Vicky Graff Photo
BY DAVID WHITE
Vaught’s note: Kentucky fan David White of Shelbyville was frustrated over UK’s loss to Tennessee Saturday night and shared a vent/rant that I suspect might resonate with a lot of you. Enjoy.
In 1981 I was a freshman at UK. I watched UK beat Tennessee 21-10 on a very cold day in a very ugly game. It was coach Fran Curci’s last game. Little did I know that was the last time I would see UK beat UT in person.
Since then, UK has only beaten Tennessee four more times: 1984 at Tennessee, 2011 (the “Matt Roark” game), 2017 and 2020 at Tennessee.
I did not see any of those games in person. I went Saturday night hoping to possibly see Kentucky beat Tennessee. Like so many times previously, we lost in heartbreaking fashion.
It has become a “bucket list” quest for me. However, I have finally come to the realization that Kentucky cannot beat Tennessee. I don’t think I’ll ever see it happen.
Bad teams, bad breaks, bad calls, poor decisions have been the embedded history of these games. It is a statistical anomaly if we do win — no matter the situation, rankings, etc.
For perspective, guess how many times Vanderbilt has defeated UT in the same timeframe (since 1981)? Answer is seven, including three years in a row (2016-2018).
Inability to stop up the middle runs doomed us Saturday night. Tennessee could get 8-10 yards at will. I did not see any alterations throughout the game from UK’s defensive coaches to stop this. We simply could not stop a basic run. Sad.
Quarterback Devin Leary played his best game as a Wildcat, but we could not run against them.
Becoming bowl eligible will be a challenge for this group. Unfortunately, I bought into the pre-season hype only to be disappointed.
Thanks for letting me mourn.
2 Responses
We may squeak out a bowl bid with a 6 – 6 record, but with the conference expansion it will be harder to play lower tier SEC teams other than Vandy and S. Carolina on a consistent basis. Stoops has reached his ceiling here at Kentucky. He has brought our program forward a long way, but we still have a long way to go to be a respectable SEC team. Throw in 3 Popcorn States each year and we will go bowling with one more quality SEC win, but I doubt that it will be against Tennessee anytime soon. I don’t see us ever winning an East Division title, much less an SEC championship in my lifetime.
My view of the building program that Stoops started when he arrived has always been that it is a generational process for UK football that will take at least 20 years. The UK administration has given him the facilities, money for coaches, and the support to focus on long term goals rather than quake in his shoes with every loss or near term set back.
When Stoops arrived, I did not believe the progress he has already made was possible BECAUSE UK has had a litany of good football men run this program, but they could not succeed because the UK administration refused to give any of those coaches, even the most recent one who is still held in high regard, Coach Brooks, the facilities and overall support. However, UK’s administrative support has appeared for Coach Stoops.
Yes, the past 2 seasons have been disappointing based on the hype prior to each season, but I am not ready to concede that Stoops has maxed out, much less in decline.
I believe his mission is still on track, and it will require another 7 to 10 years to finish.
This program was a pile of rubble when he arrived. Most of the rubble had to be loaded and shipped to the nearest landfill, and the building process could not begin immediately because of the depth of that rubble.
I believe this team is better than Mississippi State and South Carolina. I have watch both of them play, and this team, with all its warts and weaknesses, should beat each of them.
Alabama is Alabama.
Louisville has a nice team, but in that game, IF, and it is a big IF, UK goes into that game at 7-4, I believe anything can happen in the finale.
Go Big Blue!
And everyone knows how I feel about the round ball situation.
Football here is one the rise, and basketball continues its fall.