Mark Stoops admitted he did not get through to his team about eliminating mistakes. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Listening to Kentucky coaches and players try to explain Saturday’s 20-13 home loss to Vanderbilt was almost as perplexing as the way UK played.
With a chance to move to 4-2 and be in position for a successful season, the Cats wilted and did as much to beat themselves as Vanderbilt did to win.
“You don’t win games by being all psyched up or just being irrational,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “It comes down to discipline, execution. I tried like hell to beat that into our heads and to play winning football in all areas.
‘And when you continuously hurt yourself with penalties, turnovers, missed assignments, not making plays, I’m obviously not getting through to them.”
Okay, why is that so hard to understand that mistakes get a team beat, especially unfocused penalties.
Quarterback Brock Vandagriff also made it clear there was a lack of focus at key times.
“I mean, we were down 20-7, and the dudes were juiced up on the sidelines and ready to go out there and play, and it’s kind of finding the happy medium between being juiced up and being reckless and making sure that we were not hurting the team and not hurting the offense with our actions,” the UK quarterback said.
“Like I said, I have to be a better leader on the sidelines and things of that sort, making sure that everything is running smoothly, and I just have to step up.”
Too juiced up? Too reckless? How can that still be an issue midway through a season with an experienced team? That seems like an obvious like of discipline from the top.
Linebacker D’Eryk Jackson had an interception and led Kentucky in tackles against Vandy. He also had a blunt assessment of what went wrong.
“People just weren’t doing their jobs, we weren’t doing our jobs,” Jackson said.
That’s why one friend of mine would call the “honest truth” about this Kentucky team.
It was also very telling when running back Jamarion Wilcox proclaimed that Vanderbilt stuck with its game plan which was basically implying that Kentucky deviated from its game plan.
“Communication problems. We have to talk better, play better, play smarter on both sides of the ball, play as a unit,” Wilcox said.
Play smarter. That seems like it would be a good thing. No team ever plays a perfect game. Mistakes happen. But at times this season UK has just made too many mistakes.
Vanderbilt didn’t let the prosperity and adulation from beating Alabama a week earlier distract it as the Commodores clearly were more focused from start to finish than UK.
“It says that the team is hungry for more and we are not going to let one game define our season. I think sometimes external narratives try to paint that picture and it has never been our reality,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “We know how to celebrate and we know that last week was an important marker for us, we do get that, but it is always about what comes next.”
Lea also added this analysis that maybe Kentucky players should think about.
“I am inspired by the way they (Vanderbilt players) play for one another in a world that has been defined by transaction. Not that transaction is not important but this is a team that is fighting together and they understand that they are apart of something bigger than themselves and I am very proud of them, but I think that defines a lot of the process that they take and the focus that they have because they want to be great for each other on Saturday,” Lea said.
10 Responses
That falls on the coaching staff!!
It was this time last year that we were discussing the lack of discipline.
The players haven’t grown up ANY from last year and I don’t know what’s wrong with the coaches.
This Kentucky football team appears to be a warship without a rudder. They can destroy battleships, but are vulnerable to armed speedboats. I think Stoops has reached his ceiling at Kentucky. For $9 million, we deserve better and can get better at this season’s disappointing end.
Irrational, Undisciplined UK
concise, accurate description of UK FB
Thanks, Larry, for calling it like it is.
I really don’t see much fire or emotion from any on this coaching staff. There also appears to be a paucity of leadership on the team. Think we need regime change of fail to bowl qualify and maybe also if we just sneak in. The product on the field most games is just not acceptable. We thrive on snatching defeat from jaws of victory. Mincey definitely needs to see some serious pine. If replacements no better than shame on recruiting staff.
Totally agree. What’s on the mind of over 50% of the staff & 70% of the players? $$$$ every game for the full 60 minutes.
Players ultimately reflect the coaches. ALA had the best of the best for a couple of decade & it showed on the field.
Stoops has gotten comfortable here just like Calipari had done. It’s time for a change.
KY has always been an undisciplined team going way back. I think it’s in the water. I remember Jerry Clayborn talking about it.
I liked Fran Curci as UK coach, and I was disappointed in the aftermath of the great 1977 season the wheels started falling off, and he was totally unable to stop the slide until he was finally not the UK coach. Perhaps, Curci’s high water mark reflected the program cheating that caught up with UK in 1977.
I see a lot of similarities with Stoops. His high water mark occurred a few years ago, but now, like in 1978-1981, the wheels are coming off, and I do not believe Stoops will be able to stop this slide, and he will not be UK coach much longer. Perhaps Stoops’ high water mark was also impacted by improprieties (which have since been revealed).
Barnhart needs to pull the plug as soon as possible.
It appears that this team has a severe problem with lack of "want to’s" on the team and maybe more so on the offensive side than on the defensive. Apparently Stoops has decided that BB may not be returning punts anymore bc Stoops doesn’t want to put too much pressure on him bc he gets so amped up. We have had too many guys that have talked it but not walked it. BB has not shown a lot of progression since frosh year and others could wear that same label.