If I had to guess, I'd say that Stoops probably regrets how the coaches show ended yesterday. First and foremost, you don't want to give the impression that you're laying something at the feet of the fan base. I understand Stoops making the appeal to pony up but that's not entirely fair because UK fans have ponied up for a long time, are paying (in part) for $18 million in coaching salaries between BB/FB as a small state team, and there simply isn't as much money available for Kentucky as there are for some other teams. Basketball school historically, smaller population - it's not like having less money than Georgia is necessarily about UK fans being less generous or caring any less. There are just a lot more Georgia fans who are college football obsessed than there are Kentucky fans who are college football obsessed. You see it reflected in stadium sizes, recruiting budgets, support staff, etc. NIL is just another space where the fundamentals/realities of scarcity eventually impact Kentucky. You can fault Mitch Barnhart for not doing this or that as well as this or that AD, but at the end of the day, every other schools is going to basically try the same things you are, and if their fundamentals are stronger, they end up with more money. Besides, Kentucky is not recruiting any worse in the NIL space than they were before NIL.
He probably also regrets making the comment about Georgia paying players. That was out of character and you really wouldn't expect Stoops to say that. He has said as recently as this offseason that he doesn't believe any players have picked Kentucky because of NIL. I guess he felt like he had to say that then, so this is kind of a different thing to say. Regardless, we all know that NIL is driving recruiting a lot of places now. Probably wishes he could have that comment back.
I think Kentucky has too much money tied up in players who aren't making an impact. Talking about guys who got money coming in without having accomplished anything. And some guys who are making more than they probably should be, based on their level of play and level of impact. Just think, there's a huge difference in getting a Wan'Dale level performance for your No. 1 or 2 offensive player (by NIL $$) and getting something much inferior to that.
Stoops is probably frustrated that some fans are frustrated. The point about only beating two 5-3+ SEC teams is fair and it's not. It's factually accurate, but the number of teams that finish with > 5-3 SEC records is pretty small, maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the conference each year. Those teams are very hard to beat. He has beaten many teams that would have been 5-3 if they had beaten Kentucky, but because they lost to Kentucky they finished 4-4. Think about some of the Mississippi State teams Kentucky has faced over the years. They don't finish 5-3 in the West too often, but you're always thrilled if you beat Mississippi State. That's just a really high bar to get to in the SEC. If you're 5-3 in the SEC, you're basically at least a top-15 team nationally most years.
The way I would phrase the criticism to make it more valid is to point out that they really haven't put a scare in a legit top 15ish caliber team since they beat Florida in the Swamp in 2018. In games against Georgia, Alabama, more recently Tennessee last year, and in SEC West road games, they haven't been competitive enough. And the reason that point probably stands out to some people is the SEC is scrapping divisions and adding Texas and Oklahoma. The next step for Kentucky is not surpassing Georgia, it would be to sneak into the 12-team playoff, or at least prove you're close enough to that conversation for fans to stay invested at the highest level. That's going to be really hard to do. It's a harder hurdle to clear than any Stoops has to date. It would be harder for any coach to clear that hurdle when you have Georgia in your division and you're going to be playing an even harder conference schedule and maybe more conference games.
I believe there's still a window for Kentucky to get into an expanded playoff but it gets harder. Tennessee is better and will have more good years ahead, South Carolina is recruiting some beasts and will at least have talent, Missouri is in the running for some big-time talent this year, and you're going to be playing Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, and the West just as much as you've been playing a lot of the East. But UK almost won at Ole Miss last year and has really been competitive with Ole Miss whenever they've played. They almost won at Texas A&M in 2018. They should have had a much closer outcome at Auburn in 2020.
It's just kind of unfortunate that you have to stop the talk about the season and have some deep reflection when it's Georgia. It's a bad time to make that critique because Georgia is on another level.
He probably also regrets making the comment about Georgia paying players. That was out of character and you really wouldn't expect Stoops to say that. He has said as recently as this offseason that he doesn't believe any players have picked Kentucky because of NIL. I guess he felt like he had to say that then, so this is kind of a different thing to say. Regardless, we all know that NIL is driving recruiting a lot of places now. Probably wishes he could have that comment back.
I think Kentucky has too much money tied up in players who aren't making an impact. Talking about guys who got money coming in without having accomplished anything. And some guys who are making more than they probably should be, based on their level of play and level of impact. Just think, there's a huge difference in getting a Wan'Dale level performance for your No. 1 or 2 offensive player (by NIL $$) and getting something much inferior to that.
Stoops is probably frustrated that some fans are frustrated. The point about only beating two 5-3+ SEC teams is fair and it's not. It's factually accurate, but the number of teams that finish with > 5-3 SEC records is pretty small, maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the conference each year. Those teams are very hard to beat. He has beaten many teams that would have been 5-3 if they had beaten Kentucky, but because they lost to Kentucky they finished 4-4. Think about some of the Mississippi State teams Kentucky has faced over the years. They don't finish 5-3 in the West too often, but you're always thrilled if you beat Mississippi State. That's just a really high bar to get to in the SEC. If you're 5-3 in the SEC, you're basically at least a top-15 team nationally most years.
The way I would phrase the criticism to make it more valid is to point out that they really haven't put a scare in a legit top 15ish caliber team since they beat Florida in the Swamp in 2018. In games against Georgia, Alabama, more recently Tennessee last year, and in SEC West road games, they haven't been competitive enough. And the reason that point probably stands out to some people is the SEC is scrapping divisions and adding Texas and Oklahoma. The next step for Kentucky is not surpassing Georgia, it would be to sneak into the 12-team playoff, or at least prove you're close enough to that conversation for fans to stay invested at the highest level. That's going to be really hard to do. It's a harder hurdle to clear than any Stoops has to date. It would be harder for any coach to clear that hurdle when you have Georgia in your division and you're going to be playing an even harder conference schedule and maybe more conference games.
I believe there's still a window for Kentucky to get into an expanded playoff but it gets harder. Tennessee is better and will have more good years ahead, South Carolina is recruiting some beasts and will at least have talent, Missouri is in the running for some big-time talent this year, and you're going to be playing Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, and the West just as much as you've been playing a lot of the East. But UK almost won at Ole Miss last year and has really been competitive with Ole Miss whenever they've played. They almost won at Texas A&M in 2018. They should have had a much closer outcome at Auburn in 2020.
It's just kind of unfortunate that you have to stop the talk about the season and have some deep reflection when it's Georgia. It's a bad time to make that critique because Georgia is on another level.
