Caller Delivers Some Sobering News to Stoops

[backinky2018]

If you look at the complete season to this point, the Florida game was a fluke. The Georgia game and the first four games of the season had an identical blueprint...a lack of discipline and execution. The first 4 teams weren't strong enough to take advantage of our piss-poor play. Georgia exploited it to an extreme. I don't think most people are upset about losing to Georgia but are upset about the continual bad play.

Good news is there are no more Georgia's on the schedule. Bad news is there are no more Akron's or Ball State's on the schedule. The teams that are left to play are all strong enough to take advantage of our repeated mistakes. Just maybe not to the level that UGA did. My point is that if things don't improve, we could be looking at losses that will be more disappointing than UGA. The rest of the season UK needs to show that the UF game is the norm that they can play to.

I don't know that you can dismiss the UF game as a fluke. It isn't like we played some perfect game...Leary threw for 69 yards. But, our OL played well, and our defense played an excellent game. To me, the Florida game was pretty representative of what our team is.

I do agree with you that there are no more Akrons left on the schedule, and it's difficult to see our team hitting 8-10 wins unless the passing game improves (and assuming that what we saw out of Brad white's defense is an aberration).

 

[backinky2018]

It's not that UK lost the game. Losing to Georgia is fine but UK looked more like the MAC teams Stoops likes to depend on beating to get his 6-win season and his personal BARNHART BONUS to pad his bank account for some irrelevant bowl appearance that many players are not opting to not even play. Games like the Georgia reveal and expose the Stoops/Barnhart reality. This bunch will rue the day for Stoops suggesting to fans to PONY UP if they want a different reality. Fans refusing to PONY UP will reveal to them a reality that they will likely deserve.

I was disappointed in how we lost to Georgia. But, to be honest, we usually lose to Georgia in "respectable" fashion (e.g. we lose to Georgia 14-3 or 24-7). In other words, we are never in danger of winning the game, but we don't get killed. Saturday, we got killed.

But, Georgia is the gold standard of college football. We should aspire to beat them and we should build toward beating them, but we can't tear the whole thing down if we don't.

If we lose our next two games, then yes, the sky is falling. Win the next two and I'm feeling great.

 

[backinky2018]

"The other years are exactly what we got before him".
Thanks for admitting you know nothing about Kentucky Football. Kentucky Football was perfectly fine with mediocrity for decades - it has absolutely nothing to do with the fans who regularly put 60K in the seats to watch 4-6 and 5-5 type teams play.

You are in no position to recommend to anyone who to cheer for if you are this ignorant about Kentucky football.

We lost to Vandy 40-0 at home the year before Stoops got here. We regularly lost to Florida - but you apparently wouldn't know - 73-7 and 65-0 during the Bill Curry years. We lost to Florida AND Tennessee 30 years in a row. That UGA beatdown Saturday night was normal for Kentucky for years.

TeH oThEr YeArS aRe eXaCtLy WhAt We GoT BeFoRe HiM

lol, you're a clown.

YEa, anyone who thinks what we have now is the same as what we've already had, is a very new UK fan.

I am 45, and my parents are in their 70s. Season tickets since the 70s. I sat through BRUTAL football for most of my childhood, teens, and 20s. It's only the last ten years where UK is legitimately what it "should be" - beating teams we're supposed to beat, and passing a few that used to dominate us (Florida, South Carolina, Mizzou). This is worthy of celebration here. I still celebrate every win over Mizzou and South Carolina and Florida b/c I remember losing 31 straight to Florida. I remember losing ten straight to USC Jr. I remember Mizzou housing us when they entered the SEC. I remember UL winning 4-5 straight and rubbing our nose in it.

We should absolutely aspire for more. But, what is happening here is still great relative to history.

 

[CRZ4UK]

At some point you gotta admit that we don’t have the voice in the room that gets you over the top. I’ve heard bits of Stoops’ locker room talk and it’s cringeworthy. You throw in some of the complaining and excuses we’ve heard over the years and now it’s coming off as whining. At the end of the day, these kids need a motivator that’s going to make them hungry and hold them accountable when they make mistakes.

