Cats Looking to Improve Ahead of Georgia Challenge
After a disappointing performance at Missouri on Saturday, some might think that there would be panic in the Kentucky football camp. The Cats struggled on both sides of the ball in a 20-10 loss in Columbia, but UK head coach Mark Stoops knows that the plays and situations that hurt his team on Saturday can be corrected.
“We’ll never be at the point where we’re going to panic,” Stoops said on Monday. “Are we happy with the way we played? I think you understand that we’re not. Nobody is happy with the results of Saturday. But nobody wants to throw away everything we’ve done and start over. Improve? Absolutely. Need to. Whether you win or you lose, we’re trying to get better. It’s frustrating when you take a step back. We have to have the team prepared to play.”
Kentucky (2-3, 2-3 SEC) had its struggles on both sides of the ball on Saturday. The offense was held in check by Missouri, and the UK defense struggled to get off the field at times in the game. Stoops did not assign blame to either side of the ball.
“I want to see our team play better. We need to play better as a unit. We all understand that,” Stoops said. “We’ve got to put players in position to do what they can do. We need to execute that. That goes across the board. I don’t feel like we played with the same chip, the same mentality, the same edge that you need to play with each and every week. It’s a challenge, but it’s not an excuse. We have physically and mentally strong players and we have to be sure they’re ready to play.”
While not mentioning many specifics, Stoops knows that the Cats can make improvements in a number of areas.
“There’s a combination of things. There are things we can do better,” Stoops said. “There were times we got guys open and we didn’t have the protection. Other times were run-pass options and we didn’t make the right decision. There’s a variety of things we can do better. We all need to accept the responsibility for that and improve on it.”
Kentucky now faces another big challenge as fifth-ranked Georgia comes to Kroger Field on Saturday. Stoops is impressed with what he has seen from the Bulldogs this season.
“Big challenge this week with Georgia,” Stoops said. “Kirby (Smart)’s done a remarkable job of coaching this team. Unbelievable athletes. Very well-coached. They have impact guys across the board.”
Stoops gave the Georgia defense extremely high praise.
“As good of a defense as I’ve seen in a long time,” Stoops said. “They’re very explosive defensively across the board. Athletes all over the field. Can overwhelm you. They can really create negative plays and create turnovers and be very disruptive.”
The challenge for the Kentucky offense this week will be to improve and execute against one of the nation’s best defenses. Meanwhile, the UK defense will attempt to do its part by creating turnovers and getting third down spots. While these things will be difficult against No. 5 Georgia, there’s no panic in the UK camp.
