Mark Stoops explains defensive struggles late in Gator Bowl

It seemed as though Mark Stoops was going to earn one of the most impressive wins of his Kentucky career after taking a 35-30 lead over Clemson in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

The Wildcats’ hopes would be short-lived, however, as the Tigers ended up driving 68 yards for the win on the ensuing drive thanks to Phil Mafah‘s fourth rushing touchdown of the afternoon, but not before a bit of drama.

Kentucky forced third and long twice on that drive. Once was converted and the other — which came after Clemson QB Cade Klubnik was flagged for intentional grounding — saw Clemson fail to convert but ultimately had their way when they went for it on fourth down. Three plays and 29 yards later, Mafah was in for the game-winning touchdown.

Stoops’ defense, which held Clemson scoreless in the third quarter, allowed four touchdowns from Clemson in the final period after the Wildcats when up 21-10. Despite the late flurry, was the Kentucky coaching staff being too conservative with their defensive play-calling? Or was the defense ultimately just fatigued after being on the field on five separate drives before Clemson put Kentucky away?

“We will always second-guess ourselves on calls on certain things,” Stoops said postgame. “We get the pressure, we get the intentional grounding. The next play really hurt us. It gave them an opportunity to get it to fourth and manageable there. Obviously that’s a play that will haunt us for a while.

“We were down our two top corners at that point. You know, you try to do some things and play some coverages that can protect them. We had a nickel that was inexperienced that could have cut underneath it and just — whatever. We could play better. We could call defense better. We will second-guess ourselves on that one.”

After Kentucky’s loss, Stoops went right to work in the transfer portal to improve ahead of next season. Landing some of the portal’s big fish such as former Georgia QB Brock Vandagriff and former Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum, while also retaining defensive standout and Kentucky-native JJ Weaver, who many believed would enter the 2024 NFL Draft.

With an eye on the future, Stoops’ new-look Kentucky squad will kick off its 2024 college football season on Aug. 31 when they host Southern Miss. SEC play starts early and often for the Wildcats, however, as they host South Carolina and Georgia, in weeks two and three, respectively.