By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky is finally healthy and rested up for the next six weeks.
“It’s been a good off week,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Monday during his weekly press conference. “Our players needed it. We added some rest. (We) got healthy, we were able to do some self-scout (and) get ahead on Mississippi State.”
Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops said his team got healthy during a bye week last weekend and plays at Mississippi State Saturday in Starkville. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. (Keith Taylor/Kentucky Today)
Stoops said both sides of the ball benefitted from the open week. Linebacker Jordan Jones is among the top starters expected to be back in the lineup after missing the three previous games.
“We were banged up,” Stoops said. “There was probably a few guys who wouldn’t have been able to play last week. … Overall, we were wore down and beat up a little bit.”
Stoops and his coaching staff also enjoyed having the weekend off.
“(Not having) the mental stress for a few days was definitely good for the whole staff,” he said.
At the halfway point of the season, Stoops is pleased with the fact that the Wildcats have won five games, no matter the margin of victory and have a plus-8 in turnover margin through the first six encounters.
“I think the team has found ways to win when maybe the other side is not playing its best,” he said. “Finding ways to win and putting yourself in position to win football games is the bottom line. I think this team has done that very well.”
The Wildcats (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) are coming off a 40-34 win over Missouri two weeks ago, while the Bulldogs (4-2, 1-2) rolled to a 35-10 win over BYU in a non-conference encounter last weekend, ending a two-game losing streak.
Going into Saturday’s showdown, the Wildcats are undefeated in two road games this season, with wins at Southern Mississippi (24-17) and South Carolina (23-13). Kentucky defeated the Bulldogs 40-38 last year at Kroger Field to end a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs and haven’t won in Starkville since yanking out a 14-13 victory nine years ago.
“You have to embrace the challenge whether it’s at home or on the road,” Stoops said. “Sometimes, I felt like as a coach through the years that it’s good sometimes to load up and get on the road. As I told you playing the Missouri game after their bye, I knew that it was probably better for them at that point to get on the road. Sometimes you feel like that. We’re playing good football and we have to be able to play well at home or on the road.”
The week off also moved the Wildcats up a notch in the conference standings with a one-game lead over Florida and South Carolina. Despite the surge, Stoops wants his team to take the rest of the season one game at a time.
“Our players know enough by now to know it is a one week season,” he said. “Let’s just take care of business and do the best we can this week. You can’t look ahead. If you look ahead you’re going to get knocked down real quick.”
Game time set
Kentucky’s game against Tennessee set for Oct. 28 at Kroger Field will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. It will be the fourth night game of the year for the Wildcats, who are 2-1 in evening contests.
Gametracker: Kentucky at Mississippi State, 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.
