Freshman running back JuTahn McClain hopes to be celebrating with family again today after UK plays Missouri. (SEC Photo)
Kentucky has a chance to not only beat Missouri for the sixth straight time under coach Mark Stoops when the teams play today but also has a chance to get its record above .500 after an 0-2 start. With games still left against Georgia, Florida and Alabama, a win today — and avoiding a letdown after the historic win at Tennessee last week — would be huge for UK’s momentum.
“Absolutely it’s the most important thing. I imagine you all can go back and look but I’m sure I’ve said that every Monday to the media, to our staff and certainly to our team. It’s an odd year. It’s really strange, it’s really different, it’s really hard to play 10 SEC games,” Stoops said.
“Every Monday the coaches get back at it and get back to reality every Sunday morning. We enjoy a victory for less than 24 hours, depending on what time you play, but you enjoy it for a few hours and then it’s back to work Sunday and hit the reset button.
“For our players, they hear that from me every Monday and you really have to look at it that way, whether it’s a win or whether it’s a loss. You have to get back to it Monday, hit the reset button and there’s a whole new challenge. Again, you want to win that week you have to win today and that’s the truth.”
What about the win streak over Missouri? Does that give his team confidence knowing there is not a player on the team that has lost to Missouri or a Missouri player that has beat UK?
“It means absolutely nothing, right? I mean truthfully, it means nothing,” Stoops said. “We have to go win this week.
“I don’t even know what the streak is. This is a new staff, a new group and I have no idea what it is because it really means nothing.”
