Kentucky football’s Mark Stoops chats with media after Georgia loss
Kentucky’s Mark Stoops talks after losing to No. 1 Georgia football by one point Saturday night in Lexington.
LEXINGTON — After an upset for the ages barely slipped through his team’s grasp, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops commended the effort. The Wildcats’ coordinators, Bush Hamdan and Brad White, did the same. The players themselves — while disappointed to fall by a point to top-ranked Georgia on Saturday night — saw positives to draw from.
The Wildcats weren’t the only ones impressed with the performance, though.
“I’ll open with (my) immense amount of respect for coach Stoops,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who has two national championships to his name and guides a team that improved to 49-2 in its past 51 games. “The atmosphere, the culture he created here — I tried to tell everybody all week, nobody listened to me.
“I know what this team is made out of. I know how tough he coaches. I know several coaches on the staff. I’ve known them for a long time. I have tremendous respect. When they get disrespected like they did last week and they listen to it for a week? They come out ready to play.”
Kentucky pushed his team to the brink at Kroger Field, as UGA had to rally before escaping with a 13-12 win. It was the 15th straight triumph in the series for the Bulldogs, who now are 64-12-2 against the Wildcats all time. Stoops fell to 0-12 as Kentucky’s coach against Georgia, while Smart now is 9-0 versus UK.
“Our guys care. They want to win. They want to play well,” Stoops said. “But it comes down to executing. And then you’ve got to make competitive plays, and there (are) going to be moments in games and there (are) going to be moments this season where there (are) going to be 50-50 plays — and we’ve got to make our fair share to win.”
Here are three takeaways from the Wildcats’ excruciating one-point home loss to the Bulldogs:
Completing barely 50% (14 for 27) of his passes for 114 yards and no touchdowns isn’t what Brock Vandagriff wanted. Particularly since Kentucky’s offense didn’t push the ball across the goal line. But after immense struggles against South Carolina (30 yards on 3-of-10 passing, plus a pick six), Saturday was an improvement.
Even if it came in a loss.
And even if said loss was to the program he was part of the past three seasons.
“Obviously could have made some more plays, giving the guys the ball (on) the perimeter,” he said. “It felt like we just came up short a little bit, obviously. But my play could have improved. I think the O-line played well, skill guys played well, running backs ran the ball well.
“Just a couple plays came down to it, and (I) have to be able to complete some of the passes.”
For the third straight game, Kentucky running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye was the offense’s most dependable option. He ran for 98 yards on 22 carries. It’s the most rushing yards a UK player has garnered against a team ranked No. 1 in the polls.
“He’s been impressive,” said Hamdan, who is in his first year as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator. “I think there was a feel last year that he had some ‘gadget-type plays’ to him, but he’s been able to go in there and play a physical brand of football and take care of the ball.
“I really feel he’s been one of those guys that’s been extremely consistent.”
Placekicker Alex Raynor accounted for all 12 of Kentucky’s points Saturday. He was 4 for 4 on his field-goal tries, including two from 50-plus yards. His 55-yarder set a school record, while he became only the second UK kicker to make two of 50-or-more yards in the same game.
“My job is to go out there and do whatever they send me out to do,” he said. “I feel comfortable anywhere on the field.”
Stoops said Raynor’s “very reliable” leg puts the Wildcats’ offense at ease whenever they’re within range.
“And that’s why you would love that ball in your hand, giving it a shot there at the end,” Stoops said. “But … he’s just been very steady. He’s always got a calm demeanor.”
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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Publish date : 2024-09-14 22:11:00
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