Two Historical Hurdles for Mark Stoops and Kentucky Football in 2022

Mark Stoops has made history time and time throughout his ten-year Kentucky tenure. The head coach for two of the four 10-win seasons in program history, he has yet to reach that mark in the regular season. One piece of Kentucky football history could prevent Stoops from surpassing that significant milestone in 2022.

Kentucky will begin the season ranked in the AP and Coaches Poll for the first time. The hype is palpable in Lexington. However, outside of the Commonwealth many prognosticators are not picking the Wildcats to exceed their over-8 win total. That’s because of the schedule.

Kentucky on the Road vs. SEC West

The Wildcats face two SEC West foes each year, Mississippi State and a rotating cast of characters. In the series between the Cats and the Bulldogs the home team has held serve since 2016. Mark Stoops has never won in Starkville, losing by an average of 19.8 points per game in each contest. Kentucky’s last win at Davis Wade Stadium was a 14-13 victory over Sylvester Croom’s squad in 2008.

Even though Kentucky does not play in Starkville this fall, it illustrates the Wildcats’ struggles on the road against SEC West opponents. In ten seasons Mark Stoops has not won an SEC West road game. Kentucky is 0-10 on the road against SEC West teams under Stoops’ watch. Even though the Rebels lost a ton of production from their 10-win 2021 team, Lane Kiffin did take Ole Miss to the Sugar Bowl last season. Kentucky is Ole Miss’ first true test of the season, creating a monumental matchup October 1.

At Florida and At Tennessee

The game in Oxford is not the only big road hurdle Kentucky must overcome. Despite recent success against Tennessee and Florida, it’s still Tennessee and Florida. The Wildcats won their last trip to Neyland Stadium and took home a W from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in 2018, but few have ever tasted victory against both SEC East rivals in the same season.

Kentucky has never won in Gainesville and Knoxville in the same season. Fran Curci’s 1977 Wildcats were the the last team to secure wins over Tennessee and Florida. That team was also the last one to win 10 regular season games. If Mark Stoops wants to make more history with ten regular season wins and a New Year’s Six bowl appearance, he’ll have to do something never done before.