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Mark Stoops Calls Out and Challenges His Team Ahead of Tough SEC Schedule

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1 year ago

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops looks on before the game at Kroger Field.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops has always been known to be there for his players and his team through thick and thin. He has always shown his support for his guys, but things are slightly different heading into Florida. Instead of loving on his players, Stoops actually made it a point to call out some of his players and challenge them to be better moving forward.

The first four weeks of the season were looked at as the easy part of the schedule, for the most part. Playing against two MAC schools, an FCS team, and a rather weak Vanderbilt team, Kentucky should have cruised into Week 5, but there are some very evident issues.

Now, as if it’s a weekly ritual, Stoops opens the week “pissed off”, and it sounds like that he is finally done waking up on the wrong side of the bed. If Kentucky is going to finish the way they want to in 2023, it’s time to get their butt in gear.

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Problems at Center Are Unacceptable

During Stoops’ Monday presser, he talked about how Jager Burton’s critical errors against Akron were just flat out unacceptable.

“I’m not happy with that. We have to overcome it. We overcame one [bad snap] and scored a touchdown. I don’t want to make a habit of that. It killed one drive, but we have to get better. There’s options. We look at other players, we continue to develop other players. We continue to develop Jager [Burton] and give him experience and opportunity to grow.”

Rest of the O-Line Needs to Step Up

It’s not just Jager Burton that has underperformed this season. The offensive line as a whole has not played up to the standards set at UK in previous years.

Stoops made note of this as well, saying, “As a group, I challenged the offensive line this past week and we’ll continue to. I think as a group you know, we need to continue to grow.” He added, “We had a well-designed play and we got to block. We missed a block on the perimeter and [Brenden] Bates is usually a hell of a blocker and a good player. He missed blocking flat with the guy in open space or we’re one-on-one with a safety and Barion.”

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Stoops wrapped up his offensive line talk by saying that the blame “not all on any one player”. The protection as a whole has a lot of room to get better.

“There’s a Reason People Call It a Sophomore Slump”

Against Akron, Barion Brown had just two receptions for 19 yards, and Dane Key saw no production on offense. Going into the season, those two were expected to be big contributors. That, however, hasn’t quite been the case, and Stoops isn’t happy about that.

“I talked about it with them. ‘Don’t believe all this (hype).’ You’re going into your sophomore season — there’s a reason people call it a sophomore slump… Because you had some success as a freshman, maybe you’re not truly in tune with every aspect of the game.”

Stoops said he wants Brown and Key to continue “grinding it out”. Otherwise, they’ll finish with disappointing years, and that would not bode well for Kentucky.

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All of the kinks and inner workings should have probably been settled by Week 5, but they aren’t. People who should be leading this team are just not living up to expectations. If Kentucky is going to be competitive in the SEC this season, then they must figure things out soon because the schedule only gets tougher from here.

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Football

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

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3 days ago

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November 18, 2024

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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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5 days ago

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November 16, 2024

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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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1 week ago

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November 11, 2024

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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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