Kentucky had a lot of fans at South Carolina but will have even more at Kroger Field Saturday because the game against Florida is sold out. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky won at Florida in 2018 and has had other chances to beat the Gators under coach Mark Stoops but has seemed to be just one or two plays away from doing it. Talking about what ifs is not what Stoops wants anyone thinking about going into Saturday night’s home game with No. 10 Florida.
“Because we’re not into moral victories, I think our players know that we can play with anybody, if we play well,” Stoops said Monday. “That’s the point that we’ve gotten to as a program. But, we still have to do that.
“We have to have a great week, we have to play well, we have to prepare well, we have to control what we can, and execute at the highest level.”
However, even with that execution Stoops joked — or at least made it sound like a joke — about what else it might take.
“Maybe you do need a bounce here or a bounce there, sometimes you need the ball to bounce your way. Or, get a call at the end of the game,” Stoops said. “I winked at you on that.”
Kentucky has won four of the last seven games against UK by one possession, including a one-point win in Lexington and an overtime win in Florida. Kentucky did snap Florida’s 31-game win streak against the Cats in 2018 in Gainesville. In 2019 Florida rallied to win 29-21 behind backup quarterback Kyle Trask.
5 Responses
UK has been slowly, steadily climbing the SEC East ladder since Stoops arrived. Clearly, when Stoops came here, UK was at the very bottom of the division, having been embarrassed by Vanderbilt in Joker’s last season.
Today, UK has over come Vanderbilt, Missouri, and South Carolina, and is arguably nosed ahead of Tennessee. The next step for UK on this climb is to start beating, not just coming close, Florida. By beating, I mean over any 5 year span, winning at least 2 and occasionally 3 of 5.
Then, and only then, will this program advanced to be a legitimate challenge to Georgia for the SEC East top spot. The process of passing Vanderbilt was relatively easy, and occurred quickly. The process of passing Missouri and South Carolina took a little longer to achieve. The process of passing Tennessee has been the toughest test so far for this program, but I believe UK has now accomplished this.
The next step over Florida will be the most difficult thus far, and patience is necessary to give Coach Stoops the time to get this job done. I believe he will do that, and I believe the SEC East will transform into a 3 team top tier who will battle each other most years for that trip to Atlanta.
Thank you Coach Stoops for believing in UK football when I could never imagine the success you have achieved so far.
Well said Professor. Anxious to see what your analytics show for this game
The only thing Professor is when Texas and Oklahoma joins the conference, things will be tougher.
I saw some disturbing tendencies on the with the defense in the SC game. KY is telegraphing its blitz when they are in the cover 3 defense leaving a huge opening about 15 yards off the line of scrimmage. SC took advantage. To think Dan Mullen won’t capitalize on this is dreaming. Secondly, the playbook and the game has to come faster to Levis which means more reps and film time. Levis is a smart guy he will have to take his game to the next level if we are going to be successful in October not to mention FL this weekend. Forcing the ball into a interception mode is a matter of not seeing the defensive flow. Gotta get this corrected. I hate to be picky but these things will get you beat.
Should be a telling game for UK defense