Kentucky-Tennessee Tech Postgame Quotes
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEDIA CONFERENCE
November 15, 2025
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Coach Mark Stoops
Press Conference
Kentucky – 42 Tennessee Tech –10
MARK STOOPS: You know, very good win for us. Just appreciate the team. Once again, approaching the week the right way. We had talked about it all the time. They continue to play with great effort. Continue to try to improve in the execution. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We just gotta continue to worry about ourselves, continue to get better. I love this team’s attitude and effort and really greatly appreciate the seniors playing for the last time at Kroger Field. Some of those guys have been around a long-long time and some of them are new. All of them have had a great impact on our program and they have shown great leadership and I greatly appreciate them. You know, them and their family being there today to celebrate a good victory. And now it’s on to the next. And we’ve been handling it very much with the mindset of one week at a time, one day at a time. And, you know, appreciate the effort and them preparing and taking care of business. Now it’s on to the next opponent and we will get back to work.
Q Mark, what runs through a head coaches mind when the starting quarterback lowers his pads and decides to run over a guy?
MARK STOOPS: I was a little bit dumbfounded. And I said, Did he score? Then he scored. You know what, that’s fun. That’s fun. You do not want to see that. We were just talking about that and we gotta to teach them how to protect themselves a little bit. Some of that is going to kinda fire up your team. And for him to lower his shoulder and get in the endzone just shows another element to his game and what he’s willing to do for his team.
Q Doesn’t that inspire players even more? He’s doing what they are asked to do every quarter.
MARK STOOPS: Without a doubt. No question. It would have been easy to tiptoe out of bounds right there but he decided to get it in, so good for him.
Q Mark, you decided to go tempo there for a little bit and try that last hand. Just getting into a different pace and then Cutter makes a throw. Some different things out there, What was going through your mind to see that try?
MARK STOOPS: I think we talked about in here last week we had success with the tempo last week. We had done it throughout the year, maybe even if it’s for a certain amount of plays. Maybe not an entire drive and try to steal a few reps and get it going. I think for sure, with us, we do a lot with personnel and subbing. When we were subbing they were subbing and I think everybody, they were trying to shorten the game and I’m not meaning that in any condescending way. It’s like the game was going fast. We wanted to get some plays in and operate. With us not subbing and going with some sort of tempo and letting us get into a little bit of rhythm and speed it up a little bit and try to get some scores and get some plays in. We still only had 66 plays. The defense played really well, the drive at the end of the half kind of was aggravating because I like to pull away a little bit and get even younger quarterbacks. It was nice to see Bren in and I’m really bummed out, Stone was set to go in and it’s our fault for not splitting that series but we thought we could get a stop and get them back in there. But for us, getting some young guys some plays was important and it’s invaluable to get those reps and we will continue to work on them.
Q Mark, going back to pass with Gilmore, when you see Cutter make a throw like that as a freshman. You talked about last week, having a guy that young knowing your guy. Does that get you guys excited about who your opponent is when they are threading needles like that?
MARK STOOPS: Without question. It was a very predictable pass. Second an extra long and into a pretty strong breeze with defenders all over the place and he threads it and Hardley makes a really nice catch and a great finish but really impressive throw. You know, the confidence that he has. You know, we’ve seen a lot of those and maybe they’ve been on the sidelines or over one defender or under another and we’ve seen some exceptional throws. But over the middle like that, again with predictable pass with them sinking back and playing coverage, impressive throw.
Q Mark, How big was it for those defensive guys that are going to have to play a lot down the stretch because of the injuries.
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, without a doubt. They played quite a few guys, defensively it’s a bit harder offensively without complete separation because the way this team can score, until we got that last one, you know makes it a little more difficult for mass substitutions on the offensive side.
Q DJ wasn’t dressed again and Nasir was out?
MARK STOOPS: DJ was, I mean it’s frustrating, it’s aggravating. Disappointing for him. He was set to play. He practiced all week this week and just didn’t feel well enough to play.
Q Is Nasir-?
MARK STOOPS: Nasir, we are going to see where we are at with Nasir and if we can protect his redshirt, we will. But he was hurt this week.
Q Mark, – with Kendrick Law on the scoreboard?
