Dante Dowdell did not get close to scoring in overtime when he tried to leap over the line. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky had the ball at the Texas 3-yard line with a first down in overtime in a 13-13 game and seemed in perfect position to score a huge upset Saturday night.
Instead, Kentucky couldn’t score — a fourth-down run inside the 1-yard line by Dante Dowdell was stuffed — and Texas won 16-13 by merely kicking a field goal in overtime without getting a first down.
“You watch football and everybody’s getting the ball on the perimeter and different things and we have been effective that way. But tonight they played it extremely well,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said after another SEC loss. “Again, credit them and we tried to do some perimeter things and they were hitting us in the backfield and losing yardage.
“That gets frustrating and then you run the ball downhill, downhill, well, that’s hard to do against them as well.”
Running downhill in short yardage wasn’t hard against Texas. It was IMPOSSIBLE yet that is what UK did three of the four plays after Kendrick Law’s 22-yard reception to open overtime put UK at the 3. Dowdell ran for no gain on first down. Quarterback Cutter Boley scrambled outside and then back inside for 1 yard on second down. Dowdell tried to leap over the pile on third down and got to the 1. On fourth down his leap got nowhere near the goal line.
Stoops said the play call was not for Dowdell to leap even though he got close to scoring on the first one.
“On the next one, I felt like they were ready for the leap. But they were definitely creating some push down low as well,” Stoops said.
Hamdan admitted — as did Stoops — that UK thought it had cleaned up the short yardage woes it had last season.
“Disappointing from the standpoint of it’s something last year that hampered us a bunch (in short-yardage situations), and we had cleaned up,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said. “We’re a yard away. Got to go make those plays.”
Kentucky did bring in Dowdell from Nebraska where he was one of the nation’s most efficient short yardage runners last year … but those runs were not against a Texas defense loaded with size and strength that came into the game allowing the fourth fewest rushing yards in the nation.
“There’s always decisions that I can definitely second-guess myself on, but not that one,” Stoops said after the runs on third and fourth downs in overtime. “I wanted to go to play to win, and we played well the entire game and had a great opportunity. Six inches or whatever, half-yard to win, put yourself in a position to win the game. “We came up short. And that hurts.”
What Stoops didn’t say was that his defense was playing great. Texas had two first downs in the second half and basically had been a three-and-out offense. If UK had kicked a field goal on fourth down, Texas would have had to score a touchdown to win. Not kicking the field goal and getting stopped short of the end zone basically gave the win to Texas.
“We’re falling short,” Hamdan said. “We’re not making those plays. I understand the criticism. It’s warranted. We got to get it fixed.”
So why not kick the field goal?
“I think we were just in a situation where when you’re a yard, yard and a half away, you got to make those decisions of what you’re going to live with,” Hamdan said. “And WE felt we were going to rely on being downhill with the backs and our O-line, and that was a decision WE made.”
Notice the emphasis on WE. That means Hamdan and Stoops were on the same page. Stoops believes in power football. He wanted to pound the ball into the end zone and those criticizing Hamdan’s play calls need to recognize that is what Stoops wanted to do. Not saying play calling has not been an issue but UK did have 371 yards against Texas and did some more creative things until the collapse in overtime.
“I appreciate our players and our coaches have worked really hard. We are getting better. And I know you could look at the bottom line and we all do. It’s a bottom-line business, I understand that as much as anybody,” Stoops said.
“I’ve been around a long time. But I really care about the way they approach things, the way they invest and how they work and the improvement that we’re making. And we’ve improved each and every week through this SEC schedule. Unfortunately, we came up short and that hurts.”
And it hurts even more when it is so easy to second guess coaching decisions even if Stoops says he has no regrets.
12 Responses
We should be grateful for VV not sugar-coating bad coaching & bad play calling. It’s just too obvious to try to make excuses.
The UK players are giving a great effort but are handicapped by the GC & IC who are clueless about offense.
Nothing will change until the trio of AD, HC & OC are gone. It’s only going to get more painful when the 3rd cupcake knocks off UK and the seqson ends 2-10. It’s about a 50-50 chance whether UK is 2-10 or 3-9 this year.
Indiana has burst forth to #2.
Vandy is #10.
TN & Cincinnati & UL remain in the Top 25.
All these programs are the nearest to Lexington & are successful. Of course, OSU & Notre Dame are not far from the state line. Programs in states bordering KY are very successful. Could the AD & coaching staff be the major difference? Definitely!
LB……Anyone still not convinced that coaching can make the REAL difference? You cited some excellent examples of non Traditionals, and I would like to add Georgia Tech, Maryland, and there are others. It made my day to see Chad Johnson's comment on lack of creative play calling by the totally incompetent Hamdan…..same play…up the middle….over and over. Everyone that knows FB knows Hamdan was damaged goods when he got here and should not be drawing a paycheck for his gross, offensive, incompetence. Stoops would be better to put him in witness protection and out of interview sessions until season is over.
Mike, your posts are typically top of the line & thanks for your comments.
I really like the witness protection idea for the inept OC !!!! That’s a classic.
Barnie should at least ask SEC programs to donate some funds to cover the payments to the HC & OC. It’s only reasonable! Something like a tariff since UK is giving wins to them.
