Kentucky fans had enough to cheer about Saturday that coach Mark Stoops felt like UK should have won the game. (Vicky Graff Photo)
After reviewing the film following the 30-23 loss to Ole Miss, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said there were “two ways of looking at things.”
“There are a lot of good things that we have to build on and a lot of mistakes that we have to get corrected — but we played winning football for much of that game,” he said.
The Wildcats built an early 10-0 lead following a pair of interceptions deep in Ole Miss territory, but the Kentucky coach was disappointed after the second takeaway when the Wildcats settled for a field goal instead of a possible touchdown.
“We’ve got to learn to capitalize, finish it off and play better in critical moments,” Stoops said. “But (we) did a lot of good things.”
Kentucky ran 70 plays compared to 72 for Ole Miss, but the Rebels capitalized on more explosive plays than the Wildcats, leading to the single-digit victory.
“You look at the way we competed, the way we played them — and we played them very well,” Stoops said. “Obviously, when you give up explosive plays, it’s going to be difficult. For us, (we gave up) way too many explosive plays.
“I think, you know, we ran the ball effectively. We ran a lot of plays, which was good to see that you need to do (and) we limited them somewhat. … Credit them with the explosives. We didn’t get as many.”
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Gametracker: Eastern Michigan at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network. Coverage: www.kentuckytoday.com
5 Responses
Hard to "finish" games when even the coaches don't have a clue as to what they are doing.
Hard to finish games when the coaches and players seem NEVER READY to start games.
Old Fan and the Professor are right. Finishing the game is a product of coaching and preparation. Our team lacks in both areas. Missing the cut for the A&M job rattled Stoops, he was already packed and heading to Texas when he got the bad news. A&M discovered what we are now witnessing…Stoops leaves MUCH to be desired as an offensive coach and he hires offensive coordinators who are equally challenged so they don't show him up. A&M realized Stoops was not the man to lead them to SEC championships. He won't win any at Kentucky either. With that being said, why do we have to accept being a cellar team in the SEC?
This business of "finishing games" falls into the same category of all other coach-speak, and it is meaningless.
The problem is poor coaching which leads to lack of unity/purpose and lack of urgency.
Mark Stoops is, at best, a good defensive coordinator. There is nowhere in the country where he can make the kind of money he makes at UK. After his marital difficulties, he is not likely to be as wealthy as he should be. So, he's not going anywhere. Why should he? He does not have the age and energy to start over somewhere else. So, he's going to ride it out and leave such a bad taste in everyone's mouth that the next AD to offer the kind of contract he has will get hanged at the public square.
Look in the Dictionary for the "the Peter Principle" and you will find Mark Stoops picture there.