Will Levis, right, thought his face mask was pulled on a non-call that let to a penalty on UK coach Mark Stoops. (UK Athletics Photo)
One call did not make Kentucky lose 45-42 to Tennessee Saturday night. A team that gives up as many big plays as the Kentucky defense did cannot point fingers at officials.
Yet it was hard to understand with UK driving for a potential game-tying field goal or a potential game-winning touchdown in the final minutes how officials missed the call when a Tennessee player grabbed and yanked UK quarterback Will Levis’ face mask.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops knew it was a blatant missed call and got so upset he was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that left UK with a desperation fourth-and-24 situation that it miraculously converted into a first down before the drive stalled.
“I thought my face mask was pulled,” Levis said. “The ref didn’t say anything. Sometimes things don’t go your way. I was upset in the moment, but hey, you’ve got to get into the next play.”
What did Stoops think about the non-call?
“Number one, I don’t want to say anything about the missed call or any call, whether it was a missed call or not. But for myself, that’s still no excuse. I can’t do that. I can’t put that on our team in that situation,” Stoops said.
He’s right about that. A coach has to have the self-control to not get penalized in that situation — even if he is right. Stoops knows that.
“Thank God they bailed me out because we wouldn’t even have run that play had we not been in that situation. That was only for desperation that type of play. So we got that back and got back to first down,” Stoops said. “Had our opportunity from there. So I appreciate the team bailing me out on that.
“But I can’t do that. And as far as, you know, the call or not call, things are going to happen. We have to overcome it and deal with it. I’m not going to sit here and give any headlines.”
14 Responses
It was not just that missed call, but a series of them during this fiasco.
The SEC should have the best officials the game can provide, but week after week they miss game-turning events.
Is it incompetence or intentional?
I have fallen on the intentional side of this conflict for years. This year has done nothing to shift my opinion of the SEC’s treatment of UK over the years.
Hard not to feel that way Professor when it happens time after time
That fragrant missed facemask call was intentional in my book. A qb should be one of the most watched and protected player on the field! Another fragrantly missed call was holding. Our receivers were held incessantly!! Josh Pascal should still be peeling orange off his skin and uniform. We didn’t play flawlessly but with the untimely non-calls sure did put us in some difficult spots, especially in scoring that last touchdown.
Indeed the officials are supposed to help protect quarterbacks but sure failed on that play
At a little after noon on Sunday, my frustration level is still extremely high!
Tenn definitely saw something on film that they knew they could exploit and attack. I heard/read all week about Tenn playing”fast”…how were we not prepared for that?
Where were our LBs on the third and long that Hooker ran for? And our safeties were so deep! Why was Square on one of their WRs? I’ve been skeptical of our D most of the season. Inflated numbers against poor QB play, poor receivers. Brad White would be in my doghouse!
I knew the FG before halftime would haunt us. A few bad calls, we must learn to overcome. No excuse for Coach Stoops to draw the penalty.
After the fourth down miracle completion, incredibly POOR execution to not advance the ball any further! Kudos to the offense though to keep fighting back, throughout the game, and have an opportunity to win in the end!
See ya in Nashville…GO CATS!
Well said Terry but also admire the last sentence on how no matter what, you keep following and believing in the Cats. You are a true fan
From what I saw, and I am biased, but every questionable call went "against" UK. I don’t remember a single questionable call that "helped" UK.
The invisible horse collar, the knee on the ground by the TN receiver, the missed face mask on Levis, the 15 yard penalty on Stoops because he questioned a missed call during a dead ball and was 30 feet from the ref, a couple of pass interference non calls against TN but were called in similar situations against UK??
If football is going to use instant replay and say they want to get it right, if there is a missed major penalty, why doesn’t the replay booth intervene?? They do for a targeting call, they should also do it for a face mask, chop blocks, etc. anything where a player could be hurt or a difference in the game.
If they say that will take too much time, then that tells you they know they don’t have competent officials.
And yes, I know the defense was horrible and that ultimately cost us the game, but the things I have stated above, also made a difference. Together, the pitiful play of the defense and the missed calls were too much to overcome.
It’s bush league for a referee to throw a flag on a coach for protesting a call that they know they missed. They saw it on the replay board & then compounded their ineptness by throwing an unsportsmanlike flag. And it wasnt just this game. It is every game every week in the SEC and quite honestly I don’t think Greg Sankey has a clue what to do about it. That’s why he has done nothing.
You got that right Keith
That call did not beat us. Anytime you give up 45 points, you should expect to lose. We have no clue about how to deal with an uptempo offense. Now we are hoping to have a winning conference record. We are still a middle of the pack team, at best, in the SEC. We have made some progress with Stoops, but there is still a lot left to do. I see an 8 – 4 finish, but that will still give us a decent bowl game. Win that, and a 9 – 4 season is a good one.
exactly right whodat
Typical UK loser comments. It’s OK to be a Homer fan but UK folks live in a dream world. This Tennessee team is one of the thinnest teams ever in depth. UK should be thrilled that all those Tennessee players transferred in the off-season or the Vols would have scored 80 pts. Should have beat UT this year… might be a while
With you Todd. Brutal loss to run 99 plays against a team lacking depth and yet could not score at the end when it counted most