Texas vs Kentucky: Football, Basketball & Results

Texas and Kentucky rarely meet, and each sport tells a different story. In football, Texas lead the all-time series 3-0, including an overtime win in Lexington in 2025. In men’s basketball, Kentucky lead 3-1, with the teams splitting their two SEC-era meetings.

This guide covers every Texas vs Kentucky result in football and basketball, dates, scores, venues and standout performances, updated to October 2026. Football series data comes from the official Texas opponent history. Love college sports matchups? Try our best two-player games.

In this guide

1. The rivalry in numbers
2. Football: Longhorns vs Wildcats
3. Basketball: Longhorns vs Wildcats
4. Every result: football and basketball
5. The most memorable games
6. Frequently Asked Questions

Football: Longhorns vs Wildcats

Texas have won all three football meetings, but the gap between games has been enormous, 73 years separated the first two.

• 1. A 3-0 series lead, Texas beat Kentucky 7-6 in 1951, 31-14 in 2024 and 16-13 in overtime in 2025.
  Kentucky have never beaten the Longhorns on the gridiron.
• 2. The 1951 classic, Bear Bryant’s Kentucky, quarterbacked by legend Babe Parilli, lost 7-6 to Ed Price’s Texas in the season opener.
  Bryant called it “a good ballgame right down to the wire.”
• 3. The SEC reunion, After Texas joined the SEC, the teams met again in Austin in November 2024: Texas won 31-14 behind 158 rushing yards from Tre Wisner.
  The game featured 11 combined fumbles.
• 4. Overtime in the Bluegrass, In October 2025, Texas won 16-13 in overtime at Kroger Field in Lexington, the first meeting ever played outside Austin.
  It was only the second football game Texas had ever played in the state of Kentucky.

Basketball: Longhorns vs Wildcats

On the hardwood the advantage flips: Kentucky lead the men’s series 3-1, and the Wildcats are unbeaten at Rupp Arena against Texas.

• 5. Kentucky lead 3-1, The Wildcats won in 1993, 2014 and 2026; Texas’s only win came in Austin in February 2025.
  Kentucky are 2-0 against Texas at Rupp Arena.
• 6. The Maui blowout, In December 1993, Rick Pitino’s No. 5 Kentucky crushed Tom Penders’ Texas 86-61 at the Maui Classic.
  Four Wildcats scored in double figures.
• 7. The 2014 top-10 clash, No. 1 Kentucky beat No. 6 Texas 63-51 at Rupp Arena behind Willie Cauley-Stein’s 21 points and 12 rebounds.
  Karl-Anthony Towns added 10 points for the Wildcats.
• 8. Texas strikes back, In February 2025, Texas beat Kentucky 82-78 in Austin, with freshman Tre Johnson pouring in 32 points.
  It remains the Longhorns’ only basketball win in the series.

Every result: football and basketball

Every Texas vs Kentucky meeting in both sports, newest first.

• 9. The 2026 Rupp thriller, Kentucky edged Texas 85-80 in January 2026 in a game with 11 lead changes and 11 ties.
  Dailyn Swain scored a game-high 29 points for Texas in the loss.
• 10. Overtime football, 2025, Texas 16, Kentucky 13 in OT at Kroger Field, the closest football meeting yet.
  Kentucky’s first home game against Texas in program history.
• 11. The SEC-era split in basketball, Texas won 82-78 in Austin (2025); Kentucky answered 85-80 in Lexington (2026).
  Both games were decided in the final minutes.
• 12. The 2024 football statement, Texas 31, Kentucky 14 in Austin: Gunnar Helm caught two touchdowns and Jaydon Blue added a rushing score.
  Texas’s largest margin of victory in the football series.

The most memorable games

Three games that capture this unusual cross-conference history.

• 13. 22 Sep 1951, Texas 7-6 Kentucky, football, Bear Bryant vs Ed Price in a defensive slugfest; Kentucky’s Babe Parilli could not find the end zone enough.
  The teams would not meet again for 73 years.
• 14. 15 Feb 2025, Texas 82-78 Kentucky, basketball, Tre Johnson’s 32-point explosion gave Texas its first-ever basketball win over the Wildcats.
  Kentucky had won the first two meetings by double digits.
• 15. 18 Oct 2025, Texas 16-13 Kentucky (OT), football, A defensive battle in Lexington settled in overtime on Texas’s first-ever trip to Kroger Field.
  The smallest margin of victory in the football series.
• 16. 21 Jan 2026, Kentucky 85-80 Texas, basketball, Eleven lead changes and eleven ties at Rupp Arena before Kentucky pulled away late.
  Texas outscored Kentucky 48-32 in the paint but lost the game.

Rule to remember: Texas owns the football series (3-0), Kentucky owns the basketball series (3-1). They spent most of history in different conferences, and now that the SEC has thrown them together, every meeting has been close.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the Texas vs Kentucky football series?

Texas, 3-0. The Longhorns won 7-6 in 1951, 31-14 in 2024 and 16-13 in overtime in 2025.

Who leads the Texas vs Kentucky basketball series?

Kentucky, 3-1 in men’s basketball. The Wildcats won in 1993 (86-61), 2014 (63-51) and 2026 (85-80); Texas won 82-78 in Austin in 2025.

When did Texas and Kentucky first play football?

On 22 September 1951 in Austin, when Texas beat Bear Bryant’s Kentucky 7-6 in the season opener.

Have Texas and Kentucky ever played in Kentucky?

Yes, twice. The football teams met at Kroger Field in Lexington in October 2025 (Texas won 16-13 in OT), and the basketball teams have played twice at Rupp Arena (2014 and 2026).

What was the closest Texas vs Kentucky game?

The 2025 football game: Texas 16, Kentucky 13 in overtime at Kroger Field, a 3-point margin, the smallest in either sport’s series.

Why do Texas and Kentucky play so rarely?

They spent most of their history in different conferences, Texas in the Southwest/Big 12, Kentucky in the SEC. Texas joining the SEC brought the schools together regularly for the first time.

Final thoughts

Texas vs Kentucky is a rivalry of opposites: total Texas dominance in football, clear Kentucky superiority in basketball, and decades of silence between meetings. With both schools now in the SEC, this fixture finally has a future, and recent games suggest it will be worth watching. For more sports content, browse our two-player games, our mobile games, and clicker games collections.