On a map, Oregon and Kentucky might as well live on different planets. One is Pacific Northwest rain and neon uniforms, the other is bluegrass, bourbon and Kroger Field Saturdays.
But if you start tracing coaching careers, facilities and even player movement, you find something weirdly consistent: Oregon football keeps popping up at some of Kentucky football’s most important turning points since 2000.
It started with Rich Brooks. Now it’s Will Stein. And the Duck-Cat connection is suddenly one of the more fascinating cross-country ties in college football.
Rich Brooks: The original bridge
Rich Brooks is the thread that first stitched these two programs together.