Although two straight losses to open the season have been a disappointment, Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops hasn’t given up on the Wildcats.
“I believe in these players and I hope the fans do as well,” Stoops said Monday. “It is a long season and we will get better (and) there is no doubt about that.”
In a 45-7 loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference opener last weekend, Stoops wasn’t happy with his team’s inability to respond to adversity in the first road test of the season.
“Once you get hit on the first play of the game — it didn’t appear to me that we had a lot of belief in winning that game,” he said. “That is disappointing and we have to change it. Until it changes on the field (and) until we demonstrate that we can handle a punch and play the game the way it is supposed to be played. And we will do that. I am not sure when, but hopefully it will start this week and we will break that door down and we will move forward.”
Stoops said the Wildcats (2-0, 0-1 SEC) have shown signs of being a successful team, pointing out a stellar first-half performance in a 44-35 loss to Southern Mississippi in the season opener, but wants his team to put four quarters together starting Saturday against New Mexico State.
“We have shown that we can play some good football,” the Kentucky coach said. “We know and we have already been down that road that it is not acceptable to not play four quarters. But our team will play with that passion and that energy that our fan base wants to see. We will do that. I promise you that. This team has some character and we will get back at it. We fundamentally need to go back and get better. We cannot beat anybody until we stop beating ourselves.”
In addition to correcting their own mistakes, Stoops said the Wildcats have to play better “fundamentally” and plans to “simplify” the team’s offensive and defensive schemes. He added he has been disappointed in Kentucky’s secondary, a unit that heaped plenty of praise during the preseason.
“There are several breakdowns we have had this year in the secondary that are unacceptable and we cannot have that,” Stoops said. “You can’t give up some of the things that we are doing. You can’t have guys that are unsure and do not play on the edge with energy. That is where it is not OK.”
Stoops also said another issue is his team’s IQ level, a problem he will be addressing in practice this week. He added the Cats have to play smarter across the board.
“We need to have a higher football IQ,” he said. “We have guys and we have to be able to put them in position (to succeed.) We have who we have and we have some inexperience and we have to be able to get them to play better on the defensive side. Offensively, you throw a freshman in the mix at left tackle and it kind of muddies things up a little bit too. It is our job to put them in a position to be successful and that is where we will get back and change things up and fundamentally get better and get our football IQ better. You cannot beat anybody until you stop beating yourselves and that is going to be a big message for us (this week).”
Stoops also wasn’t happy with quarterback Drew Barker’s performance at Florida, the first road start of his college career. Barker completed just two passes on 10 attempts for 10 yards and three interceptions.
“I was surprised that he didn’t respond much better,” Stoops said. “He did get hit on the first play and he can play better and will. He knows that. We need to play better around him and give him some protection and get open. It’s everybody. But he can take his part as well.”
Although Barker sat out most of the second half against the Gators, Stoops added the outing was a learning experience for Barker.
“He is a resilient guy and that comes with the territory,” he said. “He has no choice but to go out there and play.”
Game tracker: New Mexico State at Kentucky, 4 p.m. Saturday. TV/Radio: SEC Network Plus, 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter