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After what was an enthusiastic start to the season, Kentucky football may have lost their way. The Missouri Tigers came to Lexington and got the better of the Wildcats, 38-21, handing Kentucky their second straight loss.
It may be time for head coach Mark Stoops to hit the panic button. At first that sounds dramatic, especially considering Kentucky has been inside the Associated Press Top-25 rankings for the last two weeks.
But here’s what should terrify Kentucky football fans.
The Wildcats have been outscored 89-40 over their last two games. In those two games, they have 19 penalties for 182 yards. They have a negative turnover differential and are losing time of possession by nearly 20 minutes.
Kentucky’s offense is just 7-24 on third down and Kentucky’s defense has given up 932 total yards. Every single statistic favors Kentucky’s last two opponents and when it comes to the eye test, it’s even worse.
Coming into the 2023 season, Kentucky had one of the higher regarded wide receiving rooms in the country. Their offensive line was supposed to be much improved and transfer quarterback Devin Leary had his share of preseason hype. On the defensive side of the ball, many believed it could be one of the best units Stoops has fielded during his tenure at Kentucky.
Yet over the last two weeks, Kentucky has been outmatched in all phases of the game. And that shouldn’t be the case.
On paper, Kentucky has the talent edge in almost every game they play in. Are they better than Georgia? Of course not. But that doesn’t mean they can be competitive. Instead Kentucky was blown out last Saturday and Vanderbilt, who Kentucky took care of a month ago, gave Georgia a dog fight this weekend.
Is Kentucky better than Missouri? They should be. But when it came to being prepared, executing during situational moments of the game and being mentally focused, Kentucky was completely out-classed on Saturday night. And what may be the worst frustration of all is there isn’t a clear answer on how to fix any of this.
Leary is the only viable option at quarterback. Kentucky’s receivers are more than capable, but still can’t consistently catch the ball. Regardless of how upset Stoops and his staff act on the sideline, their players still commit careless penalties in crucial situations. And considering Kentucky’s offensive line isn’t near being healthy, it’s a blessing Ray Davis is able to put together the numbers he has so far this season.
Kentucky enters their bye week with more questions than they can probably find answers for. The best thing Stoops and his staff can do over the next two weeks is weather the storm, rally their troops and own the next month of their schedule – because it’s brutal. The Wildcats will host Tennessee, travel to Mississippi State and then return home to host Alabama. A stretch of three losses following the bye week would be an absolute disaster for Stoops and his team. Finding a win (or two, or even three) in the near future is a must for the Wildcats.
2 Responses
Stoops refuses to hold anyone, coaches or players, accountable for the poor level of play that we have seen most of the season, but especially the last 2 games. You can only coddle people so long and then you have to say next guy up. Maybe he is afraid that level of accountability will be leveled at him. Stoops is 35 – 52 against SEC teams. Sure, we beat the Popcorn States and the bottom feeders in our league, but until we show that we can beat Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, and next year Texas and Oklahoma, we will always be non relevant in the SEC. We are paying Stoops way too much for what he delivers.
I think its just a lack of discipline, as coach says. Oh wait, he said that 9 years ago, 8 years ago, 7 years ago, 6 years ago, etc, as well. So, maybe it is something else. I do like our offense, 1 play every 6 minutes. Fun to watch. Liam leaves Rams, Rams win Super Bowl, Liam goes back to Rams, they suck on offense, Liam comes back to UK because he was going to be fired by the Rams. Liam is very overrated, but good for him for taking the money. We need to replace Alabama with Alabama A & M so we have a shot at a bowl game. Sorry, It took me longer to type this, UK good have almost got a play off.