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Day After: Tennessee Win

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Waking up on Sundays after a win is nice. Doing it two weeks in a row is awesome. Doing it two weeks in a row after losing two weeks in a row is even better. Make one of those wins a beatdown of the Vols in Knoxville and it sounds almost too good to be true. But, here we are.

Before yesterday I had seen Kentucky beat Tennessee twice in my lifetime. The snoozer back in 2011 and Stephen Johnson laying his life on the line in 2017. Neither game I saw in-person, which I still haven’t gotten over.

But, yesterday sure helped. For the first time in my lifetime, Kentucky beat the Vols in Knoxville.

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Something that I thought I would only see in my dreams and even then that would’ve been a pretty far-fetched dream.

Kentucky had three interceptions, including two pick-six’s. They dominated both halves defensively and ran it down Tennessee’s throat in the second half. No flukes. Kentucky beat Tennessee, straight up.

How many times were we thinking “Oh no. Here we go.”? I know I said it after Upshaw dropped the touchdown pass in the end zone, after the Vols marched it down the field and scored, after the backup QB came in twice, and even when it was 27-7, I still hadn’t convinced myself Kentucky was going to win.

I do hope fans will get off the Joey Gatewood bandwagon and get behind Terry Wilson. I shouldn’t have to say this, but after reading Twitter threads, I definitely do. For some reason, fans think Gatewood is Tom Brady. He’s not. This is Terry Touchdown’s job and if you don’t think so you can shut up and go be for another team.

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The man has beaten both Florida and Tennessee on the road in his career. We haven’t had that happen since my dad was in high school. What else do we want? I mean yeah, an undefeated national title season would be nice, but money growing on trees would be too.

I was really worried one side of the ball wouldn’t show up, which was the case in the first half. But, in the second half, the Cats made adjustments, yeah we haven’t said that in awhile, and both the offense and the defense showed up.

Yesterday’s win is something I never thought I would see, especially in that fashion, but it did, and it was awesome.

Now Kentucky is 2-2 with a very winnable game against Missouri coming up. If the Cats are 3-2 going into the Georgia game, we can get excited. That’s definitely an upset game.

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But for now, we celebrate yesterday’s special win.

Before I go, I’ll leave you with these texts from my grandfather:

“Is there a mistake on my television? It says Ky is ahead of Tennessee 34 to 7. I am really confused.”

Followed by…

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“This is totally unbelievable. Better go to church tomorrow. The end is coming soon!”

Football

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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