Exactly how do you hold someone accountable?? Kidnap their family members?? Lol. The only thing you can do is put them on the bench. That’s it. Now…. Who you replacing him with??? Someone who beat him out of the job. Yea. Let’s sit all our starters to teach them a lesson. That’s gonna work. I’d like to know truly. How would you. Hold them accountable. As you say?? Don’t forget. You bench them. You lose them for good. They will transfer end of year. I think Burton will be benched when Horsey returns. He will transfer after.

 

[bthaunert]

Sorry had to go to bed to get up to go to the VA this morning. If you click SEC by the year, it shows the standings for each year. I listed what this site showed as the order.

Those listings don't mean where they finished in the league. In the SEC, if you finish tied for 2nd, you're tied for 2nd. There is no tie-breaker. The only thing they use the tie-breaker for is to determine who makes the SEC championship game.

UK has finished 2nd place in the SEC Eastin the official standings 3 times since 2016

 

[KYCAT78]

Plus many of those teams were riding high when we beat them. We beat several ranked teams that went on to spiral. We deserve the credit for beating them as they were. Florida last year is a good example

Statistics can be made to support the point you are trying to make. How many SEC teams had winning records when we beat them? My guess a good number that ended up with losing records.

 

[YaketySax]

UK beat three 4-4 SEC teams in the six or seven years prior to Stoops. Go back 25 years and there’s a few more.

Pointing being, Stoops has won more of these games than anyone else prior. Also, those 4-4 SEC teams would have been 5-3 SEC teams if Stoops hadn’t beaten them.

 

[Girthang]

Those listings don't mean where they finished in the league. In the SEC, if you finish tied for 2nd, you're tied for 2nd. There is no tie-breaker. The only thing they use the tie-breaker for is to determine who makes the SEC championship game.

UK has finished 2nd place in the SEC East in the official standings 3 times since 2016

Great post. Not trying to be a dk. Just Fify

 

[Girthang]

I don't think it had anything to do with Georgia's ability to win. We just played horrible, made horrible mistakes, and could not recover. Thats it.

I think it's both, but there's no question our side of it was exactly as you described.

 

[Soupbean]

Thin-skinned coaches don't last very long.

Yeah I love Mark but sensitivity is NEVER a good look for a coach. The whole NIL thing Monday night was a major mistake in the moment that cost the program and himself a lot of previously hard fought respect IMO. You just dont do that after an embarrasing loss like that. The timing could not have been worse to be sounding sensitive, thin skinned and excuse making. I'm sure it didn't come off well for the current players or recruits either= and was a little bit of a bucket of cold water thrown on the rest of the fan base too, at least it was for me. Now have to try and make that ground back up on the field. I'm still in his and the players camp though for sure, just lost a little enthusiasm for the moment. The ball game cause some of that, but his comments added to it.

 

[Cals_Prairie_Dog]

Exactly how do you hold someone accountable?? Kidnap their family members?? Lol. The only thing you can do is put them on the bench. That’s it. Now…. Who you replacing him with??? Someone who beat him out of the job. Yea. Let’s sit all our starters to teach them a lesson. That’s gonna work. I’d like to know truly. How would you. Hold them accountable. As you say?? Don’t forget. You bench them. You lose them for good. They will transfer end of year. I think Burton will be benched when Horsey returns. He will transfer after

Exactly how do you hold someone accountable?? Kidnap their family members?? Lol. The only thing you can do is put them on the bench. That’s it. Now…. Who you replacing him with??? Someone who beat him out of the job. Yea. Let’s sit all our starters to teach them a lesson. That’s gonna work. I’d like to know truly. How would you. Hold them accountable. As you say?? Don’t forget. You bench them. You lose them for good. They will transfer end of year. I think Burton will be benched when Horsey returns. He will transfer after.

When people make mistakes, there has to be consequences. Plain and simple. This is especially the case when you put yourself before the team and get an unnecessary unsportsmanlike penalty that is downright dirty to the 10th degree. Who cares if feelings get hurt and people want to leave? You want a bunch of selfish quitters on the team? GTFOH with that nonsense. Bench them, run them, whatever. Don’t let it slide at all.

 

[CB3UK]

Nothing Stoops said was wrong. The timing might have been. Same as the timing for when Cal said we're a basketball school. Read the ****ing room. But the content of what Coach said was not wrong. The boosters need to pony up. Saying that on a call in show where the listeners are all blue collar guys like me......not the time or place for it Stoops. We're tapped out as it is.

