The third and 18 defensive call was probably bad. Stoops not going for two on last touchdown was dumb, but didn't lose the game. Truthfully, coaches seemed to have done a good job preparing the team for today's game. The three turnovers in a roll were huge, and I am not sure how you blame coaches for any of those; maybe Barion's as he has done the same thing a couple times before. The face mask penalty that called back the long run early in second half was huge. We score there and maybe we kick them. Leary was just a tad off on several throws...as he has been all year. But, in reality, UK dominated a large portion of the game...have to give coaches some credit for that if you are going to blame them for everything else. Heck, the special teams let them have a couple nice returns that hurt us. Honestly, all three units on the field made some good plays, and all three made some bad plays. The coaches did some really good things, and a couple bad things. I don't think the game should be tagged on any one unit! We just didn't quite make enough plays.

What a joke.

What’s the difference? They’ve had more success in the last 10 years in the SEC than we’ve had in our entire existence. Their schedule is VERY favorable in 2024. They are now out recruiting us and it’s showing on the field.

Right now he’s projected as a lottery pick, but is there a scenario where he returns to maybe try to play himself into a top 3 pick? It’s not a long shot, it’s quite obvious Reed is the best freshman on the team and potentially the nation.

Game Stats



First the bad:

Bradshaw was a non factor. He looked out of place and weak. His minutes appeared to suffer as a result.

Ugo needs to stay planted on the floor. He's still falling for pump fakes. When he doesn't fall for it, he blocks a shot.

Our rebounding sucked. Three rebounds from our 7-footers is a disgrace. We need Adou back badly.

Edwards is still too enamored with the three point shot. For his size and position, there is no excuse for getting outrebounded by Sheppard.

Now the good:

Shep and Dilly were stellar - 10 assists and 5 steals against three turnovers between them. Shep actually had THREE blocks - there was a long jumper that he got a piece of and it went airball, and they didn't give him the block.

Wagner was better, and he clearly got a message from somebody about finishing layups with his right hand.

Reeves was a man possessed. He clearly had some motivation going up against his old team and it showed.

Mitchell - boy do we need him with our 7-footers underachieving. 10 rebounds and his usual, solid presence, like a rock.

Conclusion:

Overall we are deadly on offense but on defense we still lack inside strength. We're decent but in a tournament situation it could bite us. At this point we're not playing like a 1 or 2 seed. I'd like to see that change. My opinion is that other than our 7 footers, Edwards needs to take this more seriously. He might be our missing link. If we had Mitchell, Thiero, Ugo, Edwards, and AB all crashing the boards, we could be unstoppable.

Many have probably had the same thought as me...seeing Missouri go 11-2 and beat Ohio State in a game that would've been a College Football Playoff game in 2024 and beyond.

Rewind...despite a blowout loss to Georgia, Kentucky's season is far from over.

Kentucky is up 14-0 on Missouri. Their offense came out firing faster than it did all year. The crowd is crazy. The Cats about the get the ball back. Eli Drinkwitz then calls a crazy fake punt, to which, Missouri executes a miracle touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7. It changed the flow of the game. Kentucky was deflated the rest of that game and mustered only seven more points, despite NINE more offensive possessions. The Cats then lose to Tennessee in a close game, get blown out by Alabama and are completely deflated in a loss to South Carolina. Sure, they rallied to beat UL and dominated the Clemson game, despite losing it, but truthfully, THAT single play was probably the difference between 10-3 and 7-6.

He is torching the number 1 defense in America today. 20 points and 279 yards and he’ll get the ball again before halftime.

I hope we get to the point one day where we’re putting up offensive numbers like that

Close game in Fayetteville.43-40 with a minute and change left in the 1st half.

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Went against Ace Bailey’s Mcharen squad and had a solid showing but I hope he wasn’t guarding Ace. That dude went for 40pts and 21rbs.

NM

Some a$$hole took it upon themselves to vandalize the tank overnight by spray painting free Palestine down the side. I would like for some of our vets to get ahold of whoever did this.

Ron Slay is so drab. Why can't they get any former U.K. players? Also what happened to Antoine Walker?

SEC

Not many.

this isn't intended to be a post supporting or dissing opt outs but rather I just wonder how our two felt while watching their teammates striving to win this game against a brand opponent like Clemson? It seems it would tare your heart out to be thinking that maybe you could have been the difference in such a close loss! maybe if there had been ten opt outs it wouldn't bother you but being one of only two? I can't imagine what they felt. Did they get to travel with the team or I wonder if they watched from home?

