By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Mark Stoops accepted responsibility for Kentucky’s fourth-quarter meltdown that resulted in a 28-27 setback to Florida Saturday at Kroger Field.
A mixture of defensive miscommunication issues down the stretch and late fatigue prevented the Wildcats from ending more than three decades worth of misery, a loss that extended Florida’s winning streak to 31 straight victories, a winless streak than began in 1986.
Kentucky’s football team looks to rebound from Saturday’s loss to Florida against Eastern Michigan this weekend (Tammie Brown Photo)
“There’s things that we all can do better, starting with myself,” Stoops said during his weekly press conference Monday. “That (loss) hurt (and) that we have to take responsibility for, that we have to do better (and) it starts with me.”
Stoops said the Wildcats “don’t have much time to sit around and pout” and the players agreed following Saturday’s setback.
“With football you have to have a quick memory,” Kentucky senior Charles Walker said at the time. “Just like in a game, you drop a ball, they are going to come right back to you and you have to catch it. It’s different every time. We’ll see. Definitely a tough loss. We’ll use this as motivation. Watch the film, get better, get corrected, forget about it and play the next game.”
Stoops praised the team’s senior leadership for keeping things in perspective in the locker room, which was filled with mostly silence and disbelief.
“I saw frustration and guys wanted it so bad that there’s frustration in there,” Stoops said. “And then I saw the guys regroup and become player-led. The leadership came from the players. That’s great to see. That’s growth.”
Following a win or a loss, Stoops admitted he’s always second-guessing himself and the battle within the mind was more intense Sunday. Stoops revisited a loss in which a pair of blown coverages left a pair of Gator receivers wide-open, including one that resulted in the gam winning score. Stoops added he “couldn’t believe” the last score was an was easy walk-in touchdown for Florida, which forced the Wildcats into desperation mode on their final drive.
“Sometimes on Sunday, you beat yourself up either way, but yes, it is extremely difficult because we worked extremely hard to go out and play like that and then to have any play that hurts you from winning, hurts you personally,” Stoops said. “That’s the deal with the head coach that every offense, defense and special teams play is ultimately under your control and anything that you do to take away from winning hurts you great deal, so, I said that last week that it was very important to myself also.”
Looking back, Stoops said the team’s preparation, attitude and mindset was on target and likes the way Kentucky (3-1, 1-1 SEC) has played “quality football” during the first month of the season, especially against Florida.
“We’re really playing the game the right way,” he said.
Less than 48 hours after the stinging loss to Florida, Stoops was eager to get back to work and began preparation for Saturday’s contest against Mid-American Conference member Eastern Michigan.
“Today’s a new day, and so we will be in there and I have no doubt the guys will respond,” Stoops said. “But, no. I haven’t seen them since I left that locker room the other day and that was a locker room that was filled with disappointment. Those guys left it on the field. That’s for sure.”
Honoring Northington: Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of Nate Northington breaking the color barrier in the SEC. Northington will be an honorary captain and will be recognized during the game. Northington was the first black player to play in an SEC game when Kentucky played Ole Miss on Sept. 30, 1967.
“Our players love seeing them and having them around and being a part of our program,” Stoops said. “We’re proud of Nate and everybody that’s been a part of this and recognizing them. It’s been a big year with the 50th anniversary and he’ll be at the SEC championship game and here this week, and we’re proud of him.”
Game-time set: Kentucky’s contest against Missouri set for Oct. 7 will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.
Gametracker: Eastern Michigan at Kentucky, 4 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: SEC Network, 98.1 FM, WBUL.
Keith Taylor is sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at Keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com or twitter @keithtaylor21.
