By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Mark Stoops is spreading the blame for Kentucky’s performance in a 42-16 loss at Mississippi State last Saturday night, but the Kentucky coach is mostly pointing fingers at himself.
“There is a lot of blame and it starts with me,” Stoops said Monday. “We’ll get it corrected and move on. I still fully 100 percent believe in this team and what we’re going to do this year and what we plan on doing this week.”
Across the board, Stoops said the Wildcats (4-3, 2-3) are better than last week’s double-digit showing against the Bulldogs. The Kentucky coach was disappointed in how the Wildcats fell apart late in the second quarter. The late first-half surge by Mississippi State gave the Bulldogs a 28-13 lead at the break.
“I was really disappointed in all areas,” Stoops said. “We can certainly coach a heck of a lot better (and) we can play better. There were some tough matchups and there were some critical moments in the game that once again changed the game.
“You never know what those plays are going to be. I feel like we were scratching and clawing and it was 14-10 and we had two stops and had possessions to go up and had the ball in scoring position. We let the game get out of hand and away from us at the end of the first half was critical.”
While he singled out his own team’s mistakes, Stoops also credited Mississippi State for taking advantage of Kentucky’s shortcomings.
“They beat us, they out-coached us and they beat us,” Stoops said. “Certainly it should have been closer than it was and those are some of the things that we’ve got to get fixed and out ourselves in position to win. We have no doubt that we will get some things fixed.”
Stoops said the loss to the Bulldogs will serve as a learning tool and won’t ignore the game film from last week’s showing at Mississippi State.
“We will always have accountability in our program,” Stoops said. “I can’t in a clear conscience go in and say we’re not going to watch that film and we’re going to move on to Tennessee. That’s not how we’re going to operate. We will move on quickly.”
Stoops leaves the play calling duties to offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and defensive boss D.J. Eliot, but will likely become more involved vocally when it comes indicating what he’s looking for in certain situations.
“I need to be more forceful in my communication,” Stoops said. “I don’t call offensive plays. It’s my job to get it done one way or another on both sides of the ball. I don’t call defensive plays either, but I still have to manage the game on both sides.”
Kentucky, which won four of its first five games, has lost two straight conference games. The slide began with a 30-27 setback at Auburn on Oct. 15 and continued with last week’s double-digit loss at Mississippi State. The Wildcats will look to get back on track Saturday against rival Tennessee Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
The Volunteers (3-4, 1-3) have dominated the series since 1985, winning 29 of the past 30 games between the two border rivals. Kentucky defeated Tennessee in 2011, but have lost three straight to the Vols, all by double figures.
While Stoops will be focused on his team’s internal issues this week, the Kentucky coach added playing a rival such as Tennessee will give the Wildcats extra motivation.
“It will be good to come back after such a disappointing loss and play a rival to give us some extra juice this week to get out there and play a lot better than we did last week,” Stoops said.
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports reporter who covers UK sports for the NKyTribune