 

[CRZ4UK]

When people make mistakes, there has to be consequences. Plain and simple. This is especially the case when you put yourself before the team and get an unnecessary unsportsmanlike penalty that is downright dirty to the 10th degree. Who cares if feelings get hurt and people want to leave? You want a bunch of selfish quitters on the team? GTFOH with that nonsense. Bench them, run them, whatever. Don’t let it slide at all.

I get your frustration. I’m sure it’s been addressed with Burton especially. You have seen angry Stoops. I don’t for one second believe he’s not had his azz chewed out with multiple F bombs by Stoops. He’s probably done extra conditioning ass well. Apparently that’s not working so benching him is all that’s left. When Horsey returns I fully expect that.

 

[MrHotDice]

It's not that UK lost the game. Losing to Georgia is fine but UK looked more like the MAC teams Stoops likes to depend on beating to get his 6-win season and his personal BARNHART BONUS to pad his bank account for some irrelevant bowl appearance that many players are not opting to not even play. Games like the Georgia reveal and expose the Stoops/Barnhart reality. This bunch will rue the day for Stoops suggesting to fans to PONY UP if they want a different reality. Fans refusing to PONY UP will reveal to them a reality that they will likely deserve.

It called smoke and mirrors coaching.

 

[FickusDuckus]

Exactly how do you hold someone accountable?? Kidnap their family members?? Lol. The only thing you can do is put them on the bench. That’s it. Now…. Who you replacing him with??? Someone who beat him out of the job. Yea. Let’s sit all our starters to teach them a lesson. That’s gonna work. I’d like to know truly. How would you. Hold them accountable. As you say?? Don’t forget. You bench them. You lose them for good. They will transfer end of year. I think Burton will be benched when Horsey returns. He will transfer after.

We could mail him a digit after the kidnapping! Show we are serious. National title is the ransom.

 

[CRZ4UK]

We could mail him a digit after the kidnapping! Show we are serious. National title is the ransom.

Now that’s how you hold a 20yo kid accountable!!! Great idea!!

 

[The Snoke]

It took a Kirby Smart type of coach just to occasionally beat Bama...

We've already been competitive with teams at that level. Being competitive was a pipe dream for us. Now we think we can win titles if we start over with a new staff...

I don't know how many of you have ever worked out for football or played the game, but there's a point where sht gets really fkn tough. A point where you're trying to push through to a high level of skills, strength, and stamina, and they can all be at entirely different times. It becomes a depressing grind if you don't have the heart for it. Now is that point for UK Football in just one aspect of the game. There will be 2 more.

We need to find some real cahones and heart as fans and back this staff instead of the usual "bail out for basketball" that's been ingrained in everyone for decades.

We've been beating who we should.
We've been upgrading the talent.
We've been beating those we haven't more and more.
We're now upgrading the depth.
We've upgraded the systems and the facilities.
Now we have to start getting the upper echelon talent at key positions, and seem ready to take that step in order to-
Best the best teams occasionally.

That's still a step or two from winning titles and beating the best every year.

Dang Dude!!!! Preach. I completely agree and if those that don’t understand what you just said… well, they will never understand.

 

[Tf2217]

Won 2 games against winners in conference? Who's that leave UGA, TN once or twice, Bama once, UF a few times, and probably A&M in 18 .

Yeah as little ole KY I'm not sure that's a legit issue. It sounds good when it's brought up but if you know the facts it's a whole lot less of a ridicule.

 

[Girthang]

Yeah I love Mark but sensitivity is NEVER a good look for a coach. The whole NIL thing Monday night was a major mistake in the moment that cost the program and himself a lot of previously hard fought respect IMO. You just dont do that after an embarrasing loss like that. The timing could not have been worse to be sounding sensitive, thin skinned and excuse making. I'm sure it didn't come off well for the current players or recruits either= and was a little bit of a bucket of cold water thrown on the rest of the fan base too, at least it was for me. Now have to try and make that ground back up on the field. I'm still in his and the players camp though for sure, just lost a little enthusiasm for the moment. The ball game cause some of that, but his comments added to it.

