Stoops, Cats Working on Consistency as Texas Trip Approaches
Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops and his team set a goal after the season’s second bye week. The Cats wanted to finish the season as strong as they could with three games remaining.
UK got off to a good start on that goal by beating Murray State 48-6 on Saturday. The Cats got 123 yards rushing from freshman Jamarion Wilcox, while the defense kept the Racers from reaching the end zone in the game.
The challenge increases this week as Kentucky plays its final road contest of the season, facing third-ranked Texas at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Stoops and the Cats know what they are facing, as they take on their fourth top 10 opponent of the season, and the third such occasion on the road (Ole Miss, Tennessee and now Texas).
“Now, we’re trying to go 2-0 in that final (three games) of the season. Trying to finish strong,” Stoops said. “We need to play our best football of the year. Another great opportunity, another great challenge, going into Texas. Coach (Steve Sarkisian) has them playing at a very high level. Very good football team.”
Texas is led by Heisman Trophy candidate Quinn Ewers at quarterback. While impressed with Ewers individually, Stoops knows that Texas is much more than its talented signal caller.
“Just a good football team, top to bottom,” Stoops said. “Very well coached in all areas. There’s no weaknesses on this team. The eye test, they are as good as anyone in the country.”
While the Cats and the UK staff will scout Texas and have a game plan for the Longhorns, Stoops knows that his team must focus on itself in order to improve. There’s one particular area that the UK head coach wants his team to improve.
“For us, the challenge has been consistency. It’s not been competitiveness,” Stoops said. “We’ve been competitive against some of the best teams in the country. We just have to be more consistent. That’s what we’re striving to do and we’re striving to give them our best shot and play our best ball. Just have a great week and go in there and let it rip.”
When asked about his team’s consistency and why it has been, well, inconsistent, Stoops cited examples of other SEC teams that are experiencing similar situations.
“It is very difficult to play at that (high) level every Saturday,” Stoops said. “I understand the frustration of the inconsistency. It’s a challenge – it’s hard. We need to worry about our team and what we’re doing and how we move forward.”
Trying to become more consistent this week is imperative for the Cats if they are to have a chance at going 2-0 during the final three games of the regular season.
