Mark Stoops Named Bear Bryant Awards Coach of the Week
After leading Kentucky to a 20-17 upset win at No. 6/5 Ole Miss on Saturday, head coach Mark Stoops has been named the Bear Bryant Awards Fan Favorite Coach of the Week presented by Accenture. The win in Oxford marked UK’s highest-ranked road win at a Southeastern Conference campus stadium in school history and the highest Associated Press-ranked win in the Stoops era.
Kentucky’s defense held Ole Miss to 17 points, 353 yards of total offense, 261 passing yards and 92 rushing yards. The Rebels entered the game leading the nation in scoring (55 points per game), total offense (670.8 yards per game) and passing offense (422.8 yards per game), while ranking 12th in rushing offense (248 yards per game).
The Wildcats’ offense totaled 20 points, 336 yards total offense, 93 rushing yards and 243 passing yards against an Ole Miss team that entered the game first in the nation in scoring defense (5.5 points per game) and rushing defense (34.5 yards per game) while rating 12th in the nation in total defense (239 yards per game).
Stoops’ ball-control game plan did an excellent job of keeping the potent Ole Miss offense off the field. The Wildcats totaled 22 first downs, including three-of-three on fourth-down plays, leading to 75 plays and 39:43 time of possession. Ole Miss ended with 56 plays and just 20:17 time of possession.
Stoops also trusted his coaching instincts to make a key play call late in the game. Trailing 17-13 with four minutes remaining, on a 4th-and-7 play from his own 20-yard line, Stoops declined to punt. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff found Barion Brown on a 63-yard bomb to set up the game-winning touchdown.
Other notables from Saturday:
- The two highest-ranked wins of the Stoops era are road games.
- The win was the highest AP-ranked road win since a victory at No. 4 Penn State in 1977.
- The win was UK’s first victory over an AP-ranked top six team since a victory over No. 1 LSU in 2007.
- The previous record for highest-ranked road win at an SEC campus stadium was at No. 10 Vanderbilt (14-0) in 1947.
- Kentucky has won three of its past four “true” road games.
Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC) has its first of two bye weeks this season this week before hosting Vanderbilt on Oct. 12 at Kroger Field.
UK’s 109th annual Homecoming will take place as the Wildcats play Vanderbilt at Kroger Field. Fellow alumni and friends will gather in Lexington for fun and fellowship as UK will celebrate the 109th University of Kentucky Homecoming. Visit UKHomecoming.com for more information as well as a schedule of events.
Kentucky and Vanderbilt get together on the gridiron on Oct. 12th at 7:45 p.m. ET during Ag Roundup weekend on the UK campus. Ag Roundup welcomes alumni and friends of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. For more information, visit https://alumni.ca.uky.edu/roundup.
The matchup with Vanderbilt on Oct. 12th will also be Youth Sports and Activities Day, where youth teams from across the area will be eligible for specially-priced tickets. For more information, contact Caleb Young at caleb.young@uky.edu or (859) 218-4978. This offer is also valid for the Murray State game on Nov. 16th.
Limited single-game tickets for Kentucky’s home games are on sale exclusively online at Ticketmaster.com.
Stoops is the third winner of the 2024 season, following Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and Washington State’s Jake Dickert. Continuing through the remainder of the regular season, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards will recognize a coach weekly for leading their team to an exceptional victory. Bryant’s distinguished career featured an eight-year stint in Lexington (1946-53) as coach of the Wildcats.
The American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, presents the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Awards annually to celebrate excellence in coaching, to honor Coach Bryant’s legacy and to raise awareness and critical funds for their mission. The coaching legend died from a heart attack in 1983, just 28 days after his final victory and retirement.
Fans can follow the action at facebook.com/bryantawards, twitter.com/bryantawards or Instagram.com/bryantawards or the hashtag #BryantAwards. To attend the exclusive, VIP experience visit bryantawards.org.