I'm not thin-skinned enough that it bothered me. It's a point of fact that they have more NIL money invested in and used during their recruiting before the kids get on campus. We're no where near top 20, maybe not even top 40, probably in that regard. That said, throwing the same amount of money at kids isn't gonna make up the gap in perception between UK and UGA.

Even if we won the East this season, we're not prying a 5 star out of Georgia's or Bama's hands thru NIL. This staff, like every UK staff before them, doesn't have the full support of the fanbase, and STILL WOULDN'T even if we win the East. Too many have invested in the usual "our coach isn't good enough" so "I'm not gonna support him" but "pine for a coach that's not even interested in the job." It's been the same for 30 years.

 

[MrHotDice]

W. T. F. is the point of hiring a "decent" coach for even 7M per year? We have better than a "decent" coach who is recruiting to THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY FOOTBALL PROGRAM like no one has ever or consistently done before. Now people want to take a flyer on some other decent coach?! THATS EXACTLY what the boosters and admin did with Joker instead of putting money into the facilities for Brooks.

No matter what coach we have this will still not be GEORGIA, FLORIDA, BAMA, AUBURN, TEXAS, T A&M, OR UT. Why doesn't anyone get this? Pride in the state and university is one thing. Blind appraisals are another.

Georgia itself has languished by expectations if not national standards until they got Kirby Smart. Alabama had struggled before Saban got things going again. NOW DO KENTUCKY.

-No history
-Small recruiting base in state
-No influence outside of KY
-Lost recruits to MAC SCHOOLS for decades
-Can't seem to get admissions right
(Thinks they are Vanderbilt academically)
-Less than a handful of >.500 conference years
-How many conference titles?
-How many Heisman winners?
-Very little preseason marketing of UK players for national trophies/awards
-NIL?
-Beat UL how many straight seasons and start every season below them in the national perception?

Figure it out!

We have really just started 3-4 years of beating out some big programs for recruits that would go to other SEC schools and B1G contenders and NOW you want to bail on the coaches that got us there? Makes no sense

Yes. They have flaws. Yes. There are areas they need to improve. But damn...

This attitude is why UK has no chance to ever be the power they once were in football. Now with Texas and Oklahoma going for the SEC payday, UK is basically screwed.

 

[Bluesbrother]

I was disappointed in how we lost to Georgia. But, to be honest, we usually lose to Georgia in "respectable" fashion (e.g. we lose to Georgia 14-3 or 24-7). In other words, we are never in danger of winning the game, but we don't get killed. Saturday, we got killed.

But, Georgia is the gold standard of college football. We should aspire to beat them and we should build toward beating them, but we can't tear the whole thing down if we don't.

If we lose our next two games, then yes, the sky is falling. Win the next two and I'm feeling great.

Good points and can't really disagree. I hope they can slow down the Mizzou offense and get ours cranked up. We'll see I suppose.

 

[Girthang]

I get your frustration. I’m sure it’s been addressed with Burton especially. You have seen angry Stoops. I don’t for one second believe he’s not had his azz chewed out with multiple F bombs by Stoops. He’s probably done extra conditioning ass well. Apparently that’s not working so benching him is all that’s left. When Horsey returns I fully expect that.

My first thoughts when he had back to back, drive crippling penalties is that he did it on purpose. I've never seen someone chickensht a player on the ground like that during a big play right after fkng up on the drive before. Then the next drive he refuses to snap the ball.

Then he got blown up on a few other plays during the game. Has me wondering if there's some bad blood in this lockeroom.

 

[Girthang]

This attitude is why UK has no chance to ever be the power they once were in football. Now with Texas and Oklahoma going for the SEC payday, UK is basically screwed.

Now that is some hilarious and dramatic sarcasm! Cheers to you! Fkn blew my drink out my nose reading that. At once delusional and depressive at the same time.

"We had it all, baby! We owned the sport!"
Pause for dramatic effect
"Now we'll never own it! All of our fictional national championships mean NOTHING!... because 2 teams from states we hardly recruit, that haven't won a title between them in over a decade, are joining the SEC! WA-aaaH! Waaaa! Oh the horror..."

DUDE, that's SNL gold right there

The only thing that might make it better (add a little more irony) would be to complain about soft scheduling of OOC games (cupcakes or something like that). It's not something you'd probably think of or say, so I had to mention it.

