Bowl Eligibility Reached, Cats Have Bigger Goals in Mind
Mark Stoops remembers when five wins seemed like a glass ceiling for Kentucky football.
He remembers how the Wildcats got stuck there in both 2014 and 2015, tantalizingly close to that sixth victory and the bowl eligibility that comes with it.
A couple years later, the fact that UK had reached No. 6 was somewhat of a footnote in a victory over Tennessee that was notable for so many other reasons. But reflecting on where the program is and where it was, Stoops doesn’t want to gloss over the achievement.
“We all remember how difficult it is and it wasn’t that long ago when we were scrapping to get six wins just to go,” Stoops said. “So I don’t think you should ever just take that for granted.”
On the other hand, bowl eligibility is not the destination for this team, particularly not since the Cats have reached it so early – only three teams in UK history have reached six wins earlier. Kentucky (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) has bigger goals in mind, starting with getting victory No. 7 when Ole Miss (3-5, 1-4 SEC) comes to town on Saturday for a 4 p.m. matchup.
“Six is important and we acknowledge that — always have — and it’s really important to get back and play well this week,” Stoops said. “Because again, we all know how quickly things can get flipped. It’s really about us and our mentality and our team and our standards, and hopefully we’ll play this week the same as we did last week with our preparation.”
Last week, UK bounced back from being dominated the previous Saturday at Mississippi State and overcame a minus-four turnover margin to rally for a 29-26 win over the Volunteers. That left Stoops a lot happier than he was the week prior, but his approach now isn’t any different.
“Again, very proud of our team, proud of our effort to come back and be able to finish that game off and get the win,” Stoops said. “Just like I expected, we got a great effort from Tennessee, but our players responded. We need to regroup and get back to work here this week to play Ole Miss.”
It’s an Ole Miss team that has one of the most dynamic passing offenses in the country. The Rebels are eighth nationally and first in the SEC at 338.1 passing yards per game. The shortest of the Rebels’ top four receivers is 6-foot-1, 225-pound sophomore A.J. Brown, who also happens to rank 13th nationally in receiving yards at 765.
“Very talented,” Stoops said. “You know, I’m so caught up in the one-week season that I’m in all the time, but it could possibly be the best group, more than like the best group, we’ve played all year. Just very talented players. They’re explosive. They’re big and strong. They make competitive plays across the board.”
They do so regardless who plays quarterback.
Sophomore Shea Patterson started the first seven games of the season and threw for 2,259 yards and 17 touchdowns, but went down with a torn knee ligament in a loss to Tennessee. Junior Jordan Ta’amu stepped in for his last week against Arkansas and completed 20-of-30 passes for 368 yards, though the Razorbacks rallied from a 31-7 deficit to win, 38-37. Ta’amu also carried nine times for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
“If anything, it gives you a few more options with his legs,” Stoops said. “Shea obviously can as well, but he was definitely wanting to throw it. But Jordan can hurt you with his arms or his legs. I didn’t see any step back, and that’s no disrespect to any player; it’s just a blessing to have two players like that. I think they have two great players.”
That means UK’s secondary will be put to the test. The group has the size to matchup with the Rebels, but the Wildcat defensive backs have battled inconsistency during a season in which they were projected by many to be a strength of this team. Knowing Ole Miss has attempted 301 passes on the season against 230 runs (which includes 20 sacks the Rebels have given up), UK’s DBs embrace the opportunity they have ahead of them.
“You just want to step up to the challenge,” Derrick Baity said. “Like, man, I want a chance. Just give me a chance at the ball. Just give me a one-on-one and then you gotta go against everyone’s word about our secondary and stuff like that. You just want your chance, so you get real excited.”
The players behind the Kentucky ground game – ascendant after exploding for 289 yards in the win over Tennessee – have to be feeling the same way. The Rebels are giving up an average of 260.5 yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry on the ground, including 295 yards against Arkansas.
“I talk about that all the time, needing to run the football,” Stoops said. “You have to be able to do it. We all know we want to throw the football effectively, and we will, but you have to be able to run the ball. And certainly that opens up a lot of options, and that helped us.”
UK will once again need to be at the top of its game to successfully deal with a playmaking Ole Miss defensive front.
“They’re really, really, really good guys on that team, especially their d-linemen,” said Stephen Johnson, who will play this week after injuring his shoulder against Tennessee. “We’re going to have to get to our blocks, doing what we need to do offensively just to create blocks like we did last week and sustain them.”
If the Cats can play with the same kind of physicality and competitiveness they did against Tennessee, they should be in position to win. It’s Stoops’ job to make sure that happens, and he’s confident they will.
“It’s always a challenge dealing with young kids and a bunch of guys in your program you have to have ready to play,” Stoops said. “It starts with mentally being focused and ready to prepare for a great week and getting them to play better each and every week. I think we’re going to hit that stride. I really do. I feel like we’re going to play some much better football and more consistent.”
