Is There a SINGLE Target For Blame?

[KYtotheCore]

I see arrows for Towles, Stoops, Oline throughout the board. Haven't seen one for "the incident" as motivation. Last night's game, IMO, was just a collective underestimation of a decent EKU team, the cats probably coming in feeling like the game was an automatic win. I don't blame any one person . . . it happens. We coasted until we realized "Oh (enter favorite expletive here), it's slipping away!" Then we started doing what should have really been done earlier.

I like what I see for the most part, with some room to improve. I'll take the W.

 

[KapitalCat]

I'll take the W too. Marks Stoops was very very lucky last night. The game plan was flawed and the execution of a flawed game play was not executed well. When we were desperate and had to open up the playbook we looked pretty good. We should have played that way from the second quarter forward.

But we found a way to win, had a will to win when it looked like we were toast and that's something to build upon.

 

[vhcat70]

For me it's Stoops talking about playing 2nd line players beforehand. What kind of mindset does that create? Regardless, I like him.

 

[MrHotDice]

Yes, I blame the foolish UK football fan for putting way to much into who we have played. South Carolina and Missouri are right up their with Vandy this year and beating them both shows improvement but nothing else. This team could be 0-5 or 5-0 based on how they have played so to think that any team on the schedule is a sure win is football foolishness

 

[mdlUK.1]

Someone in another thread mentioned this. How much did the coaches cautioning the players to NOT get involved in any on field altercations because of the off field incident, take away our aggressiveness? How much did that play in letting EKU take the fight to us?

 

[rudd1]

-I think much of it falls on coaches not getting the team ready to go.

-EKU had plenty to play for: dead teammate/bar fight...and nothing to lose.

 

[TheBigBlueSpectacle]

Oline play, particularly at LT.... That big of a mismatch allows the rest of the defense to key elsewhere

Linebacker tackling

Stoops did hint that second stringers would get time and was probably overlooking these guys

The Colonels I'm sure were keyed up over the death of their comrade and also from some ridiculous notion that they were somehow right in their part of the bar fight. I just felt they were the aggressors all night

4th quarter Kentucky reminded them who they are. No harm done, and THIS team is ready for the rest they are about to get. Just cheer on our guys and move forward. These games happen.

 

[KYtotheCore]

-EKU had plenty to play for: dead teammate/bar fight...and nothing to lose.

I kind of thought this too. They may have been just much more emotional for this than us, which takes a while to play out.

 

[permdaddy]

No one single person could cause that game to turn out the way it did. It was Stoops/staff coaching poorly and players playing poorly. Some did play/coach worse than others but that was a total team looking past an opponent.

 

[bluescat92]

Give EKU some credit. They gave it their best shot in combination with us having an off night. Plenty of good teams have been beat under those circumstances but we pulled it out. This game is history and it is time to move on to Auburn.

 

[tdcat]

I see arrows for Towles, Stoops, Oline throughout the board. Haven't seen one for "the incident" as motivation. Last night's game, IMO, was just a collective underestimation of a decent EKU team, the cats probably coming in feeling like the game was an automatic win. I don't blame any one person . . . it happens. We coasted until we realized "Oh (enter favorite expletive here), it's slipping away!" Then we started doing what should have really been done earlier.

I like what I see for the most part, with some room to improve. I'll take the W.

Here are your targets:
1. A marginal OL is playing without its starting LT and LG. The starting RT is playing hurt and before the game was over, your top backup at tackle, Meadows was out.
2. The team just flat overlooked the opponent. Blame coaches AND players. You do not go into a game loudly proclaiming the subs will play. Sends a team trying to change a losing tradition coming off some good conference games the wrong message.
3. Take what you read on these boards with a grain of salt. It comes from the psyche of a scarred fan base.

No one can be happy with this game...but this one game doesn't define our season. It doesn't mean all our previous wins were against horrible teams and we are just lucky we arent 0-5.

Truth is we beat South Carolina ON THE ROAD. Sure they are down this year but that absolutely terrible team beat NC which just beat Georgia Tech and is looking like an upper half SCC finisher.

