Mark Stoops is coming off arguably the biggest win of his career and one of the biggest wins in Kentucky football history, upsetting sixth-ranked Ole Miss on the road. He did so with an out-of-character, aggressive decision.

Under four minutes to go, at their own 20-yard line, Stoops elected for Kentucky to go for it on 4th & 7. Despite the low odds, Brock Vandagriff connected with Barion Brown for a 63-yard pass to get into the red zone.

Just two plays later, the Wildcats took the lead 20-17 as they recovered a fumble in the endzone and never looked back en route to victory.

Following the contest, a reporter joked with Stoops, who is known for a conservative playstyle, “They’re not calling you conservative anymore, don’t worry.”

Stoops’ response, “Yeah, maybe I was a dumba**.”

The two were referring to Kentucky’s failed upset bid of top-ranked Georgia two weeks earlier, where in a similar situation – 4th & 8 at the Georgia 48-yard line – Stoops elected to punt. The Wildcats would go on to lose the game 12-13.

The decision on Saturday caught many off guard, even Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. “I have to credit Stoops. That’s not anything he’s probably ever done in his life. He got out of his character with three and a half minutes left,” Kiffin said. “I commend him for doing that.”

Making the decision that helped Kentucky get their biggest road win since 1977 (#4 Penn State), maybe we will see more of Stoops’ aggressive side in the future.

In the future, maybe we will see Stoops be more aggressive with his playcalling in late-game situations.

Faking injuries in college football has been around for a while, however, it has now become a pandemic of sorts.

With the rise of spread and up-tempo offenses over the last decade or so, opposing defenses have been faking injuries at a level never seen before, allowing themselves a few seconds of relief. Who’s to blame them? While it is frowned upon, there is no penalty for it.

One team that has been called out for it a lot this season has been Ole Miss, and on Saturday they may have had the fake injury flop of the season.

Usually, fake injuries occur on the defensive side of the ball, but the Rebels were overwhelmed by the Kentucky defense. After the Wildcats forced a fourth down, Ole Miss was contemplating going for it and quarterback Jaxson Dart directed running back Matt Jones to hit the field with an injury to avoid.

“There is very strong wording about being unethical to fake an injury at any time during the game,” College football rules analyst Matt Austin said during the game. “I know the rules-makers have talked about it several times, but as of right now, there’s nothing you in the book can do about it.”

Kirk Herbstreit also recently called out the practice of apparently faking injuries “unethical as hell.”

After two-plus decades of being an enemy to Kentucky fans, Rick Pitino is trying his best to get back in their good graces. This summer he started with a very positive endorsement of Mark Pope and followed it up a few weeks later by announcing he was a donor for the Kentucky football program.

On Saturday the former Kentucky basketball coach shared a message on X with the football team. “Incredible win for UK Football on the road. Big time 💪,” Pitino tweeted.

The tweet was appreciated by the Big Blue Nation, with one fan saying, “It’s amazing how much I’ve grown to love this man again.” On the other hand, Louisville fans were very critical, “Can’t believe we as fans caped for him for so long,” one fan wrote.

Pitino, now with St John’s, is in the twilight of his coaching career. Expected to play a home-and-home series next season, he is on his way to a standing ovation inside Rupp Arena.