Opponents led by new head coaches and teams appearing in non-traditional spots on the calendar were among the major talking points Wednesday as Kentucky's 2021 football schedule was announced by the SEC.

The Wildcats will play seven home games and five road games in 2021, kicking off the season on Sept. 4 against Louisiana-Monroe at Kroger Field. That's the first of three home games to open the schedule with Missouri coming to Lexington in Week 2 and Chattanooga in Week 3.

The Missouri game will mark the earliest meeting between the Cats and Tigers since the latter joined the league in 2012. The Week 2 slot on the schedule has frequently featured a non-conference opponent, Florida, or South Carolina in recent years.

Kentucky's first road game comes on Sept. 25 at South Carolina with the Gamecocks led by new head coach Shane Beamer, the son of former Virginia Tech legend Frank Beamer.

The Cats return home on Oct. 2 to play Florida and start perhaps the most challenging stretch of the season. LSU comes to Lexington on Oct. 9, giving UK five home games among the first six dates on the schedule. The following week, Oct. 16, the Cats will travel to defending SEC East champ Georgia.

The matchup with the Gators will be the first in the month of October since the 2007 and 2008 seasons. UK and Florida have typically played in September or November. From 1967-91, they played the penultimate game of the regular season.

An open date will occur on Oct. 23 before UK heads to Mississippi State for a Halloween matchup against Mike Leach and his "Air Raid" offense.

The following two weeks, Nov. 6 at home against Tennessee and Nov. 13 on the road at Vanderbilt, will feature two more matchups against teams with new head coaches. Josh Heupel, formerly the head coach at Central Florida, was named the Volunteers' new boss on Wednesday. The Commodores introduced former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea as their new leader in December.

Kentucky closes out the regular season with a pair of non-conference games. New Mexico State comes to Kroger Field on Nov. 20 and the Cats travel to Louisville on Nov. 27 for the annual Governor's Cup clash, a game that was canceled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Cats are coming off a 5-6 season in 2020 that was capped by a win over NC State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, marking the program's third straight postseason victory.