CRAWFORD | Stoops is right. Winning is hard. But Kentucky's win raised hard questions | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — If you were looking for a coach to scowl his way through a season-opening win, you came to the wrong press conference.

Mark Stoops, entering his 13th year at Kentucky, looked like a man who understood the value of 1-0. He praised his team’s toughness. He tipped his cap to a Toledo squad that didn’t go quietly. He saw what his team did well.

And he’s right — winning is hard. Especially when so many players are making their UK debut. Especially when you’re still figuring out your identity on offense (how long has that been the case?) Especially when you’re facing a MAC favorite with more returning starters than you have established stars.

But there’s another side of this, too.

Kentucky beat Toledo 24-16. It did so with 85 passing yards, a 2-for-9 passing line in the second half, and one explosive run that accounted for more than a third of the team’s total offense. The Wildcats had one sustained drive — a 12-play touchdown march early in the fourth quarter — and mostly played defense and field position the rest of the way.

That can work in Week 1. It may not work this weekend when Ole Miss rolls into town.

Stoops knows that. He’s not sugarcoating anything.

“We were playing a really good football team, and we played tough,” he said. “We were far from perfect — made some mistakes, had some penalties, missed some plays — but I loved our composure. I loved our effort.”

Stoops vowed that Kentucky would get back to its old brand of football this season, and Game 1 was that. The Wildcats’ brand under Stoops has been tough and physical on the lines with big-time playmakers on defense and the occasional offensive star. This offense lacks that offensive part at the moment, and lacks the Benny Snell-Chris Rodriguez bruiser in the backfield.

Everything, according to those in the stadium, lacked a little feel. The semi-rebrand bore a little “new” Cracker Barrel vibe, right down to the omission of Grove Street Party when the players took the field.

The defense made the win possible. Alex Afari Jr. looked like a star, piling up 13 tackles and two big fourth-down stops. Steven Soles had two sacks and forced two fumbles. Punter Aidan Laros should’ve been handed a commemorative shovel for how often he buried Toledo inside its own 10-yard line.

And in the game’s pivotal moment, when the Rockets had just cut the lead to 17-9 and Kroger Field was getting antsy, Dante Dowdell burst up the middle for a 79-yard touchdown run that turned the tension into a celebration.

It was a game Kentucky had to have. And it got it. You never felt like it wasn’t in control – and I keep saying this but it does bear repeating: Toledo was a real football team. It’s the kind of MAC opponent that might’ve thrown more of a scare than this into a few Kentucky teams in the past.

The worry, of course, is the future.

If the goal is more than 1-0 — and I’m talking, realistically, less SEC contention than bowl eligibility — then this performance can’t be the blueprint. It has to be the floor.

Ole Miss isn’t going to punt five straight times. Lane Kiffin won’t play field position. And Calzada, for all his poise and leadership, has to be better than 10-for-23 with one interception and no downfield threat.

If I’m Stoops, his leash is very short on Saturday. It makes more sense to me to live through the mistakes of a redshirt freshman than non-production from a seventh-year transfer.

The offense itself is a bigger issue. I’m watching Kentucky guys like Dane Key and Barion Brown make huge catches in games of consequence elsewhere in the country. And that’s just the portal. But Kentucky is fully capable of paying those guys. What it hasn’t been capable of is getting them the ball enough. And that’s the game in 2025.

This Kentucky team, to win in 2025, has to play they style it played Saturday night. Run the ball. Close to the vest. Complimentary, field-position football. It has to play it better than it did Saturday, but this group appears to understand the mission.

Stoops said, “I expect us to improve a lot between the first and second game.”

It could happen. There’s enough here to believe Kentucky could build something. Stoops is right to focus on composure and toughness. But it’s fair to ask — if the offense doesn’t evolve fast, how long can that alone carry them?