Stoops, Cats Look to Respond Against Georgia

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops watched the film of his team’s 31-6 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. In it, he saw that his Cats played hard, even if they didn’t always play smart against the Gamecocks.

“After watching the film, much of what I said after the game holds true. With one exception,” Stoops said. “After watching the film, I do think our guys played really hard. We just didn’t play very smart. We didn’t execute very good, we didn’t play very disciplined, we didn’t play winning football at all. Mentally, we have to do a better job.”

Stoops was encouraged in that some of the mistakes can be easily fixed. He pointed to a couple of those examples on Monday during his weekly press conference.

“It comes down to discipline and execution,” Stoops said. “In that game, I think South Carolina had six explosive plays for 152 yards. Of the explosives, three of them were complete technique issues, just playing football. Just a lot that we can improve on. Offensively, clearly, we got out of rhythm. We didn’t play very good. You can’t have penalty after penalty after penalty. That part of it, the execution and the undisciplined play was embarrassing. The penalties and things of that nature, you just can’t do it.”

Now, the Cats face another tall task, welcoming top-ranked Georgia to Kroger Field on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Stoops knows that facing the Bulldogs will be a big challenge, but that with that challenge comes a chance to do something special.

“We have to turn the page quickly. We have to hone in on what we’re going to do and clearly do it better and make sure we’re putting our players in a position to be successful,” Stoops said. “Playing Georgia, the number one team in the country. It’s a great opportunity. I have great respect for Kirby, their staff. Those guys do a great job. Carson Beck, just a remarkable player. He’s hitting on all cylinders right now. You name it, he does it. He’s a clear leader on a veteran team.”

Beck is considered a Heisman Trophy candidate but he’s got plenty of weapons around him. Stoops knows that the Bulldogs’ attack will pose a challenge for the UK defense.

“Their wideouts can really go. They always have great backs. This year, with (Trevor) Etienne and the freshman (Nate Frazier), they’re just very impressive young men. Very good team. Defensively, you’re always going to get a great defense.”

While Stoops has to worry about Georgia, his primary concern is his own team. He expects the Cats to respond in a positive way.

“We have to improve, bottom line. We’ve got to get better,” Stoops said. “We’ve got an opportunity to do that this week against one of the very best teams in the country. I do expect our team to respond.”

The first chance to respond comes against the nation’s top-ranked team on Saturday.