LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Coming into this season, it was time for Kentucky to make a move. As an expanding SEC got deeper and tougher, it was time for Mark Stoops and his program to claw their way into position to take advantage if the league powers began to beat each other up.
As it stands, that is exactly what has happened. The SEC has opened up.
But Kentucky football is taking a step back. A home-field loss to Vanderbilt. An embarrassing 48-20 blowout loss at Florida on Saturday. An inexplicable blowout loss at home to South Carolina. Even after beating a then-Top 10 team on the road at Ole Miss, Kentucky is losing to programs it once had eclipsed, instead of challenging those it had hoped to become.
Instead of accelerating, Kentucky has taken an off-ramp to mediocrity. At 3-4, it is going to have to fight pretty hard to even make a bowl game. And for that, no matter how much he did to build the Wildcats program to the brink of being a contender, Stoops is going to have to answer.
This was a second straight loss that leaves a mark on Stoops’ tenure at Kentucky.
Kentucky’s talent level is fine. The fans “ponied up.” Stoops did a good job finding players. Who would not want a Barion Brown? A Dane Key? A Deone Walker? Yes there are offensive line issues. The secondary has some, too.
Still, this team is less than the sum of its parts. And that math is a problem, especially when you’re a Top 10 paid coach in the nation.
After Saturday’s loss, Stoops sounded, again, like a man with no explanation, nor any solutions.
He spoke in halting phrases, to start, not always complete thoughts.
“Pretty tough loss. Once again, frustrating. This one, you know, didn't come down to, you know, one play or two plays,” Stoops began. “You know, they kind of physically -- I thought they were, you know, it’s not the first time, but they physically were very much pushing us around and moving us up front. Felt like we're playing catch up the entire day. You know, still with all that, I think, you know, we play a little cleaner, a little sharper, early in the first, you know, in the first half, get the ball in the end zone when we had it on the two or one-and-a-half or whatever it was, you know, I think it helps us mentally. It helps us play better. You know, gives us a shot. But, but overall, you know, pretty good butt-whipping there. They played very well. Give them credit.”
Give Florida credit for shredding what had been a solid Kentucky defense with big plays. Kentucky had given up only two passing plays of 40 or more yards all season coming in. Florida had five. The Gators had eight pass completions in the game for 279 yards. Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway had completions of 40, 50, 58, 44 and 40 yards.
“Well, big plays in these environments, as you know . . . when the place gets rocking, I mean, they happen,” Stoops said. “So, we'll just stay the course. Our guys have responded and responded well at times on the road. And that tonight, we took a butt-kicking. Give them credit, they played very well. I have no worries about our guys falling apart or anything. We need to play better. And we're getting very thin. We're getting beat up. But that's natural this time of year. We have to build the depth that we need to play at a high level.”
Kentucky, let’s be clear, got some bad breaks. It had a fourth down run at the goal line blown dead for forward progress sooner than any such run I’ve seen all season. And the run pushed on to the end zone. Florida had a similar run late in the game – a run that never visibly reached the end zone – allowed to proceed and eventually credited as a touchdown.
That’s a 14-point swing right there. And as we know, the way to evaluate these calls isn’t in points lost or yards lost, but in how they would’ve impacted the game in real-time.
The problem for Stoops is that when you go on to lose by four touchdowns, nobody cares.
If Stoops has any answers, there were none forthcoming after the game. He used the term “stay the course” one more time, when asked about offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan.
If you’re looking for wholesale change, you might be wasting your time. Stoops left with words many Kentucky fans have heard before.
“When you get knocked down or you don't play well, you have to respond,” Stoops said. “You know, you got to be resilient. Just a tough league. I mean, it's rough, believe me, I'm very disappointed, but not defeated. You know, we will get back to work. I mean, it's a long, long night. These night games are absolutely brutal. We’ll try to get a little bit of rest on the plane and get back to work tomorrow, and we'll bounce back. I mean, our team does. I'm not worried about that. I want to see improvement, you know. And I know we need to play better. And I promise you, everybody in there cares and is going to go to work.”
Next Saturday, Kentucky plays host to an Auburn team that is 2-5 overall, but 0-4 in the SEC. With league games at Tennessee and Texas after that, it's a must-win for bowl eligibility.
And that's a head-scratcher for a team with a Top 10 win to its credit. I have no answers, and Stoops doesn't appear to either.
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