MARK STOOPS: Amazing. Really impressive. I just grab these stats as I was talking with Mitch before I came right in here. I didn’t even realize that Cutter was 18 for 21 and Kendrick, I’m not sure it was an incompletion his way. I don’t know, you guys may know. There you go. Thanks. The one on the sideline was really impressive where Cutter, we were trying to take a shop and he came back to Kendrick in the flat right on our sidelines and Kendrick made an impressive catch and then the run he had was unbelievably physical and I think some of you were down on the left side. It was violent, he’s a strong dude.
Q Going with that with the wide receiver running down the stretch here late in the season. What you think about how they are playing?
MARK STOOPS: I’m impressed with the way they are playing. They have been settling in the last 2, 3, 4 weeks and just really impressed that more and more guys are stepping up. We can count on a pretty good nucleus of these guys right now and they’ve been pretty consistent and they’ve been unselfish and blocking on the perimeter. They’re doing a lot of good things.
Q Mark, you probably remember back when I first started covering the team, came in you guys got the six win very early in the year and somebody asked you, what does it mean to be bowl eligible? And you said we are at the point of this program where that’s nice but we have bigger goals. And you acknowledged that last year was a setback. What does it mean to have the chance to get back to that?
MARK STOOPS: I’m sure at the time I did say that but I also acknowledged the importance of it. Because you can’t ever take that for granted. Look at our league, it’s brutal. During that stretch, I want to say, you take Covid out of there and we went 10, 8, 10. We are averaging 9.3 games per year. We were on a good roll. And we are trying to get back to that point but you know, you never take things for granted. It’s always difficult and you know we are worried about right now, this week and going 1 and 0 again but that’s coach speak, but it’s the truth, it’s important.
Q It has become common for SEC teams to step out of conference play this late in the season and do you like that or is there an advantage at all? Light down the stretch when you play a nonconference game, do you like that? Is there an advantage to that at all?
MARK STOOPS: We haven’t had a bye for a while. I think it’s also important that we play a ton of one score games. Like we need to get some guys some snaps, some reps. We can’t control any of that but we don’t get to play any, what do they call them, preseason game or whatever, scrimmages. We don’t get to do any of that? It’s always good against, you know, we play Kentucky all the time. So that hurts just as a whole. With NCAA wise, that’s a whole other story and we have a lot of issues but that’s probably way down the totem pole. But I think it’s important to be able to play some people and we don’t ever get to do that and now we are going 9 conference games next year and that makes a lot of sense. It is what it is. Line them up and, you know, I think having this game here helps rather than another SEC game. If that answers your question.
Q Mark, I think there were a couple of drops on the last run but what do you see from Brennen and his development behind the scenes this year?
MARK STOOPS: It was good just to get him in there. Him and Stone, we think both of them are really good quarterbacks. I’m really bummed that Stone did not get in there today. That’s the only thing that I’m kind of aggravated with this right now. So, he’s making progress.
Q Way off topic but would you favor converting the spring game into a scrimmage?
MARK STOOPS: I’m not really advocating. I know some people have brought that up or whatever. I would rather have it in the fall. I would rather be able to practice against some teams or do something in the fall like pro teams do.
Q Senior day, means so much to the fan base. How much sweeter does it make the win?
MARK STOOPS: It’s very important. You know, it’s very important. Some of these guys have been with us through so many good things, bad things, everywhere in between. You look at a guy like Jordan Lovett and having to see his family out there today. Broke my heart. He can’t finish the season out on the field and he’s given everything to this program and he’s a remarkable young man, along with so many others. You know, just a little thank you, our administration and people do a really good job and they had a nice breakfast this morning to spend time with them and acknowledge them and thank them and we just show as much appreciation as we can.
Q How are you guys going to keep the momentum going and finish out the year?
MARK STOOPS: You know, the next opportunity. We are really focused on that. I challenged the guys in there because they have brought it up. Like, okay, guys, keep this in perspective and let’s be ready to go Monday and that’s the mentality that we have to continue with.
KENTUCKY FOOTBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. TENNESSEE TECH
KROGER FIELD – LEXINGTON, KY.
NOVERMBER 15, 2025
Kentucky Players
#1, Kendrick Law, WR
On putting up big numbers today and getting the win…
“Most definitely. I mean, the numbers just part of the game, plays are made. Plays aren’t made. You know, you just keep going forward, and it’s what we do each and every day. You know, every day of the week and every time we step on the field. Yeah, the wind does feel good, but, you know, you learn from the losses. So, you can take some from both”
Question: You and cutter. Seem to be having something going out there.
