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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops isn’t letting the Wildcats get ahead of themselves as they head into the Southeastern Conference finale at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Although Kentucky (5-5, 2-5) is one game away from bowl eligibility with two games remaining, Stoops is focused on the Commodores instead of a postseason bowl opportunity.
“One game at a time,” Stoops said. “We’re worried about trying to go 1-0 here this week, so there’s no point in talking about that. We acknowledge the importance of it, but what does it matter if we don’t take care of business this week? It’s about us just handling our business here this week.”
Stoops and his squad lost their first five conference games, including four in a row, before ending the skid at Auburn on Nov. 1. Since then, the Wildcats have won three straight and outscored their opponents — Auburn, Florida and Tennessee Tech — by a margin of 90-20.
The biggest difference since the calendar flipped to November has been the team’s offensive production, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley. Under Boley’s direction, Kentucky has scored six touchdowns in its last eight possessions and has scored at least 38 points in two straight games for the first time since 2021.
“I think we’ve done a nice job of it. When we get the balance, we can put pressure on teams as well,” Stoops said. “With the receivers stepping up and making big plays down the field and being able to run the ball, it could create some opportunities.”
On the flip side, Kentucky’s defense has limited the opposition to 10 points in three straight games for the first time since the 2018 campaign. The task will be more difficult against the Commodores and their standout signal caller, Diego Pavia.
“(I) can’t say enough good things about that young man,” Stoops said. “He is one heck of a ballplayer, is tough as nails, and makes plays when he has to. It will be a great challenge, but once again, for us, as I’ve said every week throughout this season, it’s about us. It’s about our preparation. Continue to build on the good things and get better each and every week.”
Stoops added that Pavia has a knack for breaking down the opposition defense, with both his feet and arms.
“It puts great pressure on the defense, and it doesn’t matter what defense it is,” Stoops said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, any of it. He makes plays, and he does it in every game he plays in. For us, great team defense, of course. He’s going to make some plays. We just have to make ours as well.”
Stoops added, “It’s impossible to totally just think you’re going to just completely contain Pavia” and added the Wildcats can’t overlook his ability to make plays as a dual-threat quarterback.
“Watch every game he plays, he makes plays,” Stoops said. “We just have to make enough on top of it. Yes, we have to be very organized in our pass rush lanes and be very disciplined, win (matchups), play very hard, play all the way through the whistle, cover guys down the field.”
The Commodores (8-2, 4-2) are undefeated at home this season and will be looking to go undefeated at FirstBank Stadium for the first time since 1982.
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GAMETRACKER: Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 3:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN, UK Radio Network. Coverage: www.kentuckytoday.com
6 Responses
I think we have a better chance of beating Louisville. It's time for Stoops to earn his pay.
I think Stoops has earned his pay. He has done more for Ky football than any coach EVER. I say it's time for Pope to earn his $6 Million and his team to earn their $22 Million. Minus JQ of course.
I agree. Football if we win it's a bonus. Basketball has way more resources. The players make 10x more than the football players. Stoops gets the shitty end of the stick. We put more into basketball than any other SEC school but expect better results. That's not going to happen in the age of paying players. They will go were the money is at. That's why it's so hard for us to retain players. Come back and we will pay you nothing to start for us. They can be a backup at Texas A&M and make two to three times more money. People don't realize how much of a difference this really makes in 2025. Vanderbilt paid more for there football team then we did. If that puts anything into perspective. Stoops has done a incredible job THIS YEAR. Last year he did terrible. The worst job he's done since he's been at Kentucky. Some of it falls on his shoulders but most falls on the athletic department for chasing a banner that will never happen if you keep only talking about it. How about let's win 10 games in a row for once in 10 years in basketball. I get so tired of hearing about #9. I would rather win a championship in football than in basketball. Football revenue pays for basketball and Stoops still gets screwed. We don't talk enough about this tho.
I believe in this team. I think our 2 deep is the most promising 2 deep that we've had since 2021. 2022 was supposed to be a special year. We were a offensive line away from having a playoff caliber team. This year we have the best line in the last 5 years. We will lose 4 out of 5 starters. We have some young guns who can take over next year but we need to hit the portal hard on the offensive line. Pavia will be hard to stop. In my opinion he's the best QB in the SEC. He also hasn't faced a defense like ours this year. I'm not saying we are the best but we cause matchup issues on our defense. We are down 3 starters and that will hurt us overall but how much is up for debate. I think Vanderbilt wins a very close game. I hope im wrong ive just seen Pavia make to many plays. No matter who they play. They are also #1 in points per drive. They are top 3 in redzone efficiency. They have a high octane offense all because of Pavia. I don't see how he isn't hurt. He's taken more hits than most starting running backs. The Vanderbilt offensive line is very intelligent. They play smart and limit there penalties. If we play great on defense and don't allow any big plays. He's going to make plays you Just can't let them break free. He's excellent at dropping back and taking off once the secondary takes off against the pass. They also have the receivers take off flying down the field to get the secondary 30 yards down the field. Then he takes off and there line will hold. If we run a 3-4 and have only 3 down lineman it's not going to be pretty if you give Pavia time he will eat you for lunch. We have to get inside pressure on him. We have to blitz multiple linebackers. We need our secondary to play a tight man to man. He will find holes in the zone and eat us for lunch. If we scout him in the film room well enough Brad White should be able to figure out how to stop Pavia. Before the year started I said Saunders was my dark horse to lead the line in tackles. Great choice. Vanderbilt 27 Kentucky 24. I do believe we beat Louisville. It helps that there QB is hurt and will probably miss the game against SMU. I think they are making sure he's ready to go against Kentucky. If he doesn't play against us we will destroy Louisville. If he plays we will beat Louisville 38-27. To go 6-6 and get all these underclassmen extra practice time and gel time for next year. It will be a major boost to our program to go bowling this year. Win or lose the bowl I would play all the underclassmen who have a chance to come back next year and use the bowl game to show them what there role will be the next year. That's how you retain your good young players.
Go cats
Transfer receivers may be easier to come by within the portal – that’s assuming Cutter stays.