 

[Soupbean]

I'm not thin-skinned enough that it bothered me. It's a point of fact that they have more NIL money invested in and used during their recruiting before the kids get on campus. We're no where near top 20, maybe not even top 40, probably in that regard. That said, throwing the same amount of money at kids isn't gonna make up the gap in perception between UK and UGA.

Even if we won the East this season, we're not prying a 5 star out of Georgia's or Bama's hands thru NIL. This staff, like every UK staff before them, doesn't have the full support of the fanbase, and STILL WOULDN'T even if we win the East. Too many have invested in the usual "our coach isn't good enough" so "I'm not gonna support him" but "pine for a coach that's not even interested in the job." It's been the same for 30 years.

I get all that Girth, its now about the argument of the realities, its about the perception and how he came off. And its now about you or I being thin skinned its about coach looking thin skinned about criticism. We all know NIL is a part of the struggle against the UGAs of other world, but using that as headline excuse ignores the fact that the talent gap wasnt the only reason we lost like we did. We got out coached plain and simple and our guys lost the energy/motivation battle too.

The talent/physical gap is there but its not like it used to be. If it was you'd have seen them open up trying to force it down our throat, but what did you see them do? They were worried about us being their physical match so much so that they opened up throwing almost the entire first quarter. The exposed us X and O wise and then when we got behind we lost our confidence and as a result our energy and it snowballed.

So Coach is not wrong about an advantage they have, but its not the whole picture of that game and it surely wasnt the time to imply it was after taking that kind beating. I'd have give them their due then gone quietly back to work getting better.

 

[EdgeHD]

UK has hit a wall. Be lucky to make a bowl game this year.

We will find that out tomorrow. Win tomorrow and you will be wrong. Maybe way wrong. But lose tomorrow and the bottom could fall out of our locker room. That is how important it is to come back strong from the beat down in Athens. Players can't keep moping and f'ing up, have to get their heads up now.

 

[EdgeHD]

I get all that Girth, its now about the argument of the realities, its about the perception and how he came off. And its now about you or I being thin skinned its about coach looking thin skinned about criticism. We all know NIL is a part of the struggle against the UGAs of other world, but using that as headline excuse ignores the fact that the talent gap wasnt the only reason we lost like we did. We got out coached plain and simple and our guys lost the energy/motivation battle too.

The talent/physical gap is there but its not like it used to be. If it was you'd have seen them open up trying to force it down our throat, but what did you see them do? TheyYou are very observant. were worried about us being their physical match so much so that they opened up throwing almost the entire first quarter. The exposed us X and O wise and then when we got behind we lost our confidence and as a result our energy and it snowballed.

So Coach is not wrong about an advantage they have, but its not the whole picture of that game and it surely wasnt the time to imply it was after taking that kind beating. I'd have give them their due then gone quietly back to work getting better.

You are very observant. Thanks for excellent analysis. Kirby Smart was worried about physically taking on Walker and Silver. So he didn't. Georgia's offense went over and around the strength of our defense in the middle. It was a very "smart" plan and it worked for the Dogs. It frustrated Deone and made us look worse than we are. We can bounce back this week, but Kirby Moore saw last week's game film and that gives him the formula for beating our defense. So White cannot play soft coverage this time. Geiger being out does not help.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Thin-skinned coaches don't last very long.

No but thin skinned fans do….unfortunately

 

[The-Hack]

This attitude is why UK has no chance to ever be the power they once were in football.

I remember those glorious days!!


That Kentucky Football dominance that brought us 13 winning seasons in the 54 years from 1960 until Stoops’ arrival in 2013!!!

We absolutely bullied our way to a 28 percent winning clip in SEC play for well over half-a-century!!

Those winning seasons Coach Stoops produced in the SEC hardly compare to the 41 years prior without a winning conference slate.

Bowl games in Florida on or near January 1 . . . . I’ve wasted suntan lotion in Jacksonville and Orlando 4 of the last 6 seasons, and lots of gasoline driving to the veritable Hell that is Florida, dreaming of our post-season return to the allure of Birmingham and Memphis!

Oh, the Glory Days!!

