Kentucky football: Mark Stoops discusses South Carolina loss
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops says everybody from top to bottom shares blame for South Carolina loss.
LEXINGTON — On a day next to nothing went right for his team, Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops pointed out another mistake during his postgame news conference. By pointing the finger at himself for a roll of the dice that came up snake eyes versus South Carolina.
Facing fourth and 1 at their own 31 in Saturday’s second quarter, the Wildcats went for it. And went nowhere: Quarterback Brock Vandagriff was stuffed for no gain as the Gamecocks took over on downs.
“I think that was a bad decision, obviously,” Stoops said. “When it doesn’t work, it’s a real bad decision. And probably pressed a little bit there, honestly. Just a little frustrated. We weren’t moving the ball very good, but it cost us three points.”
The “three points” Stoops referenced was a 29-yard field goal by South Carolina kicker Alex Herrera that pushed the lead to 10-0.
Stoops’ self-criticism aside, there was more than enough blame to go around for Kentucky, which had its teeth kicked in Saturday during a wire-to-wire, 31-6 loss to USC at Kroger Field.
“I’m not real happy with the way we played. I’m not real happy with the way we coached. I’m not real happy with the way we responded, the way we executed, our effort — any of it,” Stoops said. “It’s not good enough. It’s not acceptable.”
Here are three takeaways from the Wildcats’ shocking 25-point home defeat to the Gamecocks:
The numbers for the Wildcats’ defense aren’t atrocious.
Kentucky allowed fewer than 100 yards rushing for the 10th time in its last 16 contests. The Gamecocks only had 166 passing yards; combined with the 126 yards through the air Southern Miss tallied last week, it marks the first time since 2010 that UK has given up 166 or fewer in each of its first two games. And the Wildcats held the Gamecocks to a field goal even after Stoops’ ill-fated fourth-down gamble.
That’s the good.
Here’s the bad: The Gamecocks averaged 5.04 yards per snap (252 yards on 50 plays). Even taking away a pick six thrown by Vandagriff, the Wildcats’ defense still conceded three touchdown drives of 43 yards or more. And the blown coverages.
Oof.
Multiple times there were USC pass catchers open down the field with nary a blue jersey in sight.
“We had some mental mistakes on the big passes (South Carolina) had down the field,” Kentucky linebacker D’Eryk Jackson said. “We had miscommunication.”
Even in the instances Jackson and his teammates were on point, Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers put the ball on the money. Making only his second career start, the redshirt freshman had a clean game, throwing for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-15 passing.
One week after he didn’t complete even half his attempts (10 for 23; 43.5%) in a 23-19 win over Old Dominion.
“There were a couple of checkdowns, but there were some really good throws in there as well, and they did a nice job route concept-wise,” UK defensive coordinator Brad White said. “And I think he did a nice job of stepping up and delivering the ball.”
That’s one area in which Kentucky’s next foe excels: Georgia QB Carson Beck is one of the country’s best.
There’s no way around it: The Wildcats did themselves no favors Saturday. The hosts committed 11 penalties; they had only six completions. UK had 56 penalty yards; it had only 44 passing yards.
The height of hilarity in Kentucky’s penchant for penalties Saturday occurred during a third-quarter drive in which the Wildcats’ offense drew flags on three straight plays.
“I didn’t see that coming. It hasn’t been our nature to have that many,” Stoops said. “It just goes to show you how undisciplined we were today.”
The last time UK had a double-digit flag total in a game was last season, when it committed 14 penalties (for 122 yards) against Missouri. Spoiler: The Wildcats lost that game, too, 38-21.
Yes, Kentucky’s offense sputtered Saturday. It failed to reach the end zone and gained just 183 yards.
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye did his best, though. The senior running back accounted for 40% of the unit’s production, responsible for 73 yards (70 rushing, 3 receiving).
“Demie is a guy that has been very steady. He works hard,” Stoops said. “He ran the ball very tough today and had some tough yards.”
Sumo-Karngbaye averaged 4.1 yards per carry (70 yards on 17 attempts) in Saturday’s loss. It came one week after he averaged better than 7 yards per rush against Southern Miss. Still, he felt his individual contributions against the Gamecocks meant little given the result.
One he had a difficult time compartmentalizing.
“I never expected to lose, and lose a game like that?” he said. “I just never expected it.”
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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Publish date : 2024-09-07 22:10:00
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