Josh Ali, right, and Wan'Dale Robinson celebrate after Ali's touchdown run in Saturday's win. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky beat Chattanooga. No one could be surprised by that. However, almost everyone was surprised that UK had to come from behind and needed a 95-yard interception return from Tyrell Ajian in the fourth quarter to help secure a 28-23 victory over the 32-point underdog Mocs.
Kentucky had trouble on offense as quarterback Will Levis threw two interceptions and the vaunted Big Blue Wall could not open any running lanes. The Cats rushed for just 102 yards, including only 46 on 13 carries by Chris Rodriguez.
Kentucky had trouble on defense. The Mocs racked up 339 yards, just nine less than UK, and ran for 171 yards.
“You can never be disappointed with the win but you can be disappointed with the way you win,” said Ajian.
Kentucky fans certainly were disappointed with the way UK won coming off a 35-28 win over Missouri. Kentucky fans and players were a bit miffed UK was not ranked in the top 25 this week. Kentucky coaches made it clear before the game that they respected Chattanooga but also planned to play more players to cultivate depth. Fans also speculated what younger players would get chances to play extensive time in the second half.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said his team had a “lack of focus, lack of energy” at halftime. He told Tom Leach on the UK Radio Network after the game that it was a “fair assessment” to say his team was flat.
“I talked (to the team) about playing inspired football. I can’t talk about it anymore. Maybe I talked about it too much,” Stoops said. “The good news is point the blame at me but you have to win when you are not at your best.”
Stoops understands why fans do not understand why a team cannot play inspired for 12 games. He even asked the team after Saturday’s game how that could happen.
“It is rough. It is a long year,” he said. “You have to improve, win or lose and learn from it and move on.”
Stoops said he was “annoyed” by penalties, sloppy play, and a “lot of little things” he knows UK cannot do and win SEC games starting Saturday at South Carolina.
“There are a lot of things we can do better,” he said. “We want to play better. We shouldn’t be satisfied but it was still a victory.
“You have to learn. This year is a different team. We won the game but we have to tidy up our own backyard. Everybody has to look at themselves. No finger-pointing. Blame me. That’s fine. Everybody just tidy up your own backyard. Respect the process.”
Ajian said the only thing to do now is watch film and correct mistakes before playing South Carolina.
“We definitely did start out flat. We can’t come out like that,” the senior said.
4 Responses
After the ULM game, I felt a measure of disappointment over opportunities lost. The win was nice, the margin was about what I expected, yet there were these opportunities lost. That’s OK. A win is a win, and the coaches and players will clean up these little disappointments
After the Missouri game, I felt a measure of disappointment over opportunities lost. The win was nice, the margin was about what I expected, yet there were these opportunities lost. That’s OK. A SEC win is a SEC win, and the coaches and players will clean up these little disappointments
Yesterday’s game had even greater, not lesser senses of disappointment. The team appeared to be slipping rather than advancing. The team seemed to be having more opportunities lost, not fewer. For the first time in 3 games, the final margin was not close to what I expected.
The season is now 1/4 in the books. Yesterday’s game was a huge opportunity lost because this team stands at the precepuce of 7 consecutive SEC wars, and yesterday was its opportunity to show itself (and the world) that it is ready for these wars, that it had identified its weak areas and tightened them up. Yesterday’s opportunity has been lost.
Prior to the season, I saw this team as an 8-4 team, trending toward 9-3. This morning, for the first time, I see this team as a 7-5 team, trending toward 6-6.
But, a win is a win, right?
Not really!
I look at this game as a trap game. It came after a tough Missouri win and before a rode game at SC. Chattanooga was way better than advertised too. They had all 22 starters back. Most of the ones that played were 23, 24, and 25 years old. Just like basketball, experience will trump talent a lot of times. That team would beat a lot of FBS teams.
It was a disappointing showing, then it could be blessing it happen they know what we need to work on and not take any team lightly.
Having played high school ball I know how coming out flat happens. You’re looking ahead and you forget to take care of business with the game at hand. You start thinking about your girlfriend, your next game or anything but the current game. Next thing you know you’re a touchdown behind. You’ve lost your momentum or Mojo, as they say today. Let’s hope that practice this week brings focus and inspiration back to the team. If the Cats play SC like they played Chattanooga, they’re going to get their butt’s whipped and get stuck on 3 wins for a long time. Go Cats.