It was the greatest bye week in the history of bye weeks
Mark Stoops talked about the joy of entering the bye week coming off a season-altering win at Ole Miss, balancing Kentucky‘s desire to get back on the field and keep the momentum rolling but also the reward of time off to get healthy and watch everyone else in the SEC smack each other around from the couch.
“We have to deal with it, we have to make the most of it. We’ve been on both sides of it, coming off a tough loss or coming off a big win. I think if you asked our team right now, heck, we’d like to go play a game tomorrow, but it is what it is,” Stoops said Monday. “They also need to heal up, that’s for sure. We put a lot out there these last three weeks in particular, they’ve really practiced hard.
“They’ve been very well prepared, mentally and physically strained to the max, but they obviously felt good today. They were in good spirits.”
Little did he know, all hell would break loose within the conference just a few short days later, giving the Wildcats the greatest bye week in the history of bye weeks.
SMU upsets No. 22 Louisville
Saturday got rolling with the Mustangs going into L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium and leaving with a 34-27 victory over the Cardinals. They entered halftime with a 24-13 lead before the home team fought back to tie it up at 27-27 in the fourth quarter, only to let up the go-ahead touchdown drive with 6:39 to go. UofL quarterback Tyler Shough followed that up by tossing an interception on the team’s game-tying drive with 2:34 to go to solidify the loss.
The Cards fall to 3-2 on the year and out of the College Football Playoff hunt before their push could even begin.
No. 25 Texas A&M embarrasses No. 9 Missouri
What are we doing, Tigers? I mean, you’re talking about a gift-wrapped run to the CFP, Mizzou given a cakewalk of a schedule that doesn’t include Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU or Tennessee and Eliah Dorkwitz responds by getting pummeled in College Station.
A&M took a 24-0 lead into halftime before closing out the 41-10 beatdown — a butt-whooping from start to finish.
“Just a really poor performance by my football team, and it starts with me, and I apologize to our fans,” the Missouri coach said after the loss. “It’s my responsibility for us to be better.”
It sure is, buddy.
No. 12 Ole Miss gives South Carolina a reality check
Do you want the teams you beat to perform better or the ones you lose to? There’s an argument to be had on both sides, but I think we can all agree that Shane Beamer taking a 24-point loss is a favorable outcome.
Coming off Kentucky’s massive upset in Oxford last weekend, Ole Miss responded by getting back to its scoring ways, going up 24-3 at the half before beating South Carolina by a final score of 27-3. Jaxson Dart looked like Jaxson Dart again, throwing for 285 yards — 250 of those split between three receivers — while the Gamecocks couldn’t get anything rolling offensively.
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College Football Playoff
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The result proved Kentucky is closer to the team we saw in Week 5 than Week 2.
Vanderbilt makes history in upset over No. 1 Alabama
Similar to the previous scenario, do you prefer your next opponent to be riding high off a big win or coming in with a chip on its shoulder after a tough loss? It works both ways — victories can be emotionally draining while losses can also force the wheels to fall off, as well.
How will Vanderbilt respond after ending a 60-game losing streak against top-five competition with a win over No. 1 Alabama? The Commodores were quick to discuss their trip to Lexington next week and keeping the celebration window tight, understanding it’s a long season in the SEC with tough competition every week.
It’s a good team who beat Virginia Tech to open the year and nearly upset a top-ten Missouri team last week on the road before making history on Saturday. It’s also a team who lost at Georgia State in Week 3.
One thing we know for certain is Kentucky will be prepared — no overlooking Vanderbilt this time around.
Arkansas closes out the night with a win over No. 4 Tennessee
We were riding high coming off that Vanderbilt win, and then Sam Pittman decided to end the evening with another major upset. Hosting No. 4 Tennessee, Arkansas overcame a 14-3 deficit in the third quarter to pull off its first top-five win since defeating the Volunteers in 1999.
Backup quarterback Malachi Singleton took over to lead the Razorbacks on their game-winning touchdown drive, the redshirt freshman earning the 11-yard go-ahead score with 1:17 to go. UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava had a chance to respond in the final minute, but inexplicably ran out of bounds as time expired rather than throwing it toward the end zone for the win — just like Joe Milton in 2021.
Football school?
Nothing like watching chaos unfold from the comfort of your home, legs kicked up and a drink in hand during the bye week. We know that’s what Mark Stoops was doing.
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