“I mean, yeah, it starts on the field. I mean, just every day at practice, just constantly going over stuff, constantly getting more reps, constantly getting time and down. And when we got there on Saturdays, it’s just a reflection of that”
Question: 11 targets, 11 catches today. You ever had a day like that in your career?
“No, I have not had a day like that. So today was, it was super exciting for me, and, you know, very motivational for me to keep going, you know, and just constantly keep showing the world what I’m capable of and I got more in my bag too.”
#3, Seth McGowan, RB
On locker room energy after three wins in a row…
“Not as crazy, off the wires as you would think, because, like I said, this team, we’ve always known our potential. We’ve always known our identity and how powerful this team is and it’s all just everything that’s happening now is something that we’ve known since our camp. We just got to stay consistent and keep at it and look forward it to Monday.”
On how good he thinks cutter can be the next few years…
I definitely think the sky is the limit for that man right there just because of how how young he is and like I said, when you have little to no hesitation at that age and with that little of experience, that’s a great quality to have. And like I said, he’s been executing at a high level, especially the past couple of games. I’m super excited for him, he deserves everything that’s coming towards right now.”
On how Cutter pushes him to be better…
“Cutter is a great guy like, he obviously cares about the guys when he’s out there on the field with them. You’re going to want to do your best when somebody next to you, right next to you is expecting your best. And it’s been up to us to take control of the backfield and like I said, manage the protection, manage the run calls and so, he’s done a tremendous job at that and it’s been real easy to play off, extremely easy. It could kind of take a little bit of weight off your shoulders knowing that you got a guy back there that knows what’s going on and knows the appropriate decisions to make. And so, nah it’s great, great playing with him.”
#8, Cutter Boley, QB
On where the confidence come from to thread the needle to Hardly…
“They were just panning and dropping. Everybody was getting deep and that dude ended up getting crossed up with the ref that was guarding the under route and he almost got into that window, but I saw Hardley on the dig route and decided to rip it in there.”
On how tough it was to throw on a windy day…
“Just kind of have to forget about that. I had a few throws I was thinking about too much and let get away from me and the wind kind of took off. But that’s on me. I just have to throw it like it’s normal. I just ripped it in there and stopped thinking about the wind. We just can’t make that a factor in anything we do.”
On what you saw from Kendrick Law…
“That’s a special player right there and any way we can get the ball in his hands really, he can make a lot of people miss and do a lot after the catch and he’s just a great guy to get the ball in his hands.”
#14, Ty Bryant, DB
On getting the win last home game of the season…
“It leaves us with confidence. I mean we still got a lot to do, and we all know that. It just gives us a lot of confidence going into next week.”
On the offense clicking and what that does for the defense…
“It gives us motivation. We see it every single day in practice, but to see it on the game field, on Saturdays it makes us proud, and it makes us want to go out there give them the ball back so they can go down there and score some more.”
On the young guys getting some playing time today…
“A long way. They do a lot of reps and repetitions. We go to practice every day, and we work, and sometimes we mess up but that is part of life. It’s part of the game, but get back on the field, we make the corrections, and you go back out there and keep going. So, I’m proud of the young guys and how far they have come”
Tennessee Tech Head Coach Bobby Wilder
Opening statement:
“Disappointed with the loss, hate losing, team hates losing, which means the standard at Tennessee Tech has changed. Losing a 15-game winning streak, longest in the nation. Our first loss of the season, 10-1, we knew what we were facing today. Playing an SEC team going into this weekend. FCS versus P4, the FCS was 0-62, losing by an average score of 50-9. FCS versus the SEC was 0-11, losing by a score of 56, so relatively speaking 42-10, which doesn’t seem bad, but it’s still a loss and we don’t like losing at Tennessee Tech. That’s a new standard. Disappointed locker room, they’re disappointed that they lost. Love how we played, we competed every play in this game. The standard for Tennessee Tech football is elite effort, every play, I felt that today and how hard we played, extremely proud of some things that I saw out there today, number one, the performance of our offensive line against an SEC front. We were able to block them, we ran the ball successfully, and we protected Kekoa (Visperas). He played at a high level today. We started out, we had two three and outs, and then we consistently drove the ball throughout the game. In this game, defensively, they had a number of long drives, 10, 11, 12 play drives, which meant we were making them earn everything they got in this game. I believe they had four explosive plays, total of 66 plays, which again versus an SEC team, that was an accomplishment for us. So, overall pleased with the effort in this game, pleased with how we competed and hate losing.”