Truth is the Missouri team we beat isn't likely going to three peat in the East but those of our fans now saying they are a bad team are clueless and will have it proven to them over this season.

3. The team that looked so bad last night only lost to Florida by 5. The team that looked so bad last night held Florida to 14 and gave them a short field for 7 of those. That Florida just put up 38 on Ole Miss. Our maligned O scored 9 on the Florida ... The great Ole Miss O scored 10.

4. UK teams of the past lose that game last night. This one did not.

5. This team has won 4 of 5 at crunch time and was very close at making it 5 of 5 against an undefeated Gator team that just destroyed Ole Miss...a team that man handle Alabama. The UK fanbase is right. This team has warts but it has shown a lot of growth in the right direction that many are blind to right now. When Miami turned around their losing tradition the change was gradual and many wins and loses were hard to explain. Signs indicate that we are on that road.

 

[NCukcat62]

I think the finger always should go back to the coach. Towles actually had a decent night.

 

[Chuckinden]

Yes, I blame the foolish UK football fan for putting way to much into who we have played. South Carolina and Missouri are right up their with Vandy this year and beating them both shows improvement but nothing else. This team could be 0-5 or 5-0 based on how they have played so to think that any team on the schedule is a sure win is football foolishness

This is true. I thought we would have an easier time with EKU, but we still aren't that good to overwhelm anyone. We are still growing and learning and about where I thought we would be at this time of the year.

Every game will be a test this season.

 

[brianpoe]

Here are your targets:
1. A marginal OL is playing without its starting LT and LG. The starting RT is playing hurt and before the game was over, your top backup at tackle, Meadows was out.
2. The team just flat overlooked the opponent. Blame coaches AND players. You do not go into a game loudly proclaiming the subs will play. Sends a team trying to change a losing tradition coming off some good conference games the wrong message.
3. Take what you read on these boards with a grain of salt. It comes from the psyche of a scarred fan base.

No one can be happy with this game...but this one game doesn't define our season. It doesn't mean all our previous wins were against horrible teams and we are just lucky we arent 0-5.

Truth is we beat South Carolina ON THE ROAD. Sure they are down this year but that absolutely terrible team beat NC which just beat Georgia Tech and is looking like an upper half SCC finisher.

Truth is the Missouri team we beat isn't likely going to three peat in the East but those of our fans now saying they are a bad team are clueless and will have it proven to them over this season.

3. The team that looked so bad last night only lost to Florida by 5. The team that looked so bad last night held Florida to 14 and gave them a short field for 7 of those. That Florida just put up 38 on Ole Miss. Our maligned O scored 9 on the Florida ... The great Ole Miss O scored 10.

4. UK teams of the past lose that game last night. This one did not.

5. This team has won 4 of 5 at crunch time and was very close at making it 5 of 5 against an undefeated Gator team that just destroyed Ole Miss...a team that man handle Alabama. The UK fanbase is right. This team has warts but it has shown a lot of growth in the right direction that many are blind to right now. When Miami turned around their losing tradition the change was gradual and many wins and loses were hard to explain. Signs indicate that we are on that road.

Great post.

 

[pickled cat]

For me it's Stoops talking about playing 2nd line players beforehand. What kind of mindset does that create? Regardless, I like him.

Agree Brother . The wrong message was sent all week long, and in every interview by our young staff.Still love'em! but they"ll have to own this one.

 

[aikenite4uk]

Agree Brother . The wrong message was sent all week long, and in every interview by our young staff.Still love'em! but they"ll have to own this one.

Stoops learned a lesson tonight. You have to give credit to EKU. They were way more talented than I (and Stoops) would have imagined. They had D1 talent at several positions...the D lineman from Ohio State was one of the top recruits of his class...the QB was a Cincy signee...the CB was an AZ State signee, and of course their RB played for us. I wouldn't be surprised to see them go far in the FCS playoffs.

