Mark Stoops after loss to Vanderbilt: "I'm as frustrated as any fan out there"

All week, we’ve talked about how Vanderbilt was more susceptible to a letdown than Kentucky coming off the upset of No. 1 Alabama. Instead, it was the Cats who looked hungover tonight, turning in a bewildering, penalty-ridden clunker, their tenth loss to an SEC foe at Kroger Field in the last twelve tries.

Mark Stoops shared his frustrations in his postgame press conference. By the time he made it to Tom Leach for his radio segment, he seemed even more at a loss for words about the 20-13 defeat. He said he asked his team why they’re not playing as well at home as they are on the road. The conversation clearly didn’t fix the issue. Undisciplined play was rampant, with the Cats committing 12 penalties for 106 yards, a stat that’s even worse when you factor in field position.

“In the loss we had earlier, we had a bunch of penalties,” Stoops said of the 31-6 loss to South Carolina on Sept. 7. “Since then, we’ve limited to being the least penalized team in the SEC, and then we come back and do this tonight. It’s ridiculous. Believe me, I’m as frustrated as any fan out there. It pisses me off to no end. I didn’t get it done, but I could promise you I tried like heck.”

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Even the kicking game — which has been incredibly reliable this season — was off. Bad holds by Wilson Berry led to a missed field goal and an extra point, invaluable points for an offense that has totaled only four touchdowns in its first four SEC games this season.

“I mean, where does that even come from?” Stoops said of the special teams miscues. “Our guys work. They must do 2,000 reps a week of snapping at home.”

Kentucky is now 3-3 on the season. Next Saturday, they’ll head to the Swamp to play a Florida team that just took No. 8 Tennessee to overtime in Knoxville. After that, Auburn comes to Lexington. The Tigers are 2-4 this season, but with a 2-10 record against SEC teams at Kroger Field, even if the Cats are favored, would you bet on them to win? Vanderbilt was a 12.5-point underdog, after all.

“I told the players at halftime and then after the game, we talked to them for a while, but at the end, essentially, I was ready to break it, and I came back to that. I’m like, ‘Why? You know why? Why is this? Explain to me why you think you could just roll out on the field and win. Or what is it? Is it because you’re favored? Do you think you won?’

“Like, I don’t know. I wish I knew, because I think you could watch this league, and I know, as coaches, we talk, you watch it. We know very clearly, if you don’t play well, you lose.”