But we may well return to our former glory should Stoops retire, or leave.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Another difficult thing for people to understand is that LSU, Georgia, Bama, etc. all won it ALL before and after great coaches came along.

LSU didn't need Saban to win a title. They did it without him afterward. Bama didn't need him to do it. They did it beforehand with other coaches. There are 10-15 schools that are consistently expected to compete for national titles. There are another 10 that are just a few playmaker away from that on a rarer basis, but get in the mix very often. There are 4-5 from each conference that have been contenders for titles in their own conference if not nationally.

UK hasn't entered those categories.

They've been contenders for the East a few times early in the season. That's it. That's a LOT OF GROUND to make up on those who'
ve already been to Atlanta, not to mention those who are mentioned as contenders on a regular or rotating basis for the national title.

Now, this staff has done WHAT THEY'VE DONE with FAR LESS TALENT in terms of rankings and recruiting base than any other program, imo. If they put another couple 10 win seasons together over the next 2-3 years, that may get them over the hump with recruiting to a school without the football reputation.

It took Saban 3 years each to win a title at LSU and Bama. It took Kirby Smart 5-6 years at Georgia. It took Dabo Swinney 8 years to win a national title at Clemson IN THE ACC (and he hasn't won one since 2018). Tubberville was at Auburn for 10 years and won ONE SINGLE SEC title. One. At Auburn. When Bama and LSU had a few down years.

If ANYONE thinks 11-15 years is too many AT UK to build to that level, they are just not informed, realistic, or rational.

To be fair Tubbs had an undefeated team that never got the chance to play for a title. 3 first round draft picks in their backfield.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

I'm not thin-skinned enough that it bothered me. It's a point of fact that they have more NIL money invested in and used during their recruiting before the kids get on campus. We're no where near top 20, maybe not even top 40, probably in that regard. That said, throwing the same amount of money at kids isn't gonna make up the gap in perception between UK and UGA.

Even if we won the East this season, we're not prying a 5 star out of Georgia's or Bama's hands thru NIL. This staff, like every UK staff before them, doesn't have the full support of the fanbase, and STILL WOULDN'T even if we win the East. Too many have invested in the usual "our coach isn't good enough" so "I'm not gonna support him" but "pine for a coach that's not even interested in the job." It's been the same for 30 years.

UK outbid UF and AU for Leary, to outbid AU money isn't an issue, AU is routinely overpaying for kids. It looks like UK put too much NIL money into one guy coming off a career threatening injury and it was a bad gamble. But much easier to say someone is spending more than doing a better job.

 

[Girthang]

I get all that Girth, its now about the argument of the realities, its about the perception and how he came off. And its now about you or I being thin skinned its about coach looking thin skinned about criticism. We all know NIL is a part of the struggle against the UGAs of other world, but using that as headline excuse ignores the fact that the talent gap wasnt the only reason we lost like we did. We got out coached plain and simple and our guys lost the energy/motivation battle too.

The talent/physical gap is there but its not like it used to be. If it was you'd have seen them open up trying to force it down our throat, but what did you see them do? They were worried about us being their physical match so much so that they opened up throwing almost the entire first quarter. The exposed us X and O wise and then when we got behind we lost our confidence and as a result our energy and it snowballed.

So Coach is not wrong about an advantage they have, but its not the whole picture of that game and it surely wasnt the time to imply it was after taking that kind beating. I'd have give them their due then gone quietly back to work getting better.

Yep.

Clearly going quietly back to work is a better option than running ones mouth in a public way. Wonder if that's where some of the players are picking it up. The lack of respect for our opponents and our teammates, and therefore our program, is blowing up in our faces right now. Very embarrassing

 

[Soupbean]

You are very observant. Thanks for excellent analysis. Kirby Smart was worried about physically taking on Walker and Silver. So he didn't. Georgia's offense went over and around the strength of our defense in the middle. It was a very "smart" plan and it worked for the Dogs. It frustrated Deone and made us look worse than we are. We can bounce back this week, but Kirby Moore saw last week's game film and that gives him the formula for beating our defense. So White cannot play soft coverage this time. Geiger being out does not help.

You're so right and thats part of why I say it wasnt as much a physical talent based beating we took at UGA as coach hinted at, it was scheme and when we started losing that battle we lost confidence and energy and then it was over.

