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The Story Didn’t End the Way It Should Have

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11 months ago

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A retrospective look as Mark Stoops is being let go after 13 season as the head coach of Kentucky Football.

If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.

Mark Stoops’ story at Kentucky officially stopped on Monday, following an embarrassing 41-0 defeat to Louisville in the Governor’s Cup, but there was once a time Stoops could have walked away with a much different and more positive ending.

When Stoops first arrived in Lexington at the conclusion of the 2012 season, Kentucky wasn’t just struggling; they were the doormat of the SEC. Finishing 0-8 in the conference and losing to Western Kentucky the season prior, the on-field product was bad, but off the field, the facilities lagged as well.

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“There will be no magic wand,” Stoops said in his introductory press conference. “We’ll be very much of a blue-collar mentality.”

Stoops got to work, as he routinely says in Monday press conferences. He tapped into his home state, into the Ohio recruiting pipeline, selling the opportunity to play football in the SEC at a time when the conference had won seven straight national titles. As a culture was built, centered around toughness and that blue-collar mentality, the motto quickly became: Why not us? Why not Kentucky?

Year by year, the bar steadily rose.

From two wins in 2013, Kentucky won five games in 2014, highlighted by a win over South Carolina, where Bud Dupree returned a late-game interception for a game-sealing touchdown. In 2016, Kentucky made its first of eight straight bowl appearances, a program record, and finished .500 in the SEC for the first time in a decade. Two more years later, the greatest season in modern program history, finishing 10-3 in 2018, with a winning record in the SEC for the first time since 1977 and a win over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl.

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Stoops was creating a new reality for Kentucky football; consistently beating Missouri and South Carolina, and ending losing streaks to Florida and Tennessee. He was pushing what many believed was possible at Kentucky and encouraging fans to raise expectations. All the while staying loyal to a fanbase that isn’t used to being chosen. That is where the storybook ending would fall.

The story continued, and name, image, and likeness was introduced (NIL) to college athletics.

Stoops built Kentucky football on the identity of ‘recruit and develop’, finding overlooked recruits and turning them into NFL players. There are no better examples of that philosophy working than Benny Snell (three-star HS recruit) and Josh Hines-Allen (two-star HS recruit), who became all-time players at Kentucky, with the latter being a top-10 pick.

As NIL made its way, key staff members, including Steve Clinkscale and Jon Sumrall, who were key in player evaluation, found their ways elsewhere. Offensive line coach John Schlarmann, who was critical in building the ’Big Blue Wall,‘ sadly passed away. The administration was slow to adapt and embrace NIL, hampering the program even more.

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After a 10-win season in 2021, with a roster built largely pre-NIL, the downward trend started. Bad evaluations led to players being overpaid for their production, and culture issues finding their way into the locker room. No longer was Kentucky consistently beating South Carolina and Missouri, or even Vanderbilt. They had players buying concessions midgame.

As the on-field product worsened, Stoops also began to lose the fanbase off the field. In 2022, he sent a tweet that fueled a football school-basketball school debate that became a national story. In 2023, asked disgruntled fans to “pony up” after a blowout loss to Georgia. That was echoed to him as the fanbase endured 11 straight SEC home losses.

In 2024, Kentucky was ineligible for a bowl for the first time since 2015. Meanwhile, programs of similar prestige were competing for playoff spots. In November 2025, the Wildcats lost to Vanderbilt by the largest margin since 2012, when Joker Phillips was fired.

Much like most real-life stories, Mark Stoops’ story at Kentucky did not have the perfect ending.

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After 13 seasons in Lexington, Stoops stayed too long. His failure to adapt to NIL and the transfer portal ended his story. It’s also true that he was the right coach for the right time. He gave this school the two best seasons in the modern era. He ended generational streaks. He helped reset the expectations of what Kentucky football can be in the future. He left the program in a better place now than when he found it in 2012.

To me, Mark Stoops’ story at Kentucky is about a coach who poured and planted himself into a place that had little belief in winning, and in doing so, changed what Kentucky football believed it could be.

Thank you, Mark.

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Football

Will the Slipper Continue to Fit For Kentucky Football?

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11 hours ago

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October 28, 2026

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Photo by Jacob Noger | UK Athletics

The majority of the Big Blue Nation would have called you crazy if you told them that after the eighth week of college football, the Wildcats would be ranked inside the top 10 and holding the No. 1 spot in the SEC rankings.

With a season like this, sometimes you have to stop looking at all the outside noise, aligning with what Will Stein preaches, and take in what the program has achieved up to this point.

In his first year at the helm, Stein has brought a whole new source of energy to the Bluegrass, turning a basketball-crazed fanbase into one fully invested in what happens on the gridiron every single Saturday.

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Kentucky sits at a 7-1 record currently, with its resume having multiple marquee victories. The Cats beat No. 9 Texas A&M in College Station for the first time since 1952, and three weeks later, they knocked off No. 10 LSU in dramatic fashion.

They’ve also won road matchups at South Carolina and Oklahoma, games they were both underdogs in. These trips usually end with a loss and a quiet trip back home.

Not this year.

With just four games remaining on the schedule, the Wildcats are in control of their own destiny regarding BOTH the SEC Championship and the College Football Playoff. As of now, Kentucky holds the top spot in the conference and ranks No. 9 nationally, meaning if the season ended today, Stein’s studs would have a spot in the playoff field.

