Stoops: ‘We are going to bang away and we are not going to stop’

Kentucky has rallied from a 2-5 start to win two straight SEC games and now is in bowl contention. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Maybe some fans are disappointed that Kentucky beat Auburn and Florida the last two weeks to not only rejuvenate the season but also build hope for the future with the way redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley and other young players on both offense and defense have been playing.

The wins have also put Kentucky at 4-5 going into Saturday’s game with unbeaten Tennessee Tech before it plays at Vanderbilt and then Louisville. Suddenly a bowl bid for coach Mark Stoops is not out of the realm of possibility a few weeks after most thought Stoops had no prayer to return as UK’s coach in 2026 after the Cats were blitzed by Tennessee to fall to 2-5.

Give Stoops credit for not making excuses directing fans to be angry at him, not his players. He also acknowledged how important it was to win a SEC home game for the first time in three years like the Cats did when they blasted Florida Saturday  night.

It’s important. I acknowledge that. I understand. These folks sacrifice an awful lot.  They care and they continue to show up,” Stoops said about the importance of winning at home. “We are going to need them to continue to do that. We always acknowledge it and appreciate them. They have to save money, they travel long distances. They show up week in and week out. 

“I’ve always acknowledged our responsibility to play well for them. I promise you we will give a great effort. I like this team and I think they do too. They are very tough and they care and they are passionate for each other. And to play well, it was nice to get some rewards.  We are close a lot, but that doesn’t count when you are a fan or media. I understand that.”

He’s right. Close losses don’t cut it. But one thing about this team is that even when it was not playing well, it was not from lack of effort — something that did happen the second half of last season.

“It’s just not what we are going to do. You know what I mean? We are just not going to do that,” Stoops said when asked why his team did not implode this season after Saturday’s win. “We’ve got really good leadership, I’ve said that over and over. That’s not just coach BS.

“They really generally are really great young men and they work really hard and they care. They care about the way they play. Tonight again it was a great moment in there because mistakes were made. Fumble a punt return, interceptions, fumbles, different things, the other side has to pick them up.  That’s what we are going to continue to do.”

Sounds easy enough, but it is not. A lot of teams across the country have imploded — and Florida looked like one of them. Stoops said he had a “great staff” that has done a great job keeping players going the right direction even when the results were not what the Cats wanted.

“I care, you know what I mean?  I’ve worked hard with the team just in relationships and that goes way back into last winter, into the summer for each other. Everybody invests in each other.  They believe,” Stoops said.

“For me, it’s easy, you know that, I think you know me.  For me you swing, I’m gonna swing back. That’s easy. But it’s not always easy to get everybody to do that. One hundred fifty people in our building to do that. And being on the same page, I’m proud of the group effort. The coaches, the players, everybody. We are all in this together.

“There’s never been one inch of hesitancy from me.  There’s going to be no flinching, no worries, I work extremely hard and I care about this University. The people have given me the opportunity, the fans, we are going to bang away and we are not going to stop.”