KSR Today: Kentucky turns one loss into two

Good morning, folks. Saturday was ugly, no other way to look at it. Mark Stoops was not a happy camper in the postgame press conference, saying the performance he saw on the field was unlike anything he’s seen in a long time as head coach. Against a lowly South Carolina program that Kentucky has dominated for nearly the last decade, that’s never something a fan wants to hear from their leader. UK lost this game from the very opening possession — a trick play gone wrong that resulted in a turnover and an immediate South Carolina touchdown. Looking back, Kentucky never had a chance from that moment on. It was a telling sign of the misery to come.

The offensive line was bad once again and Kroger Field emptied out by the middle of the third quarter. The team on the field last night was hardly the Kentucky football team the Big Blue Nation has known to love and trust over the last few seasons.

Sure, not having Will Levis, a future first-round NFL quarterback, play in the game hurt Kentucky’s chances greatly. The defense is banged up and special teams still can’t seem to get on the same page. But what really stings is how the ‘Cats were simply outplayed and outcoached by a team with worse talent and a worse coaching staff. Kaiya Sheron was never truly given a fair shake at his first career college start.

Next Saturday’s showdown against an improving Mississippi State squad doesn’t look nearly as fun now. Kentucky let one loss to Ole Miss last weekend turn into two losses a week later. Not good.

If you missed any of last night’s action, we’ve got you covered as always. Check out everything KSR had to say about the loss below.

• Kentucky Plays from Behind, Stays Behind in 24-14 Loss to South Carolina
• Three Plays: Lost fumble, two chunk third quarter completions sink Kentucky
• Kentucky’s Supporting Cast Failed Kaiya Sheron
• Stoops, Scangarello explain opening with the trick play that backfired
• Mark Stoops on Will Levis’ injury, status moving forward
• One loss becomes two as Kentucky falls to South Carolina
• Shane Beamer wore sunglasses and danced after beating Kentucky

On to the next one…

Postgame press conference

Mark Stoops

Rich Scangarello

Kentucky players

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KSR’s Rapid Reaction

Bit time visitors on campus next weekend

This past weekend was a massive recruiting stretch for the Wildcats, even if the result on Saturday wasn’t what the staff hoped for. Next weekend’s home matchup against a ranked Mississippi State program will be another great opportunity to impress some talented recruits, including one from right in Kentucky’s backyard.

A day after throwing his name into the portal, a talented Kentucky native is planning a trip to Lexington. On Thursday Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman revealed defensive tackle Jacob Lacey stepped away from the program to transfer to another school at the end of the season. Friday night, Josh Edwards of The Cats Pause reported Lacey will be in Lexington next weekend when Kentucky hosts the Bulldogs.

The Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren product was the No. 3 player in Kentucky in 2019 and chose the Fighting Irish over Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and Tennessee. As a senior, he won a 5A State Championship with the Spartans. The 5A Player of the Year totaled 80 tackles, 34.0 TFLs, 14.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his senior season of Kentucky high school football.

A 6-foot-2, 280-pound interior lineman, Jacob Lacey played in 38 career games at Notre Dame, tallying 35 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. In Freeman’s first win as a head coach, Lacey starred. He recorded two sacks in a dominant performance in the trenches.

Come on down.

Back-to-back volleyball wins in Fayetteville

While the football ‘Cats struggled on the field over the weekend, the volleyball ‘Cats did not. No. 19 Kentucky went down to Fayetteville, AR where the squad picked up two much-needed SEC wins, moving them to 10-5 on the season with a 5-1 mark in conference action. After UK dropped its first SEC game of the season to LSU earlier this year, the ‘Cats have rattled off five straight wins.

Kentucky secured an easy 3-1 victory over Arkansas on Friday before sneaking out of Fayetteville with a 3-2 win on Saturday to complete the series sweep. 19 kills from Reagan Rutherford, 18 kills and nine blocks from Azhani Tealer, and a career-high tying 63 assists from sophomore Emma Grome propelled UK to the five-set win on Saturday.

Never a doubt. 😰@KYBloodCenter | #WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/BcaUJj93Vy

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) October 9, 2022

‘Cats in the NFL: Week 5

9:30 AM (NFL): Giants (W. Robinson) @ Packers (R. Cobb)
1:00 PM (FOX): Falcons (J. Ali) @ Buccaneers (M. Edwards)
1:00 PM (CBS): Steelers (B. Snell) @ Bills
1:00 PM (CBS): Chargers @ Browns
1:00 PM( FOX): Bears @ Vikings (Z. Smith)
1:00 PM (FOX): Lions (J. Paschal, L. Stenberg) @ Patriots (L. Bowden)
1:00 PM (FOX): Seahawks @ Saints (L. Stenberg)
1:00 PM (CBS): Dolphins @ Jets (B. Echols)
1:00 PM (CBS): Titans (B. Dupree, L. Johnson) @ Commanders (J. Davis)
1:00 PM (CBS): Texans @ Jaguars (J. Allen, L. Fortner, C. Peters)
4:05 PM (CBS): 49ers @ Panthers (P. Hoskins, M. McCall)
4:25 PM (FOX): Cowboys (Q. Bohanna, K. Joseph) @ Rams (TJ Carter)
4:25 PM (FOX): Eagles @ Cardinals
8:20 PM (NBC): Bengals (Y. Corker) @ Ravens

Monday Night Football

8:15 PM (ESPN): Raiders @ Chiefs (D. Kinnard)