| Year: | 2018 |
| Team: | Kentucky Wildcats |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Southeastern Conference |
| Division: | Eastern Division |
| Short Conf: | SEC |
| Record: | 10–3 |
| Conf Record: | 5–3 |
| Coachrank: | 11 |
| Aprank: | 12 |
| Head Coach: | Mark Stoops |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Off Coach: | Eddie Gran |
| Oc Year: | 3rd |
| Cooff Coach1: | Darin Hinshaw |
| Cooc1 Year: | 3rd |
| Off Scheme: | Spread |
| Def Coach: | Matt House |
| Dc Year: | 2nd |
| Def Scheme: | 3–4 or 4–3 |
| Stadium: | Kroger Field |
| Champion: | Citrus Bowl champion |
| Bowl: | Citrus Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 27–24 vs. Penn State |
The 2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by sixth-year head coach Mark Stoops.
The season was one of the most successful in Kentucky's history. In Kentucky's second game of the season, the team ended the then-longest current losing streak in an uninterrupted series in FBS when they defeated Florida for the first time since 1986, and the first time in Gainesville since 1979, ending a losing streak of 31 games.[1] Two weeks later, the Wildcats upset No. 14 Mississippi State, and entered the AP Poll for the first time since 2007. Kentucky ended the regular season tied for second in the SEC East Division with a conference record of 5–3. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl, where they defeated No. 13 Penn State, their first bowl win since 2008. Kentucky ended the season with a record of 10–3 and were ranked 12th in the final AP Poll, the most wins and highest poll finish for the program since 1977.
The team's highly touted defense was anchored by unanimous All-American linebacker Josh Allen, who was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and led the conference in sacks and tackles for loss. Allen won several national awards for defensive excellence, including the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and the Lott Trophy; he became the first Kentucky player to receive any of these awards. On offense, the team was led by first-team All-SEC running back Benny Snell, who finished second in the conference in rushing with 1,449 yards and 16 touchdowns.[2] Offensive lineman Bunchy Stallings was also named first-team all-conference. Quarterback Terry Wilson led the team in passing, finishing with 1,889 yards and 11 touchdowns. Head coach Mark Stoops was named SEC Coach of the Year.
The spring game took place on April 13 at Kroger Field.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Barker |
| QB | 6'3" | 222 | Junior | Retired | ||
| Stephen Johnson |
| QB | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Blake Bone |
| WR | 6'5" | 213 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Garrett Johnson |
| WR | 5'11" | 175 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Kayaune Ross |
| WR | 6'6" | 225 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Charles Walker |
| WR | 5'11" | 203 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Greg Hart |
| TE | 6'5" | 245 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Kyle Meadows |
| OT | 6'5" | 300 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Nick Haynes |
| OG | 6'3" | 300 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Matt Elam |
| DT | 6'7" | 360 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Jacob Hyde |
| DT | 6'2" | 320 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Naquez Pringle |
| DT | 6'3" | 320 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Denzil Ware |
| DE | 6'2" | 240 | Junior | Transferred to Jacksonville State | ||
| Eli Brown |
| LB | 6'2" | 208 | Sophomore | Transferred to Western Kentucky | ||
| RB | 6'0" | 200 | Freshman | Transferred to Toledo | |||
| Courtney Love |
| LB | 6'2" | 245 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Kendall Randolph |
| DB | 6'0" | 183 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Marcus Walker |
| DB | 6'1" | 208 | Junior | Kicked off team | ||
| K | 5'10" | 172 | Senior | Graduated |
See also: American football positions and College recruiting.
The 2018 football recruiting cycle was the first in which the NCAA authorized two signing periods for high school seniors in that sport. In addition to the traditional spring period starting with National Signing Day on February 7, 2018, a new early signing period was introduced, with the first such period falling from December 20–22, 2017.[3]
Notably, the Wildcats did not sign a single in-state player in their 2018 class—the first time this had happened since 1940.[4]
Listed in the order that they were released
| Lott Trophy[5] | Josh Allen | LB | SR | |
| Chuck Bednarik Award[6] | Josh Allen | LB | SR | |
| Mike Edwards | S | SR | ||
| Maxwell Award[7] | Benny Snell | RB | JR | |
| Doak Walker Award[8] | Benny Snell | RB | JR | |
| John Mackey Award[9] | C. J. Conrad | TE | SR | |
| Butkus Award[10] | Josh Allen | LB | JR | |
| Jim Thorpe Award[11] | Mike Edwards | S | SR | |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy[12] | Mike Edwards | S | SR | |
| Paul Hornung Award[13] | Lynn Bowden | WR/KR | SO | |
| Wuerffel Trophy[14] | C. J. Conrad | TE | SR | |
| Walter Camp Award[15] | Benny Snell | RB | JR |
The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018 with the Wildcats predicted to finish in fifth place in the East Division.[16]
| Media poll (East) | |||
| 1 | Georgia | 1,977 (271) | |
| 2 | South Carolina | 1,535 (8) | |
| 3 | Florida | 1,441 (2) | |
| 4 | Missouri | 1,057 | |
| 5 | Kentucky | 874 (1) | |
| 6 | Tennessee | 704 (1) | |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 392 | |
The Wildcats had four players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.
Offense
1st team
Benny Snell – RB
3rd team
C. J. Conrad – TE
Defense
2nd team
Josh Allen – LB
Mike Edwards – DB
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops enters his sixth season as the Wildcat's head coach for the 2018 season. During his previous five seasons he led the Wildcats to an overall record of 26 wins and 36 losses.
| 6th | ||||
| Eddie Gran | Offensive coordinator | 3rd | ||
| Darin Hinshaw | 3rd | |||
| Matt House | Defensive coordinator, Inside Linebackers | 2nd | ||
| Michael Smith | Wide receivers | 1st | ||
| Tight ends, recruiting coordinator | 6th | |||
| 6th | ||||
| Derrick LeBlanc | 2nd | |||
| Steve Clinkscale | Defensive backs | 3rd | ||
| Special teams, outside linebackers | 2nd | |||
| Corey Edmond | Director of performance | 2nd | ||
| Reference: | ||||
See also: 2018 Central Michigan Chippewas football team.
See also: 2018 Florida Gators football team. This was Kentucky's first win over Florida since 1986.[17]
See also: 2018 Murray State Racers football team.
See also: 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team.
See also: 2018 South Carolina Gamecocks football team.
See also: 2018 Vanderbilt Commodores football team and Kentucky–Vanderbilt football rivalry.
See also: 2018 Missouri Tigers football team.
See also: 2018 Georgia Bulldogs football team.
See also: 2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team and Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry.
See also: 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team.
See also: 2018 Louisville Cardinals football team and Governor's Cup (Kentucky).
See also: 2018 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and 2019 Citrus Bowl.
See also: 2019 NFL draft. Kentucky had five players selected in the 2019 NFL draft.[18]
| 1 | 7 | LB | Jacksonville Jaguars | ||
| 2 | 54 | CB | Houston Texans | ||
| 3 | 99 | S | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||
| 4 | 122 | RB | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||
| 7 | 232 | OG | New York Giants |