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Kentucky Defensive Captain is Sick of Losing, “We Gotta Make Some Changes”

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Kentucky football linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson is tired of losing and calls for his teammates to step up and make some changes.
UK Athletics

Jamon Dumas-Johnson transferred to Kentucky from Georgia, having won two national championships with the Bulldogs. In seven weeks at Kentucky, Dumas-Johnson has already experienced more losses than he did in three seasons in Athens.

Simply put, he’s not used to losing and made that clear after the Wildcats suffered an embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt.

We gotta make some changes,” Dumas-Johnson told the media after the game. “Not try, we gotta make some changes because I’m not used to this feeling and I don’t like this feeling.”

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Having come off a historical road win over Ole Miss and a bye-week, this week’s performance was certainly a letdown. The worst part though, there is nothing to point to as to why.

“No matter what message you give to a team, you gotta go out there and execute the call,” said Dumas-Johnson. “Play as a team, but I don’t think we played our ball today. The reason why? I don’t know, but we just gotta play ball. We’ve already seen what type of ball we can play as a team. That just didn’t happen today. Why? I don’t know.”

An issue that has plagued Kentucky for a large part of Stoops’ tenure, reared its head once again, a lack of discipline. The final tally, twelve penalties for 105 yards, leaving multiple scores on the field.

“They killed the whole game,” Dumas-Johnson said when asked about the penalties. “As a whole, we just gotta limit the penalties. It kills a game like that. You have no chance when you have penalties like that, especially that last drive.”

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The Kentucky linebacker, clearly frustrated, is looking to use his experience to help the team get back on the right track.

“We just got calm down. I’ve been in situations like this and came out on top multiple times. Get a quick stop, three-and-out, let the offense try to do their thing, give the offense a chance. I think that’s what we did the last two minutes, but the message is to just calm down, we’re good.”

Next week the Wildcats travel to ‘The Swamp’ to take on Florida, a place they have only won in twice in 45 seasons. Sitting at 3-3, there is a possibility that Kentucky is not bowl-eligible for the first time since 2015.

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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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