CRAWFORD | 'This is home.' Stoops, still standing in rivalry week, leans into Kentucky | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky coach Mark Stoops is out of duct tape, out of defensive backs, and almost out of calendar. But he’s not out of this rivalry.

And he’s definitely not out at the University of Kentucky. In a season of SEC attrition, he’s still with the Wildcats, lock, stock and barrel.

“Whether you like it or not,” he said, “I’m a Kentuckian now. This is home.”

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

He’s going to be at the lakes. He’s going to be on the golf courses. He’s going to be all over the pickleball courts. And he dares you to keep him out.

He’s not slick. Not southern. But he’s stayed. And in this sport, that’s starting to feel like rebellion.

His team, not unlike its opponent, is limping into Saturday’s Governor’s Cup game on one wheel, muffler dragging, windshield cracked, and dashboard blinking “Check depth chart.” But it’s rivalry week, and you don’t need a GPS to find motivation. Just look at the other guy’s stadium and ask, “You got enough IV fluid over there?”

This is Kentucky football in 2025. The defense is missing more starters than a soap opera. The offense is improving – or at least was, before Saturday’s 45-17 setback at Vanderbilt.

Still, here they come. Wounded, wobbling, but definitely dangerous.

Because whatever else he is, Stoops isn’t a quitter. He’s a Youngstown guy, which means he’s been in more street fights than street parades. He’s coached through five-star shortages, recruiting misfires, and more broken hearts than a country playlist.

Just a few weeks ago, it looked like he might be coaching his way out of town.

Three straight losses. Fan frustration boiling. The offense tripping over itself like it was failing a sobriety test. For the first time in a decade, it felt like the Stoops era had hit the wall. The team was spiraling. The offense was sputtering. And the coaching carousel was spinning faster than ever.

Could Kentucky jump in and make a move? Would Stoops look around and jump first?

Neither happened. The Wildcats stabilized just enough to stem the noise, and in a year when LSU, Auburn, Florida and others with deeper pockets fired coaches, Kentucky got cover to stand pat with the longest-tenured coach in the SEC.

Not because everything is perfect.

But because Stoops, even in a season of stumbles, still gives the program a puncher’s chance.

“We're a better football team than last year,” he said Monday. “I know you could write and make what you want of that headline … but I know we're a better football team.”

Maybe. But more important, he still has a handle on it. He still has the locker room. He still has the school’s trust. And with NIL deals now needing the same management as zone blitzes, he’s working to adapt.

“Some of the biggest recruiting battles we will have is with our own team,” Stoops said. “There are some schools that have a boatload of money to buy high school kids. I only have so much money.”

He’s already won perhaps the biggest of those battles. He said on his radio show Monday night that quarterback Cutter Boley will be back for next season.

So yes, Stoops is still here. Which, in the 2025 SEC, is a little like rebellion.

His team plays hard, even when it plays ugly. Maybe especially when it plays ugly. And these days, with injuries piling up on defense, ugly may be the only option. The defense is a rotating cast of brave souls and bad hamstrings. But they line up, they hit you, and they don’t ask for sympathy.

“You have to empty the tank,” Stoops said. “Both teams are hurt. Both of us have programs and capable players to step in.”

Louisville had the flash. Kentucky has the gravel. This one may come down to grit, guile, or getting lucky.

But Stoops, for the first time in a while, is looking to avenge a loss in this series. And after a year spent fighting a Top-5 schedule, injury attrition, and existential angst, that task may look downright manageable.