Is Will Stein on upset alert in his very first game as a head coach? CBS Sports believes Youngstown State could make things interesting for Kentucky in week one
The national outlet stressed that FCS upsets are now rare — if not extinct — against Power Four competition nowadays, the latter winning 125 straight games with the most recent being Sacramento State beating Stanford in 2023 and a 223-2 overall record since 2022
Who could end that streak in 2026? CBS Sports’ Cody Nagelsaid Kentucky was one of six schools — and one of three in the SEC — to monitor, mostly crediting the FCS competition rather than discounting the Wildcats
“It would be quite the buzzkill in Lexington if the Will Stein era opened with a loss to Youngstown State. Expectations are high after Kentucky landed a top-10 transfer portal class, but first-year coaches have learned the hard way that talent alone doesn’t guarantee immediate success,” Nagel wrote. “The Penguins bring back reigning Walter Payton Award winner Beau Brungard (the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) after an impressive 2025 season. Brungard threw for 3,234 yards and 26 touchdowns while adding 1,468 rushing yards and 27 more scores on the ground.
“Kentucky will have the talent edge, but Youngstown State has the quarterback who can make this uncomfortable.”
It makes you feel better knowing it’s just one star strengthening Youngstown State’s chances, with the Penguins entering the preseason ranked No. 9 overall in the FCS preseason top 25
The other candidates include No. 3 South Dakota State at Northwestern, No. 10 North Dakota at Nebraska, No. 14 Tennessee Tech at Mississippi State, No. 17 Austin Peay at Vanderbilt and No. 22 Monmouth at West Virginia
Kentucky is a perfect 26-0 against FCS competition since 1978 — although things got a little too close for comfort at times in the Mark Stoops era, namely a 34-27 overtime win vs. EKU in 2015 and a 28-23 victory against Chattanooga in 2021. Let’s hope that undefeated streak continues under Will Stein, without too many close calls
Time to prove CBS Sports wrong, Cats
