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Mark Stoops is anxious for the season to begin as the talking season nears completion.
“”I can tell you, heading into this 12th year, I feel as good as I ever have, and I know you’ve probably heard me say that before, but it’s true,” Stoops said at UK’s annual Lexington Kickoff Luncheon at the Longship Club at Kroger Field. “I absolutely love our football team. I love our staff. I feel like it’s the best blend since I’ve been here. I really do.”
Stoops spoke about numerous aspects of his squad and likes the overall product that he’s pieced together for the upcoming season, especially with wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts.
“He’s a young wide receiver coach that does one heck of a job,” Stoops said. “He’s all business all the time with those guys. He holds them accountable. He’s taking them to a whole other level and I’m very, very thrilled. I feel like it’s the most depth we’ve ever had at the wide receiver position and Daikiel has done a wonderful job of managing that room.”
New offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan also addressed the crowd and gave more insight into what to expect from the Wildcats’ offense this season. Stoops added that he gets “tired of snapping it with one or two seconds left” and wants “to have rhythm and some tempo to it.”
“There’s going to be times where we have the ability to play extremely fast to get into our two-minute operation, one word calls and there are also times, as we know, in the fourth quarter with how we play defense here, we can run that clock out and do whatever it takes to win the game,” Hamdan said. “We’re right there in the middle. We’ve got the ability to do both for the reason that always comes down to winning.”
He also wants to continue that team’s string of seven straight seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher and added he would like to “hand the ball off close to 30 times per game.”
6 Responses
And so the hype begins.
It is all about what happens on the field in real games against real opponents. Words are cheap.
What I want to see.
1. They talk tempo, but under 60 plays a game is a VERY SLOW TEMPO, but it is a tempo, nevertheless. I want to see 70 snaps per game. The total number of possessions per game is related to tempo, but 10 possessions per game is lethargic, while 13 or more possessions per game is more active.
2. The game is about scoring and preventing the opponent from scoring. Championship contenders average well over 30 ppg (approaching 40 ppg) and hold opponents to well under 20 ppg (approaching 10 ppg). No team can contend without achieving at both ends of the field by these minimums.
3. The game has an important 3rd component, Special Teams. This has been a neglected part of UK’s game for most years. Special Teams must be shored up and given proper attention by the coaches and players to be reliable and help win the field position game.
So, UK opens against Southern Miss. Last year, these teams finished #36 and #148 in Sagarin respectively. Therefore, with the home field advantage, UK would have been about a 24 point favorite. If UK wants to be a truly competitive team for a national championship, it should be at the least a top 10 team. Assuming Southern Miss is about the same this year as last year, UK should be favored by 35 points or more.
We will see what we will see when the games begin.
Until then, it is nothing but hype.
Over all my years, I have learned to never get to excited about UK Football until you see it on the field. If you have a terrible defense, the offense will look great in practice. If you have terrible offense, the defense will look great in practice. Practice only shows how good you are against someone you have gone against hundreds of times. But it can show how quick you can make changes, players that never quit, leaders on the team, how players respond to disappointment and success, etc. I’ve just learned to take a wait and see approach, but I do like the fact that with Stoops as the coach, UK usually has a chance to play with most teams. I like not knowing who is going to win until the game is over.
USA Today has us ranked 12th in the SEC with Stoops ranked 7th among coaches. His $9 million+ salary has him ranked in the top 5 nationally. With all of the good that Stoops has brought to Kentucky, we are still in the bottom 3rd of SEC teams. Much trepidation is building going into our opener against Southern Miss. Really? We should be this team 9 times out of 10. Then comes South Carolina, a team we should beat 8 times out of 10, but there is a bit of apprehension in this game knowing Georgia, a team that we might beat 1 time out of 20 even on our field, is up next. It’s not impossible for us to have a 3-0 start this season, but 2-1 is more realistic, while 1-2 could happen, and let’s not talk about 0-3, even though it’s a slight possibility. Getting off to at least a 2-1 start is crucial to having a good season. Going 3-2 in the next 5 games is a must as we could go 1-3 in the last 4. That would make us eligible for a Music City bowl game where we would hopefully finish the year a 7-6. Are we getting a good return on the money we are paying Stoops? At $9million+ annually, could we bring in a top 10 coach nationally to help us take the next step up in respectability?
This will be hands down the best team that Stoops has had here at Kentucky. 2 years ago we had the worst offensive line out of any power 5 team. Last year they improved but was still average at pass blocking and terrible at run blocking. Both of those areas have been addressed with experience and transfers. Our secondary last year couldn’t get us off the field. I don’t care if it was 3rd and 13. That area has been addressed with experience and transfers. Our depth has been a problem here at Kentucky but Stoops and Marrow have done a wonderful job selling Kentucky to higher ranked recruits. It seems like his recruiting classes get better every year. We dipped into the portal and addressed all the problems we had with great transfers. The SEC just added 2 of the biggest football schools in the country. We already had the best conference by far top to bottom and now it gets even harder. Kentucky will still win at least 10 games. The SEC is ridiculously good. When you have teams like Oklahoma not even in the top 8 you might as well forget a undefeated season. I bet no one in the SEC goes undefeated. It’s now or never for Kentucky. When we play at Texas it’s towards the end of the year. They aren’t used to a juggernaut schedule. This year is going to be a blast. I think Kentucky wins is going to be overlooked and that will help us tremendously.
This will be the best? Based on what?
I have heard that hype before, and it is almost always at odds with what UK puts on the field in game 1, season after season.
Come out on August 31 and beat Southern Miss by 35, 40 or more, and I will take note. Win by 20 to 25, and its a big ho-hum. Win by less than 17, and its a great big WARNING SIGN.
You got it pegged Professor.