Kavosiey Smoke ran for 85 yards but his two fumbles upset coach Mark Stoops. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky beat Northern Illinois 31-23 for its eighth straight win — yet it almost felt like Kentucky lost because it was such a big favorite and did have a 17-point lead midway of the fourth quarter.
“It is nice to win and I guess it is a good feeling to always be pissed off after a win. I will keep on dealing with it,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops told Tom Leach on his postgame radio show Saturday night.
Quarterback Will Levis threw for 303 yards and four scores and receiver Barion Brown scored on plays of 70 and 15 yards while Tayvion Robinson scored on pass plays of 69 and 40 yards. However, UK only ran for 103 yards and averaged just 2.9 yards per rushing attempt counting the five sacks of Levis.
“We are all striving for perfection. Maybe we are not there yet. We wanted to be explosive and certainly we are getting that,” Stoops said in his postgame press conference. “You have got to be who you are. Right now we have got a very talented quarterback and explosive wide receivers.”
“We want to be better in the running game. Everybody appreciates the run game now. A year ago people didn’t appreciate sh*t. I am joking. Relax.”
But was he? Stoops heard the noise even during UK’s 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2021 that he valued a run game and defense to win close games more than he did a more modern offense even though he did bring in former NFL assistant coach Liam Coen as his offensive coordinator last year.
Maybe the run game will improve this Saturday at Mississippi when UK gets running back Chris Rodriguez, the SEC’s top returning rusher, back from a four-game suspension. The Cats have missed his power running and could not close out the win over Northern Illinois late by controlling the clock like they did first with Benny Snell and then for two years with Rodriguez.
“Chris will help in a lot of ways,” Stoops said. “He is a very good football player in a lot of ways. We will be excited to get him back.”
Kavosiey Smoke ran 12 times for 85 yards, including a 27-yard gain, but also fumbled twice. His fumble late in the first half led to a Northern Illinois touchdown that tied the game 14-14 at halftime.
“We can’t put the ball on the ground. We had two fumbles from one running back. You can’t have that,” Stoops said.
Stoops had challenged his team to play better after beating Youngstown State 31-0 in its previous game. He thought UK’s effort was “good” against Northern Illinois despite just winning by eight points when it was a 20-point plus favorite.
“We didn’t finish the end of the first half and we didn’t finish the game,” Stoops said. “You watch college football and crazy stuff is happening all the time. We go up 17 with eight minutes to go. You ought to be able to finish a little better.”
“That is what puts a bad taste in your mouth. The end of the first half was inexcusable and frustrates me. The end of the game frustrates me. They drive and get 3 (field goal) and then hit an explosive (pass) play (to set up a touchdown.”
Stoops was even more frustrated on the postgame radio show when Leach told him the defense allowed just one first down in the second half before the last two drives that included a 63-yard pass play when two UK defenders ran into each other.
“That irritates me,” Stoops said.
3 Responses
UK seems to choke against teams they should clobber. Hard to figure. NIU was a good team, credit them, they used their QB’s effectively with their starter out, and executed a great game plan. UK was fortunate to win.
If UK plays like they did last night against Mississippi it will probably cost them big time. I watched the Florida vs UT game yesterday. Florida looked good, and played well, but UT is scary good. If UK don’t pick it up and start looking like a top ten team, particularly on offense, the Vols will kill them in Knoxville. I think UK needs to let Levis be Levis, he is a dual threat QB. His rushing stats last year were impressive under Coen, not so much in 2022 so far. Turn him loose! He is getting killed with all the sacks he is enduring.
UK needs to recruit a stud RB quick!
It all starts with the line play on O and D. While it is clear that this year’s O line is down some from the standard established in recent seasons, I have confidence that Coach Stoops’ recruiting and coaching will keep those pipelines well stocked. I am more impressed by the increased capability at the so called skill positions than ever, and with dependable O and D lines, these skill players will deliver the goods.
However, it is not a steady glide path, and there will always be some turbulence and bumpiness to the journey. I think that is what we have seen over the first 4 weeks.
With Rodriguez back, we are going to see the O line in particular begin to gel and solidify as a unit.
I trust the coaches to get this team where we all want to see it playing.