crain and Cone, a new show on the On3 network, brought in former Georgia All-American David Pollack to rank the Top 10 most difficult schedules in the country. Kentucky is ranked No. 10.

“What Will Stein and Kentucky have to go through, it’s like getting jumped by a bunch of ninjas with aluminum baseball bats when you walk into your house after work,” said Jake Crain.

Stein’s first schedule includes road trips to three of the rowdiest environments in college football: Texas A&M, Tennessee, and South Carolina. It may be tough sledding in year one, but Pollack believes Stein has what it takes to be successful in Lexington.

“I’m a big Will Stein fan. I personally like the way he communicates,” said the former College GameDay analyst. “I think he has a chance to do something there at Kentucky, and because the world is different, if he can find some pieces — it seems like he’s got more commitment, and they’ve done a good job in the portal — maybe they can improve and take some steps.”

Stein signed a Top 10 transfer portal class to rebuild the roster. There’s a new scheme and an injection of talent into the program, but nothing will come easy for Kentucky in this new era of SEC football.

9/05: Youngstown State
9/12: Alabama
9/19: at Texas A&M
09/26: South Alabama
10/3: at South Carolina
10/10: LSU
10/17: at Oklahoma
10:24: Vanderbilt
10/31: BYE
11/7: at Tennessee
11/14: Florida
11/21: at Missouri
11/28: Louisville

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