Kentucky Looks to Avoid Losing Streaks that Handicapped Previous Mark Stoops Seasons

Kentucky was 6-0 for the first time in half a century, playing the nation’s top-ranked team in the College GameDay spotlight. A month later the Cats were desperate to end a three-game losing streak.

The old adage is “you can’t let one team beat you twice.” One loss has turned into two or three or four in every year Mark Stoops has coached the Wildcats. The three-game skid that was bookended by Tennessee in 2021 knocked the Wildcats out of contention for a New Year’s Six Bowl. That also happened in 2018 thanks to another combination of losses to Tennessee and Georgia.

“One of the first things I said in the locker room is one can’t become two,” Mark Stoops said Monday after his team’s three-point loss at Ole Miss. “Everybody is heated and emotional after a big game like that, and our guys know, the belief is there. I think the intensity needs to come back.”

Kentucky must play with some extra energy and intensity to Kroger Field Saturday night. South Carolina is trying to snap a losing streak in the series against the backed up Wildcats at 7:30 pm ET on the SEC Network.

Loss Does Not Linger for Long

That gutting feeling from a loss was unusual to the Kentucky football team. It was the Wildcats’ first loss in almost 11 months, 329 days to be precise. Vince Marrow noticed the stillness in the locker room. Nobody moved a muscle for a bout 10 minutes.

“It sucks,” said tight end Brenden Bates, “but we can’t hang on to that. Honestly, it’s a good way to look at the mistakes we made and come back and work on those mistakes and strain harder each and every day.”

The Wildcats wasted no time getting back to work. Many of them spent their off day at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.

“We got great leadership on our team,” said Vince Marrow. “For us to fight back when we were 14 down. We went into the locker room and everybody looked at each other and knew we was going to win the game. For that to happen at the end, the way we lost it, I think guys just weren’t used to having that feeling of losing. Everybody was up here on Sunday, a lot of guys on their own, watching film. It just shows me where our guys are at right now.”

Big Goals Still in Play for Wildcats

One loss does not define a season. If those losses pile up, that’s a different story. The Kentucky football team is still determined to break barriers. That starts by moving past Ole Miss and coming prepared to play against South Carolina.

“We took the loss. It happened, but we can’t let it stop us from doing what we need to do, what we want to do,” said Tashawn Manning. “We still got our goals ahead of us and it’s not stopping us from achieving those goals. As long as we keep our head up, keep fighting and keep going, it’s there for the taking.”