 

[irishcat1965]

Here are your targets:
1. A marginal OL is playing without its starting LT and LG. The starting RT is playing hurt and before the game was over, your top backup at tackle, Meadows was out.
2. The team just flat overlooked the opponent. Blame coaches AND players. You do not go into a game loudly proclaiming the subs will play. Sends a team trying to change a losing tradition coming off some good conference games the wrong message.
3. Take what you read on these boards with a grain of salt. It comes from the psyche of a scarred fan base.

No one can be happy with this game...but this one game doesn't define our season. It doesn't mean all our previous wins were against horrible teams and we are just lucky we arent 0-5.

Truth is we beat South Carolina ON THE ROAD. Sure they are down this year but that absolutely terrible team beat NC which just beat Georgia Tech and is looking like an upper half SCC finisher.

Truth is the Missouri team we beat isn't likely going to three peat in the East but those of our fans now saying they are a bad team are clueless and will have it proven to them over this season.

3. The team that looked so bad last night only lost to Florida by 5. The team that looked so bad last night held Florida to 14 and gave them a short field for 7 of those. That Florida just put up 38 on Ole Miss. Our maligned O scored 9 on the Florida ... The great Ole Miss O scored 10.

4. UK teams of the past lose that game last night. This one did not.

5. This team has won 4 of 5 at crunch time and was very close at making it 5 of 5 against an undefeated Gator team that just destroyed Ole Miss...a team that man handle Alabama. The UK fanbase is right. This team has warts but it has shown a lot of growth in the right direction that many are blind to right now. When Miami turned around their losing tradition the change was gradual and many wins and loses were hard to explain. Signs indicate that we are on that road.

Good post. What I find humorous is the trolls like to make comparisons ONLY which shed a negative light on this team. All I heard after the loss to Florida is that Florida team is the worst one in years blah blah blah. Now that they are a national player after destroying the number 3 team in the nation, crickets.

 

[cats2010]

Stoops learned a lesson tonight. You have to give credit to EKU. They were way more talented than I (and Stoops) would have imagined. They had D1 talent at several positions...the D lineman from Ohio State was one of the top recruits of his class...the QB was a Cincy signee...the CB was an AZ State signee, and of course their RB played for us. I wouldn't be surprised to see them go far in the FCS playoffs.

Good points but a very marginal at best NCST team (and that is giving them too much credit) beat them soundly 35-0. Last night may have been an anomaly but at KY's stage of development you can't have those type of games. Horrible performance all the way around. It wasn't fluke plays keeping them in the game, they were the better team and that's just sad.

 

[Poetax]

Good points but a very marginal at best NCST team (and that is giving them too much credit) beat them soundly 35-0. Last night may have been an anomaly but at KY's stage of development you can't have those type of games. Horrible performance all the way around. It wasn't fluke plays keeping them in the game, they were the better team and that's just sad.

Correction: you can't have those types of games like this and lose.

 

[irishcat1965]

Good points but a very marginal at best NCST team (and that is giving them too much credit) beat them soundly 35-0. Last night may have been an anomaly but at KY's stage of development you can't have those type of games. Horrible performance all the way around. It wasn't fluke plays keeping them in the game, they were the better team and that's just sad.

It happened to Ole Miss a couple of years ago against Jacksonville State. It happened to Michigan also. And they LOST to those teams. It has happened to other teams year after year.
You point out NCST. What about Florida Ole Miss?

 

[bluescat92]

This team keeps finding ways to win yet people keep complaining. Learning how to win and accomplishing that goal is a big step forward regardless of the competition. No amount of complaining and laying blame will change the outcome of a game that has been played wether it was a win or loss.

Coaches look at what worked and what did not and start game planning for the next opponent. They go back and work with players who may have fundamentals that need working on but they are not gona work on every little thing that happened during a game that is over and done with.

For fans to blast players and coaches who are trying to build a program from nothing to something we can all be proud of is stupid. Unless your at every practice, or a staff member of Coach Stoops then you (and I) have no idea what is going on and we will never know no matter how much we assume we know.

These KIDS play a game for our entertainment.....period. I love that the team I am a fan of is 4-1 and if any of you can't enjoy that then go root for the looserville team down the road.

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