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Day After: Ole Miss Loss

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I thought we were passed this. The depressing Sunday after an awful Kentucky football loss. Yesterday’s game wasn’t only a let-down, but it was a game you needed/should’ve won. Good thing is, we as a fan base should be used to this. We thought we were passed this, but hey, we’re not.

Kentucky came into this season with a lot of hype. Probably the most since the 2015 season. Rightly so since the Cats have one of the best O-Lines in the country, a stacked running-back room, a QB with a ton of talent, but a lot to prove, and a promising defense with a good mix of experience and very talented youth.

The “talking season,” as Mark Stoops calls it, saw Kentucky earn their first preseason ranking since 1978. Although the ranking came because the Big Ten and PAC12 weren’t playing, the ranking still meant something. It meant for the first time since Mark Stoops has been in Lexington, the Cats were finally getting some national attention.

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The one difference about this season is that there’s a little thing called a pandemic going on. Changing the way every American lives. Changing how every sport is played. Shortening Kentucky’s season by two games, making every game an SEC opponent.

People often complain about the “cupcake games” at the beginning of a season. Those games are boring to watch, but are great warmups for the power five teams. Giving them an easy win, preparing them for better opponents in the future, and giving second and third-stringers quality minutes. Well, we didn’t get those this year and we all saw the negative impact against Auburn.

Kentucky always has a lot of rust in the opener, but normally ends up winning the game, which is all that matters. We saw the rust last weekend, but Kentucky was playing the eighth best team in the country. Not a directional school. Thus making the rust more obvious and us fans not being able to okay it with “oh well, we won the game.”

Not great, but not the end of the world. Maybe even a good thing, right? You really quickly see what you need to improve on.

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The one bad thing is Auburn got thumped by Georgia yesterday. I’m hoping that’s just an early sign of how difficult an all-SEC schedule will be. Mostly just to make myself feel better.

The Cats had ten SEC games. Five games you should lose and five games you should win. Well, one of the games you should’ve lost, you lost. Now one of the games you had to win, you lost, yesterday’s game against Ole Miss. Now you’ve got a problem. You’re 0-2, when at worst, you should’ve been 1-1.

Even though Mark Stoops is the second best coach Kentucky has ever had, his tenure has been filled with a lot of disappointment. In Stoops’ seven seasons, four of them have started with a lot of promise and have ended with disappointment. 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018. Now you can add 2020 to that list.

Five out of seven seasons.

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The Cats were supposed to make a serious run at winning the SEC East. Now, with an 0-2 start, you’re going to have to do a lot just to finish the season 5-5. By the way, that would be a great season. A .500 record in the SEC is something Kentucky has achieved only twice in 20 years. But now, 5-5 is not guaranteed. At all.

The preseason hype was at an all-time high. Now the hype is gone and the fan interest will decline a ton. With the way the schedule is, things won’t get any easier from here. Kentucky could easily start the season 0-5, because the next game you should win isn’t until Missouri. The Cats have three ranked opponents before then. Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Georgia. Oh boy.

This has happened too many times in the Stoops era. A lot of hype and promise seems to always end in disappointment.

Now we’re back to square one.

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Louisville Football Player Charged With First-Degree Strangulation, Days After Committing Game Losing Personal Foul

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Louisville Cardinals defensive back Tayon Holloway (20) reacts to his defensive play.
Eric Canha | Imagn

On Monday, Louisville football defensive back Tayon Holloway was detained and charged with first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault.

This comes just days after the former four-star prospect committed a costly personal foul to put a 2-7 Stanford team in field goal range and upset Louosillve 38-35 with a walk-off field goal.

As expected, Holloway has been indefinitely suspended from the team.

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“The University of Louisville is aware of the arrest of football student-athlete Tayon Holloway,” the university said in a statement. “As we gather more information, Tayon has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities.”

Things Cardinals seem to be in a downward trend as the Commonwealth Cup nears, November 30th.

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Kentucky snaps four game losing streak defeats Murray State 48-6

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops talking to Murray State football coach Jody Wright.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Kentucky gets a much-needed victory over Murray St 48-6 to snap its four-game losing Streak. Brock Vandagriff led the way for the Cats, going 12-19 for 183 passing yards and two touchdown passes to Hardley Gilmore IV and Ja’Mori Maclin. 48 Points is the most points Kentucky has scored in a game since 2021 when the Cats scored 51 points against Louisville.

The defense held Murray St. without a touchdown. For the second time this season, Kentucky’s defense has held an opponent without a touchdown.

Freshman Standout today:

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For the second time this season, Kentucky breaks the 40-point mark as three freshmen make impacts for Kentucky. Jamarion Wilcox had 13 carries and 124 yards with a touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

Receiver Hardley Gilmore IV had two receptions for 72 yards and caught the 52-yard touchdown pass from Brock Vandagriff on the game-opening drive.

Four-star quarterback Cutter Boley started the second half for the Cats, going 10-14 and passing for 130 yards with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, both touchdown passes to sophomore receiver Anthony Brown-Stephens.

Defense Bounces Back:

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After giving up over 475 yards of total offense each of the last three games, Kentucky’s defense holds Murray State to 256 total yards of offense while also having three takeaways from the Murray State offense

Defensive Lineman Tre’vonn Rybka led the way for the defense with five tackles and the only sack of the game for Kentucky’s defense. Jordan Lovett had two takeaways in the first half for Kentucky and one in the red zone in the second quarter. Jackson Schultz had the final takeaway, picking off Jim Ogle’s pass late in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

With the win today over Murray St., Kentucky moves to 4-6 (1-6 SEC) with two games remaining. They look to keep their bowl eligibility alive as they travel to Austin, Texas, and face the No. 3 ranked Texas Longhorns at 3:30 pm on ABC. 

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Mark Stoops Responds to Retirement Rumors, “Zero Percent Chance I Do That”

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops responds to retirement rumors amidst disappointing season. "Zero percent chance I do that."
Jordan Prather | Imagn

To say there is unrest in the Kentucky Football fanbase would be an understatement. With a 3-6 record overall, and 1-6 in the SEC (15th out of 16) things look bleak, and there is still a quarter of the season to go. Considering the regression from the previous two seasons as well, it’s difficult to be optimistic about the future.

Over the last few weeks, rumors have circled that head coach Mark Stoops has considered retiring at the end of the season. Optics wise it makes sense, his older brother Bob Stoops surprisingly retired from Oklahoma at just 56, and Mark, now 57, has expressed a desire to spend more time with his children.

At his weekly press conference, Stoops was asked directly if there is any chance that he would walk away from Kentucky and retire at the season. To which he responded, bluntly:

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“Zero percent chance I do that. Next question.”

Mark Stoops is still owed more than $44 million on his contract. That’s A LOT of money to leave on the table and is the reason that the decision will be Stoops’ to make, as Kentucky cannot afford the buyout.

If Stoops holds true to his word and returns next season, NIL fundraising efforts may be the most difficult it has been for him. However, he hopes it sparks motivation to donate.

“I’ve seen it at other SEC schools,” Stoops said. “I want to stay away from that. I really get tired of — I don’t want to be like I am whining, I am crying. It is reality. You have to have dollars.”

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