Mark Stoops explains how win at Florida could help Kentucky develop SEC momentum

Mark Stoops notched his second win over Florida in the Swamp last Saturday, and all of a sudden the Kentucky Wildcats are a top-10 football team, according to the AP Top 25.

Earning a marquee victory over a team no one expected them to beat so early in the season, Stoops believes the Florida win gives them the momentum needed to jumpstart their SEC slate in 2022.

“When you’re playing an SEC team on the road, it’s a big game, and man they are,” Stoops said Monday. “And we know how competitive it gets. We needed to improve, we needed to come down there and win. Really great for our team to put it together. I had a good feeling all along, we really played very good. I just think it was set up well for us.”

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Kentucky opened the season with a 37-13 victory over Miami (OH), but after the game Stoops continued to critique his team. The offensive line was a probem – it still is – but quarterback Will Levis seemed more poised, making the most of his time in the pocket. The rushing attack improved despite the lack of Chris Rodriguez and Ramon Jefferson, and defensive coordinator Brad White has his defense in mid-season form heading into Week 3.

“I knew we weren’t far off in game one,” Stoops said. “When we really looked at it … there were very fixable things there. And there’s things we still need to improve on with Will. We’re not finished product at all. That’s why we keep on practicing, playing and there’s areas where we need to coach better and play better, and we will.”

For the next two weeks, Kentucky battles non-conference opponents Youngstown State and Northern Illinois before traveling to Oxford for a date with the No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels. By then, Rodriguez, UK’s star running back, will return to the lineup from suspension.

If a less-than-100 percent Kentucky team can drain the Gators at the Swamp the week after knocking off then-No. 7 Utah, bringing back their most explosive playmaker out of the backfield will only make matters worse for the SEC opposition.

If the competition in the SEC East doesn’t watch out, Mark Stoops, who is now the all-time winningest coach in Kentucky football history, will have his Wildcats marching into Atlanta for the SEC Championship sooner rather than later.