Stoops has reached his level of incompetence. He elevated the UK football program in the period of a smaller SEC and a smaller SEC schedule. All he had to do was get 6 wins and go to the Music City Bowl and he was a hero whether he won or lost it. Then the SEC added 2 stronger teams and now has mandated a 9 game SEC schedule + an ACC team. With a 12 game schedule, that only leaves 2 cupcake games. Now Kentucky has to win those plus beat 4 quality teams to even get a Music City Bowl bid again. How has this played out?
Kentucky is 3-15 in its last 18 games against Power 5 opponents. We have lost our last 8 consecutive SEC home games at Kroger Field. In his entire 13-year tenure, Mark Stoops is just 3-34 against SEC opponents that finished the season with a winning conference record. Excluding bowl games, Mark Stoops’ record vs. teams finishing above .500 is 20–53 since 2013.
With a limited cupcake schedule combined with Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Missouri's improved teams and adding Texas and Oklahoma, Kentucky's only hope of getting an SEC win lies with lowly Mississippi State and Auburn. Oh, let's not forget the recent rise of the Louisville program while we are at it. We don't play State this season and play Auburn at Auburn. They are winless in SEC play until Nov. 1 when we come to town. Even with a win, Hugh Freeze will most likely be fired at the end of the season while Stoops contract leaves him firmly entrenched as our coach. What is wrong with this picture?
It's the ridiculous contract that Mitch Barnhart gave Stoops along with a contract extension to 2031. This is why Barnhart must be fired first before any real improvement will be made to the Kentucky football program. Barnhart will keep Stoops as coach at least until 2028, fire him and then hire another idiot coach who will be given another ridiculous contract. You can't fix stupid with stupid. The only reason Barnhart has not been on the chopping block is his hiring of Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks and the turnaround they have brought to Kentucky basketball. As long as Kentucky is good at basketball, the rest of the athletic program can stink to high heaven. Quoting the famous philosopher Bruce Willis in his role in The Last Boy Scout…the sky is blue, water is wet, and being a member of BBN comes with its blessing and its curse.
Barnhart has ridden on the minor sports' horse for decades, and many believe that diversion of resources and focus from the money makers was a wise move by Barnie Fife.
However, these disgusting contracts with football and basketball head coaches defy explanation, going back to the stupid contract he gave Tubby Smith right after Barnhart arrived at UK.
He is on borrowed time, and has been for well over a decade.
However, the powers that be that can address his situation are equally uninterested in real competitiveness in football, and probably never have been. Content to cash those SEC monies and bear the weight of the SEC from the cellar.
BTW, I don't necesarily disagree with the decision to go for the TD in OT. My beef is the play calling. Texas knew what UK was going to do as evidenced by 11 players in the box, within 3 or 4 yards of the LOS each time, yet UK complied with the Texas anticipation time after time.
No imagination. No game situational recognition. Boley had been hot as a firecracker. Why abandon him in such a stark manner.
As for the decision to go for it. The 3 points would have only guaranteed a second OT or a loss. UK's defense had played well, but the game was a long one. Get the TD, and force Texas to reach the end zone or lose.
Boley was hot as a firecracker IMMEDIATELY which is rare for any UK QB or team because of the pre-game trance the players are placed in before kickoff. Boley & some others must have had earplugs.
As soon as Boley had connected on 4 of 5 passes leading UK to the TX 15 yard line, he was never given another pass attempt and UK settled for running up the middle over and over to end the drive and turnover the ball on downs. That was a pitiful way to stop UK after driving about 60 yards mostly thru the air.
For as long as Stoops has been on the job, you'd think he would run out of excuses. I have noticed a few retreads though. For the most part we played a good game against a very good team. Special teams weakness bugaboo is still with us. If Stoops is here a 100 years, I doubt that he will get that problem fixed.
WE decided to go with choking another win away and Left US the fans hearing how WE are the Joke in the SEC because of all the games we find a way to lose! Tennessee will keep WE from having to call Stupid Plays this weekend because Tennessee will clean our plow.If that young QB has any smarts He will hit the transfer portal and go where he will find good coaches.
Couldn’t run outside. Couldn’t run up the middle. Well maybe take a shot with your guy who is 31/39 passing!! It will, of course, sound like a wildly radical idea to Stoops to maybe run a creative play that is NOT what the other team and every other human watching expects him to run.
Stoops is a good coach but will NEVER be a great coach. Great coaches ooze confidence and it permeates everything they touch. I watch and listen to Stoops and I see a broken man who has lost the reigns.
Deporobul – you described the overpaid HC in a very colorful accurate way.
REAL coaches ooze their confidence into the players. That is the opposite of what has been done to UK players before kickoff for over a dozen years, when players are in a trance for a series or 2 before snapping out of it. Boley was able to reject the trance and inspire his teammates (on both sides of the ball) to take charge immediately.
Stoops is obviously out of his league in the SEC. Almost all SEC teams have better talent and better coaching. Better talent and better coaching will win 95% of the time. It's not a matter of Stoops finding another way to lose, the football program at Kentucky under Stoops has been designed to lose in SEC play. Barnhart keeps hoping that some other school will hire Stoops and solve his buyout problem. Texas A&M almost did so but saw something that caused them to drop Stoops like a bad habit. Virginia Tech is sure to do the same. Kentucky needs a competent athletic director before any other changes are made. Why the University fails to grasp this fact is the real mystery. Larry, if you ever get the chance to talk to Dr. Caliputo, would you ask him about that?
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