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Don’t tell coach Stein this, though, because he is well aware that his team’s “job” is far from finished. He said so in his postgame press conference.

“Yeah, it’s amazing….what, we’re eight games in, and we have four games left?” Stein asked. “We have to continue to improve as a team, as a coaching staff, to keep finding ways to win.”

Finding different ways to win has been Kentucky’s secret to success this year.

The remaining slate is not a cakewalk – Kentucky faces No. 16 Tennessee in two weeks’ time in Knoxville, then they host the current No. 17 Florida Gators at home. The Wildcats will then travel down to Columbia, MO to face the Missouri Tigers, and, as always, will close out the season in the Governor’s Cup against the Louisville Cardinals.

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With the craziness around the sport of college football this year, if Kentucky suffers one more loss to a ranked opponent, its playoff dreams won’t be shattered, but certainly wouldn’t be in contention for any second chances.

So BBN, will the slipper continue to fit? We will all get to find out after the bye week takes place, when the Wildcats face the Tennessee Volunteers on Nov. 7. Kickoff for this primetime matchup is set for 6:15 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.

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80 Years Apart: Will Stein Matches Bear Bryant’s First-Year Record

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1 day ago

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October 27, 2026

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Photo via Jacob Noger | UK Athletics

Will Stein has only been the head coach of Kentucky for eight games, but has already managed to rack up seven wins. With this feat, he is now all square with what Bear Bryant was able to achieve during his first season with the Cats.

While the two coaches come from completely different eras of the sport, it shows just how impressive Stein’s start in Lexington has been. With four games still remaining on the 2026 schedule, he has a chance to surpass Bryant’s win total during his first year as a whole.

When Bryant arrived at Kentucky in 1946, he inherited a program coming off a disappointing 2-8 season. However, it didn’t take long for him to turn things around. The Wildcats opened his first season with three straight victories, including a dominant 70-0 win over Xavier.

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Kentucky would go on to finish 7-3, with a 2-3 record against SEC opponents. The Wildcats also briefly appeared in the AP Top 20, reaching No. 19. Despite falling to Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, Bryant’s first year gave Wildcat fans a reason to believe the program was heading in the right direction.

Eighty years later, Stein is off to an impressive start of his own. After suffering a loss to a ranked Alabama team in week two, the Wildcats have bounced back with six consecutive wins, including victories over No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 10 LSU.

Stein has already secured bowl eligibility and surpassed Bryant’s first-season SEC win total, with a 5-1 conference record compared to Bryant’s 2-3 finish in 1946. With the win over Vanderbilt, the Wildcats now have won five consecutive SEC games for the first time since 1977, adding another historic accomplishment to Stein’s debut season.

While the game has changed drastically over the past 80 years, both coaches found success early in the blue and white. For reference, Bryant’s Wildcats scored 233 points in 10 games while allowing just 90. This year’s team has already surpassed that offensive total, scoring 263 points through just eight games.

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Obviously it’s too early to compare their overall coaching careers, but Stein has already given BBN plenty to be excited about in the foreseeable future. Now, he needs just one more victory to surpass Bryant’s seven-win debut in Lexington.

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Kentucky Football Ranked No. 9 in AP Poll, Enters Top 10 For First Time Since 2022

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3 days ago

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October 25, 2026

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Photo via Elliott Hess | UK Athletics

The Wildcats moved to 7-1 on Saturday, Oct. 24, taking sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the conference. During this six-game win streak, Kentucky has constantly moved up the ranks in the AP Top 25 Poll, coming in this week as the No. 9 team in the nation.

Will Stein and his team have continued to beat the odds, receiving the team’s highest ranking since week eight of the 2022 season. This is the first time Kentucky has been ranked in the Top 10 in week nine since 1977.

It’s hard to fathom that the blue and white have made it this far, with the program transforming into a powerhouse rather quickly. After becoming the No. 15 ranked team with a win over Lane Kiffin and LSU at home, the Cats have steadily moved up the polls, jumping three spots in back-to-back weeks. In fact, every team but No. 1 Miami moved spots this week.

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Kentucky is one of nine SEC teams ranked this time around, joined by the second place No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 15 LSU, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 17 Florida and No. 23 Missouri.

A full list of the rankings can be found below:

  1. Miami Hurricanes (7-0)
  2. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1)
  3. Georgia Bulldogs (6-1)
  4. Indiana Hoosiers (7-1)
  5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1)
  6. Utah Utes (7-0)
  7. UCLA Bruins (7-0)
  8. BYU Cougars (6-1)
  9. Kentucky Wildcats (7-1)
  10. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2)
  11. Texas Longhorns (5-2)
  12. Ole Miss Rebels (5-2)
  13. Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-1)
  14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-1)
  15. LSU Tigers (6-2)
  16. Tennessee Volunteers (6-2)
  17. Florida Gators (5-2)
  18. Houston Cougars (6-2)
  19. SMU Mustangs (6-1)
  20. Boise State Broncos (6-1)
  21. Northwestern Wildcats (6-1)
  22. Arizona Wildcats (6-1)
  23. Missouri Tigers (5-2)
  24. Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-2)
  25. Wisconsin Badgers (5-2)

Receiving votes: Iowa (76), New Mexico (41), Cincinnati (11), Oregon State (10), South Carolina (8), Minnesota (7), USC (7), UTSA (1), Virginia Tech (1).

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