Cats Preparing to Bounce Back Against Gators
Kentucky lost for just the second time this season on Saturday, falling to Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. Now, the Cats must bounce back as they host a talented Florida team on Saturday at Kroger Field.
After the first loss of the season, against Alabama, the Cats were able to recover, winning at Texas A&M, a team that was ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the game. UK head coach Will Stein is hoping for a similar outcome this weekend.
“I’m fired up about this week because although we faced adversity in games, this is truly real adversity,” Stein said. “Nobody wants to lose. I want to win every single game. It does allow you to reset your mind and your focus going into this next week and really focus on details and execution that we were always focusing on, but when you come off a loss like this, it can almost amplify those to really coach it even harder.”
Stein and the Cats know that all of their goals are still within reach, but the UK head coach also knows how difficult things can be in the Southeastern Conference.
“Yeah, I think everything that we want is still right out in front of our face, which is exciting,” Stein said. “But we know that every week in the SEC presents different challenges. And you have a Florida Gators team who has shown a lot of life early in the year, has hit some tough spots just like we have. And I’m expecting their absolute best on Saturday. They have a really good roster.”
Florida is 5-4 this season and 3-4 in the SEC. The Gators, under the direction of former Kentucky linebacker Jon Sumrall, have had some ups and downs this year. Florida beat then-No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 but followed that with losses at then-No. 25 Missouri and at home to unranked South Carolina. The following week, the Gators went on the road and beat then-No. 7 Texas in Austin. Stein knows that Florida is a talented team that can beat anyone.
“It’s going to be a big test for us on Saturday night. I’m really looking forward to the challenge, and our players are as well, to get back out there and respond in front of our home football fans.”
Kentucky has already shown that it can bounce back from a loss. The Cats will need to have that same kind of fortitude to do it again on Saturday against Florida.