 

[JumperJack]

Another difficult thing for people to understand is that LSU, Georgia, Bama, etc. all won it ALL before and after great coaches came along.

LSU didn't need Saban to win a title. They did it without him afterward. Bama didn't need him to do it. They did it beforehand with other coaches. There are 10-15 schools that are consistently expected to compete for national titles. There are another 10 that are just a few playmaker away from that on a rarer basis, but get in the mix very often. There are 4-5 from each conference that have been contenders for titles in their own conference if not nationally.

UK hasn't entered those categories.

They've been contenders for the East a few times early in the season. That's it. That's a LOT OF GROUND to make up on those who've already been to Atlanta, not to mention those who are mentioned as contenders on a regular or rotating basis for the national title.

Now, this staff has done WHAT THEY'VE DONE with FAR LESS TALENT in terms of rankings and recruiting base than any other program, imo. If they put another couple 10 win seasons together over the next 2-3 years, that may get them over the hump with recruiting to a school without the football reputation.

It took Saban 3 years each to win a title at LSU and Bama. It took Kirby Smart 5-6 years at Georgia. It took Dabo Swinney 8 years to win a national title at Clemson IN THE ACC (and he hasn't won one since 2018). Tubberville was at Auburn for 10 years and won ONE SINGLE SEC title. One. At Auburn. When Bama and LSU had a few down years.

If ANYONE thinks 11-15 years is too many AT UK to build to that level, they are just not informed, realistic, or rational.

This is all true but it doesn’t excuse the shitty execution we’ve seen this year.

 

[Girthang]

This is all true but it doesn’t excuse the shitty execution we’ve seen this year.

Never said it did and never will. If you read the posts I've posted and which I'm addressing here, you'd know that.

edit- And this is from 10 days ago, not just after the complete meltdown last weekend

 

[BlueWhite21]

"The other years are exactly what we got before him".
Thanks for admitting you know nothing about Kentucky Football. Kentucky Football was perfectly fine with mediocrity for decades - it has absolutely nothing to do with the fans who regularly put 60K in the seats to watch 4-6 and 5-5 type teams play.

You are in no position to recommend to anyone who to cheer for if you are this ignorant about Kentucky football.

We lost to Vandy 40-0 at home the year before Stoops got here. We regularly lost to Florida - but you apparently wouldn't know - 73-7 and 65-0 during the Bill Curry years. We lost to Florida AND Tennessee 30 years in a row. That UGA beatdown Saturday night was normal for Kentucky for years.

TeH oThEr YeArS aRe eXaCtLy WhAt We GoT BeFoRe HiM

lol, you're a clown.

Best damn logical post I read on this thread yet! Yeah, Stoops could do better at some things at times. We didn't beat Florida until Stoops got to Lexington. Before that you have to go back to when Joker was a Receiver in 1986. It still feels good to me to beat Florida.

How many 10 win seasons did we enjoy before Mark got to Lexington? Hell, how many 9 win seasons did we have? So we have a down year or 2 but a down year under Stoops isn't some 2-9, 1-10 record bullshit like we sit through with Bill Curry or Joker Phillips, and I learned to like Rich Brooks but he was on probation so it was more difficult for him, but it still ended in 7-6 seasons or an occasional 8-5 seasons ending with a shitty bowl appearance the days before players became lil bitches and would opt out of games because they didn't wanna take a chance on injuring their vaginas.

I do think that Barnhart gets carried away by giving things like the rollover contract if Stoop wins enough games to make a bowl. That's dumb as hell and should be reexamined. Mitch would be scared to pull that off the table now.

But, I'm actually happy with how Stoops has done. I don't agree with everything he does 100% but I remember very low times... just wanting a coach that could have us playing competitive in SEC games, instead of knowing a blowout was coming before kick-off each week. I wanted a guy who could get us in top 25 once in awhile. Hell, he has found a way to do that a few times. Unlike the rest. Well Joker had us in the top 25 of the sorriest Jokers to play football in all the land.

I do agree with some points some of you make, but damn it easy to forget quick when your team has a little success. I rather come closer to winning anywhere from 7-10 games a yr. With folks showing up to the games, than to win 2-3 games in front 5,000 scattered out booing at Kroger field.