On going 15-0…
“Our 15-0 is gone now, our focus is on the next game. And as I explained to the players in the locker room, now the focus is on, regardless of what happens in the Martin (Tennessee) game today, that game next weekend at home against Martin is for 8-0. It’s for 11-1. Our initial goal, when we started the season was to win the OVC championship outright and earn the automatic bid. That’s the number one goal. The second goal is to get 11-1 and have the opportunity to earn a first-round bye, which would be critical for this team. I feel good about what we did today in terms of our effort. I feel good about how the players performed and now it’s time after this one to move on to a critical game for our team next week against UT Martin.”
On the physicality of Kentucky’s line…
“That was a lead effort by the offensive line. We had three starters out going into this game. So, three guys that have played exceptional football all year, left tackle, Christian Thomas, center, Drew Wilder, and then right tackle, Logan Weedman, they’ve played exceptional football all year. We had Alex Stelkin step in, at left guard, Gabe Hecht, started his first game at right guard this year. Overall, this season, this was his first start against an SEC team. And those guys played exceptional, the one sack, we didn’t have something open, took a little bit longer, so I feel like the way those guys played, the way we blocked in the game, including Brian Courtney, Tyler Nix at tight end, the running backs, the way they went, we played five running backs in this game, they played with exceptional pad level. We were moving forward with the ball. You rarely saw us get tackled and go backwards which normally when you see an FCS-SEC matchup, there’s a lot of TFL’s in the game, there’s a lot of sacks, and you didn’t see that today. So overall, really pleased with that performance of blocking the front seven of Kentucky today.”
On Maury Sullivan’s performance…
“Maury’s played good football all year. What I’m most proud of with Maury, and it shows the mindset of our team, is that play the next play mentality. He had two dropped touchdown passes last week at Eastern Illinois, deep passes down the middle, and he put it behind him. He responds in this game, and that’s something that speaks to the philosophy of the program. No matter what happens in a play or in a game, you play the next play. Your mindset is the next play is the most important play, and Maury showed that today with his performance on the field, not only in his catches but also his run blocking.”
On takeaways heading into UT Martin…
“I’ll take the effort. Our mindset all year is every game there’s going to be 175 plays in the game, and our goal is to play with elite effort, and I saw that today, I felt it. I felt the energy from the players on the sideline, even when we got behind and there was a real momentum shift at the end of the half, we had kicked a field goal to make it 21-10, they got the long return penalty, and they scored late to make it 28-10, and I still felt that winning mindset in the locker room. And that’s part of the play-the-next-play mindset. When we first started this last year, we were 2-5 before we started this 15-game win streak. We hadn’t developed that mindset of you’ve got to play the next play. And the score is 28-10, and we come out in the second half, and we drive the field on offense, so that shows me we have that elite mindset that we need to have to be a successful football program.”
On the fan attendance…
“I’d like to make a comment about the fans today. It was really exciting to see how many fans we travelled. Grateful to our president, Phil Oldham, there were five busloads of students that made the trip. It felt like there were at least a thousand people in our section, which that’s never happened since I’ve been here on an away game. All the effort that’s putting in right now to sell out the stadium next weekend for that home game against UT Martin. I can feel it; I can feel a shift in the support for Tennessee Tech football. That was our responsibility to win, to have a program that’s 10-1 and rally people behind us, and that’s happening now. Last home game we had against Gardner-Webb was sold out, and I can’t say enough about how impactful the crowd was in the fourth quarter of that game. The noise, the motivation to our players, to everybody, that’s what we want to repeat for the entire game against Martin, as a sold out crowd, people excited for this game knowing that this is for the out-right conference championship, knowing it’s for 11-1, knowing it could be for a first-round bye into the round of 16 in the national championship tournament in a home game, so let’s pack the stadium. Let’s pack Tucker Stadium next weekend, everybody.”
