Kentucky Showed "Guts and Determination" in Loss to Georgia

For the third time this season, Kentucky left Kroger Field with a loss. This 16-6 loss to No. 1 Georgia felt different than the previous two. Despite similar problems in the red zone and on special teams, Kentucky put up a fight one week after a deflating loss to Vanderbilt.

“I am proud of the response of our football team. It was very difficult, as you can imagine. This season there’s been tough games, some tough losses. There’s some ups and some downs,” Kentucky’s head coach said after the game.

Many fans were already throwing in the towel on the 2022 season. The Wildcats could have done the same. Instead, they showed heart against the defending National Champs.

“(It) took a lot of digging and soul searching and competitive nature of our players to reinvest and commit and put in that kind of effort. We came up short but the effort was there, the preparation was there,” Stoops said.

Guts on the Goal Line

The Kentucky defense has carried a heavy load all season long. Rich Scangarello’s offense has not scored more than three touchdowns against an SEC opponent this fall. Kentucky must get stops to win. Even when they were backed up against it, they did not relent. The Cats forced the Dawgs to kick three field goals and they made goal line stand that paved the way for a potential fourth quarter comeback.

“It just showed some guts and determination and some of the personality of the way we play,” Stoops said.

“I really appreciate them digging in like that because it’s hard. That is a physical football team that is creative with their dynamic tight ends and in the run game, the way they create explosives down there and score touchdowns. I thought the guys really competed and played hard. When it comes down to it, yeah, there was good coaching, some good scheme by Brad and the defensive staff. But ultimately, the players showed some guts and determination in some critical short yardage plays against one of the most physical teams in the country.”

Kentucky Kept Swinging

The Kentucky defensive line stood strong at the goal line, breathing life back into the stadium. This time the offense did not leave them hanging. The Cats drove 99 yards down the field and scored a touchdown. Even though they did not get the two points to make it a one-score game, the Wildcats had confidence they could win the football game with just under ten minutes remaining.

Needing another stop, the Kentucky defense dug deep, again. The sideline shared the same resonating message Buster Douglas gave the team Friday afternoon.

“Mike Tyson knocked him down, but he got back up and kept fighting,” said safety Zion Childress. “So all game you could hear Coach White, Coach Stoops telling us, ‘Fight back. Keep swinging. Keep throwing punches.’ We kept fighting.”

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Finding The Right Recipe

In many ways, this loss looked like many others. What’s important is that even though it kind of looked the same, nobody ever gave up.

“We definitely came out and played and we didn’t roll over at any point in this game. We played from the first quarter to the end of the fourth quarter,” said Childress.

Even though it’s impossible to completely turn around a season with such high expectations, a big win over a rival can go a long way. Tonight proved the Cats are willing to fight to salvage what many thought was a lost cause.

“Our team needs to understand that’s what people expect from our team, that we don’t cave. We have done some things right, we have done some things wrong, but that’s the way this team, this program plays,” said Stoops. “We got to get back to being that all the time, competing like that all the time.”