Where does Kentucky go from Here?

Coming off the biggest win in the Mark Stoops era at Kentucky, the Wildcats were welcoming
the Vanderbilt Commodores to a nighttime tilt at Kroger field. The fan base was excited again,
the crowd was massive and rowdy. Things were looking good again for Big Blue Nation. Then,
the game started.

Kentucky came into Saturday’s game against the Commodores as a 14 point favorite. It was a
bit surprising with Vanderbilt coming off of a huge win in Nashville the week before against #1
Alabama, but also a testament to the talent difference in the rosters of the two teams. Kentucky
has a former 5 star QB in Brock Grandagrif, a former All-American LB in Jamon
Dumas-Johnson, a top 5 DL and projected 1st round pick in Deon Walker and another former 5
star DL in Keeshawn Silver. They have 4 star wide receivers in Barion Brown and Dane Key and
brought in a highly coveted WR from the transfer portal in Jamori Maclin. None of that mattered
on Saturday though, as Vanderbilt came away with a 20-13 win in Kroger field, their second
straight win there.

The loss has a large portion of the fan base questioning if Mark Stoops is still the guy to lead the
Kentucky football team going forward. He is now 2-10 in his last 12 SEC home football games.
Teams with the same number of wins in Kroger field over that time? Vanderbilt, South Carolina,
Georgia and Tennessee. Losing games to Georgia and Tennessee are understandable. Georgia
is one of the best programs in the country and they were the top ranked team in the country
both times they won at Kroger Field. Tennessee has seen a resurgence under Josh Huepel and
have had a long history of winning against Kentucky. What fans are upset about are the losses
to South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Those are, simply, unacceptable.

We saw the same issues again Saturday, that we’ve seen all year from the team. A defense that
is one of the best units in the country, although they didn’t play their best Saturday, they played
well enough for Kentucky to get the win. They held Vanderbilt to just 20 points and less than 300
yards in total offense. The same Vanderbilt team that just put 40 points and over 400 yards in
offense on top ranked Alabama. The problem wasn’t the defense, it was once again, the
offense.

In 3 SEC home games, they’ve scored a combined 31 points. Saturday was more of the same.
We saw an offense that struggles to throw the ball when needed and that shoots themselves in
the foot with penalties when they are able to execute. Dane Key picked up an unsportsmanlike
conduct penalty on Kentucky’s first drive after making a catch that pushed Kentucky back to 3rd
and long, forcing a punt. 2 plays before that, Barion Brown ran for a 12 yard gain that was
negated by a holding penalty…1st and 20. It was a theme all night. Kentucky racked up 12
penalties for 105 yards, with almost all of them coming at the worst times. 2nd and goal from the
half yard line, false start. This may have been the biggest of all them, because Kentucky would
ultimately go scoreless on this drive due to a botched FG attempt. That wouldn’t be the last of
those either. Kentucky also botched a PAT after their touchdown with about 7 minutes left in the game, that would’ve brought them to within 20-14, instead it’s 20-13 and they now need a touchdown and 2 point conversion. Those situations don’t even account for another scoreless drive due to a Dane Key fumble after overcoming, yet another holding call, 1st and 20. That’s 11 potential points taken off the board in a game that they lost by 8. IN a game where you only got 7 possessions, losing 11 points is huge and it was a big part of the loss.

So, what happens with the team going forward? We don’t know, honestly. They could give up
and we see the worst season since Mark Stoops’ first season. Or, they rally around the loss and
they make a surprising run to end the season. Kentucky still has a chance to have a good
season, but it’s getting slimmer. They still have trips to Florida this Saturday, along with trips to
Knoxville and Austin. None of those 3 are going to be easy wins. They also still have to face
Auburn and Louisville at home and as we’ve seen this year, nothing is a given for this Kentucky
team. The only sure win left on the schedule is against Murray State, so there’s a possibility of a
record of 4-8 this season, a season that started with so much excitement.
The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.

Then, the question is, what happens with Coach Stoops? Mark Stoops has done a phenomenal
job getting Kentucky to the place they are now, a respected SEC football program, and he
deserves all the accolades for that. However, the last 3 seasons have been marred by bad
home losses and underachieving teams. A large portion of the fan base is calling for Stoops to
be fired, but firing your all-time winningest coach is a bad look for any program, let alone
Kentucky. That’s not even factoring in the enormous buyout in his contract that is north of $40
million. So, I’m not sure that is the way to go either. Does he retire and move closer to his
children in Colorado? Maybe, he’s a year older than his brother Bob was when he retired from
Oklahoma and he’s 3 years older than his father was when he passed away. Does a job open
up somewhere that he becomes a candidate for and move on that way? Maybe Deion Sanders
leaves Colorado for FSU (unlikely due to Norvell’s new contract) or does Kirk Ferentz retire and
Stoops goes back to his Alma Mater? Nobody really knows for sure, but we do know that he had
his bags packed and was ready to take the Texas A&M job last offseason.

It’s been commented on a lot over the last 3 seasons and this season especially that there
doesn’t seem to be the same level of discipline and accountability within the program as in the
past and Mark Stoops doesn’t look as engaged with what is going on with the games and the
team. It seems like he is a coach that is nearing the end of his run at the school and that’s OK.
The landscape in college athletics has changed tremendously over the last 3-5 years with the
advent of the transfer portal and NIL. So much so, that some of the greatest college coaches in
history have decided to walk away rather than deal with it. Roy Williams, Coach K and Jay
Wright in basketball and just last year, Nick Saban, arguably the greatest college football coach
in history.

Whatever happens, there is going to be a choice that needs to be made by Coach Stoops and
the Kentucky athletic department. Does Coach Stoops retire or move on from the position he’s

held for the last 12 seasons or does the administration make the surprising move to move on
themselves. Ultimately, we don’t know. The thing that we do know is that changes need to be
made, because going 2-10 in the last 12 sec home games and having as many wins on your
home field as Vanderbilt and South Carolina do is unacceptable.

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J.D. Hall

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