Cats To Get a Much-Needed Break

  WEEK 13: Bye Bye Bye I absolutely despise hyperbole, and do not employ it my my writing for this website. Having said that, no team in the history of North American football has ever needed a bye week more desperately than the Kentucky Wildcats need this bye week. After an energizing 5-1 start, the Cats have crashed back down to earth, losing 5 straight to drop to 5-6, dipping under .500 for the first time in year two of the Mark Stoops' era. More than just losing, the Cats have been largely man-handled during their current losing streak.  Four of Kentucky's last five opponents have scored at least forty points against the Cats' languishing defense.  Even without the benefit of superhuman Todd Gurley, who is now sadly lost for the season with a torn ACL, the Georgia Bulldogs put up 63 points in Commonwealth Stadium. Tennessee, who has spent most of the season in offensive purgatory, exploded for 50 before calling off the dogs in the early stages of the fourth quarter.  The swagger exhibited early in the season by the Cats, especially on the defensive side of the ball, has given way to what looks almost like acceptance of the inevitable. Though Kentucky's late fall swoon is disheartening, it actually should have been fairly predictable to all but the most wide-eyed optimists of the Kentucky fan base. Saturday's horror show at Neyland Stadium was Kentucky's eighth game in as many weeks.  Of those eight consecutive games, seven were against Southeastern Conference opponents. Kentucky simply does not possess adequate depth on the roster to forge through that type of meat grinder at this stage of Mark Stoops' rebuild.  Thus, faced with the rigors of physical SEC football for all those weeks, players began to drop.  Crucial players like Blake McClain, Za'Darius Smith, Fred Tiller, Reggie Meant and others missed time with nagging injuries.  Others were banged up and limited, but persevered.  Mark Stoops is not an excuse maker, and would tell you that a football team has to find a way to compete regardless of the natural attrition inherent in the game.  But at some point, particularly in the early stages of building a program in an unforgiving league, there is a harsh reality to face.  It  takes Kentucky's absolute best shot to compete.  That best shot, at this stage of the program, is a virtual impossibility after eight straight weeks of big boy football. Even Mark Stoops acknowledged Wednesday at his media availability just how needed the off time is for the Cats from both a physical and emotional standpoint. Stoops stated that he gave the players Sunday and Monday off to simply "decompress" and avoid thinking about an opponent for a few days.  In other words, he gave them a break from mental reps as well as physical ones.  I think this is another indication of Stoops simply getting it. Kentucky's regular season finale at the House that Papa John and Crown Royal Built is obviously an enormous game.  Not only is it Kentucky's most heated rivalry, but it is also a game with significant ramifications as Kentucky's potential sixth win.  In a move that surprised me a little for its candor, Stoops talked extensively Wednesday about how important that sixth win would be for the program. (Extra practice time, etc.) So he obviously wants it badly. With that said, Stoops is savvy enough as a coach to know that he needs to loosen the reigns on occasion rather than to always grind, especially with a roster on the verge of exhaustion. Following its one previous bye week, Kentucky's defense was dominant in a home match up with Vanderbilt.  In a game that seems like it took place years rather than weeks ago, the Cats gave up only 139 total yards and zero offensive points while intercepting three passes and repeatedly causing havoc in the Vanderbilt offensive backfield.  Of course, some of that has to do with the fact that Vanderbilt is truly terrible.  Still, there is no question that Kentucky's defense had a different speed and bravado at that point in the season.  They were healthy and rested, and what limited depth they have was available to them on that date.  It will be interesting to see if this week's bye has a similar impact on the Cats going into the Louisville game. To have any chance against the dirty birds on Thanksgiving weekend, Kentucky needs to get its core group of players healthy.  Wednesday, Stoops indicated that he believed that the Cats might get everyone, with the possible exception of Offensive Tackle Kyle Meadows, back in action for the season finale.  But simply having the complete roster available to take the field won't mean anything.  Stoops must find a way in this bye week to get the Cats their mojo back. The Cats need to remember the feeling of dancing to "Bad Boys" rather than playing like a bad defense. If  the Cats can regroup, there is still much to play for.  A win against Louisville, marking the sixth win of the season and securing a bowl berth, would make Cat fans forget the lean times of late October and November.  Here's hoping a week of rest will bank sufficient energy to turn back the clock on the Cats' performance, and we'll see the Cats of September once again.