13-0

1st Power 5 undefeated to not make the playoffs and will be the last as Playoffs move to 12 teams next season.

If FSU somehow beats Georgia in the Orange Bowl to finish 14-0 and either a 1 loss Texas or Bama wins the FF the committee will have some questions to answer.

Behind late in the game at FGCU. If they lose we should be #7 in the next AP poll.

Haven't been able to watch the game, hopefully BWO can work his magic for us lowly peeons

17 points, 7 assists, 5 steals 6 rebounds and a block. Stat sheet stuffed.

Turnovers
Penalties erasing big plays or giving the opponent a 1st down
STUPID prevent defense that is TOO soft to prevent ANYTHING
Not having the correct personnel in the game
Getting the play calls in too LATE on both sides of the ball

Unforced errors that you just can't win big games committing have to END for this program to EVER reach a higher level!!!!

WHY is it SOOOOOO HARD for Coach Stoops to correct this aspect of HIS program??!!!!!!!

Yes, the prevent on 3rd and 18, yes the turnovers, we’ve been over it. Here’s what really makes me mad..

Davis scores and we go up 4. Every college coach, every high school coach, every 8 year old playing Madden knows that you ALWAYS GO FOR TWO. END OF STORY. 100% of the time. FULL STOP.

Being up 4 or 5 does not make any difference. Being up 6, sure they still have to go for the TD, but you stand a small chance at them missing the XP, resulting in a tie, not to mention future score implications. I understand it didn’t really bite us, and the chance to win maybe would only go up a percent…,

but this coach is paid NINE MILLION A YEAR TO DO EVERYTHING IN HIS ABILITY TO GIVE US A BETTER CHANCE TO WIN and HE BLATANTLY IGNORED AN ESTABLISHED BASIC FACT ABOUT FOOTBALL.

If you are not doing everything in your power to win, you are actively losing. You play. To win. The game. Forgetting is not an excuse. Playing it safe is not an excuse. It is malpractice pure and simple.

Watched this game to study a little of Billy Richmonds game but my goodness Ace Bailey totally and completely stole the show! Kid had 40 pts and 21 rebounds! Complete domination!How in the hell did Rutgers land him and Dylan Harper?
Billy played decent but a couple things he really needs to sharpen up on is his ball handling and his 3pt shot. He was really good slashing and mid range. I believe he ended the game with 22-24pts.
Overall, I’m just blown tf away at Ace though tbh. Dude looked like Julius Randle in his prime out there!

If you are a UK fan, it’s probably UL. If you cheer for UL, it would be UK. Every team has an arch rival. For the fans, that team often becomes a nemesis.

Question: as a message board person, do you have a fake account for trolling your nemesis?

IQ is being traded to the Raptors with RJ Barrett and draft considerations for OG Anunoby.

QUICK TAKES: Gator Bowl - Clemson 38, Kentucky 35​

Clemson's Phil Mafah tried to elude Kentucky linebacker Tyrese Fearbry (42) during Friday's Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY SPORTS)

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK

In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky's 38-35 loss to Clemson on Friday afternoon in the Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.​

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

Tough loss for Kentucky today. The offense had excellent moments and horrible moments. At the end of the day, 35 points (28 for the offense) against that defense and nearly 400 yards looks very good. On the other hand, three straight turnovers were pivotal in the game. There was good and bad from all three units. Clemson's a good football team and you have to put them away. This snaps UK's 7-game win streak against the ACC. I thought it was the difference between a solid year and a disappointing year, so no hedging after the fact.

TRAVIS GRAF:

Bottom line here — Kentucky blew this game. The defense couldn’t get stops when they needed to, granted the offense gave Clemson some very short fields to work with. I’m unsure why Kentucky stopped bringing pressure toward the end of the game when Klubnik wasn’t handling it well. The offense gifted them with some unforced turnovers and weak ball security, and the run game was non/existent in the second half. All in all, the issues everyone complains about constantly with this team and program showed themselves again today.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

This is a game that Kentucky is going to look back on and be really upset with itself. The Cats controlled almost the entire game but kept making mistake after mistake after mistake to keep short-handed Clemson alive. Whether it was a minus-3 in the turnover column, drive-killing penalties, or abysmal strategy and clock management at the end of each half, UK just made a very winnable game so difficult to win. The Cats did a lot of really nice things today, and this should have been remembered as the day when Barion Brown put another bowl champion trophy in the case against a big brand-name opponent with national title pedigree. But the offense turned the ball over four times in the fourth quarter and the defense allowed 28 points in that stanza, oddly backing off of the pressure they had brought against Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik for eight sacks on the day.