Mark Stoops is 'Freaking Jacked' for Kentucky's Next Opportunity at Missouri
Kentucky's 44-6 loss to Tennessee was a backbreaking and potential season-crushing defeat.
The Wildcats were outplayed in all aspects, turning in the worst performance of the season in the process. It was the third loss of the season and effectively ended UK's chances of reaching the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.
A loss of that caliber usually comes with an extra sting that can linger around a locker room, impacting games for the remainder of the year. Kentucky has already been through a two-game losing streak this season, so another would dampen the success of the 2022 season that much more.
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops did some final reflecting on the loss to the Volunteers at his game-week press conference on Monday, ahead of the Cats' game against Missouri this weekend. While the final score says otherwise, he saw some promising effort from his team in Knoxville:
"You have to play good in all three phases. You got to piece it together and you got to make plays. I felt like our team played with very good intensity in a lot of areas," he said. "I thought their competitive nature was very high. I thought they competed and I thought defensively they really competed and played on an edge. Certainly we made some mistakes, but played with very good intensity."
Stoops has had plenty of time to sit and stew with what happened to his team inside Neyland Stadium. Now, the next opportunity awaits. The Wildcats will hit the road for their final away game of the regular season, traveling to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers.
"I'm really excited about this opportunity, to be honest with you," Stoops said. "Anytime you take a butt-kicking like that and you get into work on Sunday, you've got a long bus ride home, get home late Saturday night, it's not fun. But we have to face the facts, we got to take a good look at ourselves."
That look in the mirror could be vital to making sure the season doesn't fall off the rails over the final four games. Cornerback Keidron Smith said after the loss to Tennessee that there was no quit in the team, and that that was a "main point of emphasis" in the locker room afterward.
The old adage "not letting one loss turn into two" was the theme for UK after its first loss of the season at Ole Miss. That message was hammered home, yet the result was an ugly loss at home to South Carolina the following weekend.
Stoops is now faced with avoiding a second skid this year. While the blame will ultimately fall on his shoulders win or lose, he knows that he has to do his job getting his team ready, but so do the veterans and leaders on the roster.
"Our leaders need to lead, and need to push the accountability as well. I tried a lot of things. Obviously it failed sometimes, in the motivation and the prep and things but I put a lot of time into it. But ultimately, right now our player's gotta lead," he said. "We're all in it together. Nobody's going to point fingers, but you also have to accept it and understand it. It is what it is."
Playing an SEC team on the road is a special challenge all in itself. While Missouri has lived towards the bottom of the conference over the past few seasons, head coach Eli Drinkwitz has had his team in just about every game this season, scratching and clawing for four quarters a week.
The Tigers will welcome UK to Faurot Field seven days removed from their biggest win of the season, defeating South Carolina 23-10 on the road.
"There's no panic. We have to get back on track and get back to work. We've done that before. And if you compete in this league, you better get used to it," Stoops said. "Our players understand that nobody's gonna give us anything, nobody's gonna feel sorry for us. You got to get back to work. That's the only way around it."
Playing in Columbia has never been easy for Kentucky under Stoops. In four trips, he's 2-2, with one of those wins coming via a last-second touchdown pass. A win on Saturday will likely be the decider between the Wildcats earning a decent bowl game, or a trip down to Nashville for another entry in the Music City Bowl.
Uncharacteristically, Stoops was vocally excited for the challenge that awaits his team this weekend.
Or in his words...jacked:
"I feel surprisingly freaking jacked up and great. Why? Because I have to, you have to be. Yeah, I felt like crap all night Saturday night and all day Sunday, but today, I'm freaking jacked up ready to go."
Kentucky Football News
Kentucky and Vanderbilt to Kick at Noon Next Weekend
DeAndre Square is 'Doubtful' to Play Against Missouri
The Wildcats are Slight Betting Favorites Over Mizzou
The Loss to Tennessee Took UK Out of the AP Poll Rankings
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