Vicky Graff Photo
Kentucky has made it a habit of playing close games against Ole Miss.
The Wildcats (1-1) made things interesting yet again, but came up short in a 30-23 loss to the 20th-ranked Rebels in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday. Ole Miss has won four of the past five games, all of which have been decided by 10 points or less.
“To come on the road in the SEC and win is hard,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “(The) game toward the end was like last year, but all three phases went our way this year.”
The hosts stunned the Rebels 20-17 last year, but have lost eight consecutive conference games and have recorded a 3-15 record in their previous 18 league encounters. Kentucky had its chances to end the frustration against the Rebels, who were limited to their lowest scoring output of the season after lighting up the 63-7 blowout of Georgia State in the season opener.
“I love the fight of this team,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “It’s early in the year, and we have a lot of football ahead of us. That’s a good thing, and I like this team. I like the way they fight and scrap, and will improve.”
Kentucky put Ole Miss on its heels early and it was the defense that helped the Wildcats produce an early 10-0 lead. A pair of interceptions by defensive back Ty Bryant led to a touchdown and a field goal for Kentucky, putting the Rebels into their first deficit of the season.
“It felt amazing getting those interceptions, but I wish we had gotten the win,” Bryant said. “I thought we played with a lot of energy, but had some mistakes like tackling and things like that. We will come in Monday and fix those things.”
From that point on, Ole Miss chipped away at the lead and led 17-13 at the break. Kentucky managed to tie the margin at 20-20 in the third quarter before Ole Miss outscored the hosts 10-3 the rest of the way for the final margin.
In his second start, Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada fared better than the final tally he produced in the opener and threw for 149 yards, including a season-high 44-yard strike to Ja’Mori Maclin. Calzada left the game because of an apparent shoulder injury in the fourth quarter and didn’t return.
Stoops didn’t have an update on Calzada’s status following the contest and didn’t know Calzada’s status, and added that he would like to see backup Cutter Boley more often. Boley may get that chance against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
The offense seemed disoriented at times in the first half of the league opener, and Stoops was disappointed in the game management at times by his squad. He said the communication issues were “messy.”
“It’s really inexcusable,” he said. “There are things where we are trying to get the best personnel we can with certain plays and certain things. We’ve got to be better (and) we’ve just got to function better. There were issues that we had in our communication on the sideline and with the quarterback here and there, with his communication device, but there’s no excuse for it.”
Although the passing game remains a mystery, Kentucky rushed for 179 yards against a conference foe after amassing 220 in the opener against Mid-American Conference favorite Toledo. Last week it was Dante Dowdell who carried the load, but this time, Seth McGowan led the way with 93 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
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GAMETRACKER: Eastern Michigan at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. TV/Radio: ESPNU and UK Radio Network. Coverage: www.kentuckytoday.com
Kentucky-Ole Miss Football
Photos by Vicky Graff
6 Responses
It looks like another 4 win season, thanks to Florida.
We have learned over the years that when the best comment a coach can make is, "I like my team." then it does not bode well for the future.
Two and 3 are pretty close…."we need to get back to work" and "I need to look at the film" The larger ? just may be "does the team like him"?
If Coach Stoops likes his team so much, try giving them a chance to win. Playing the game to keep it close is not a winning formula. True, defense wins football games but only if the offense can score. Every time the offense touches the ball three things can happen and two of them are bad. In the case of a pass, you can get an interception, an incomplete pass or a reception for a gain. Same is true for a run play. You can get a fumble, tackle for a loss or a gain. When you are not gaining enough with the run game you throw the ball to keep the defense honest. Just running to chew up the clock is not giving your team a chance to win.
Mark Stoops record has gotten worse the fatter he has become. There is a direct inversion between losses and pounds gained. I think this is a 2 win season. Nobody blames the real villain: Barnhart. He signed all these contracts. Stoops is an $11 Million high school coach.
"I like me!" John Candy.
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