In the Eye of the Beholder: Ugly Win Pretty to Stoops
Kentucky’s season-opening win lacked most of the kind of high-octane offense that captures the imagination and inspires excitement. It wasn’t the sort of blowout that justifies and adds to preseason hype.
The 24-17 victory over Southern Miss was no work of art, but Mark Stoops has been around football long enough to know that there can be plenty of practical beauty behind superficial ugliness.
“We want to be really good in all areas, but the bottom line is winning games,” Stoops said. “That’s what you love about a team like this because that’s where we really have grown. Because it was tough, but how many times has it been the other way around?”
Well, one time was almost exactly one year ago today.
That was in last year’s season opener, when UK played a first half against that same Southern Miss team that featured plenty of high-octane offense. All 387 yards of first-half total offense got UK, however, was a 35-17 lead the Wildcats would cough up after the break.
This time around, there would be no such second half. Instead, the Cats had only 254 yards for the game, but found a way to pick up a 24-17 win on the road in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
“That’s what I love about it, was that it was just a hard-fought, tough victory,” Stoops said. “It was a thing of beauty to me. I know a lot of people are going to have their own opinions, but I loved it.”
With his defensive background, it’s no wonder. UK held Southern Miss to 55 yards rushing on 38 carries, the 1.4 per-carry average the best defensive total for the Cats since 2012. Star running back Ito Smith managed only 43 yards after piling up 173 a season ago.
“I’m proud,” Stoops said. “The improvement defensively was very, very evident. We would have never won this game had we not improved our run defense and we certainly did that.”
UK wasn’t quite as good against the pass, with Southern Miss hitting a handful of big plays. Even so, the Cats pressured the passer well, with both Denzil Ware and Josh Allen registering a sack, and came up with three defensive stands to close out the game when a touchdown would have tied it.
“It feels great,” said Ware, who also returned a fumble forced by Darius West 20 yards for a touchdown. “Southern Miss is a real good team and I wish them the best in their season. But at the end of the day I respect their players but whoever hits the hardest and plays the hardest is going to win the game.”
Ware and Allen were impressive a season ago in combining for 12.5 sacks, but this year they seem poised to become building blocks.
“He stood out to me and he’s been really solid,” Stoops said of Allen. “He’s had a really good camp. He’s hard to block on predictable pass. Really, his instincts are there. For years you’ve heard me talk about the outside linebacker position, all the nuances from it, and you’re starting to see those reps pay off because he’s very comfortable out there.”
Outside of tight end C.J. Conrad, who had three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown, no one looked too comfortable on offense for the Cats. Benny Snell never found much of a rhythm after a fumble on the goal line in the first quarter and Stephen Johnson passed for only 176 yards, though he did account for a couple touchdowns.
“Offensively, I know we’ll get it ironed out,” Stoops said. “There were a lot of things that we’ll get fixed and we will, but to win a game when you only run 50-some plays on offense.”
A year ago, UK’s defense likely would have been unable to withstand such a trial. To know it can now could be even more reason for optimism than some pretty performance.
“That shows a lot of character, guts and determination from that football team to come out and win that game when you’re not playing your best football, certainly on the offensive side of the ball,” Stoops said. “I’m not worried. I know we’ll get better. We’ll get some things fixed and we’ll go from there.”
