Mark Stoops named Bear Bryant Coach of the Week following Ole Miss win
After leading Kentucky to its biggest away win against a ranked opponent since the 1970s, Mark Stoops has received a much-deserved Coach of the Week honor.
On Tuesday, Stoops was named the Bear Bryant Awards Fan Favorite Coach of the Week following the Wildcats’ 20-17 upset win over then-No. 6 Ole Miss. It marked just the fifth victory in program history against a Top 6 opponent and the first on the road since 1977 (No. 4 Penn State). Prior to Saturday in Oxford, the last time Kentucky beat a Top 6 team was at home in 2007 against No. 1 LSU.
Stoops is the third winner of the award this season, joining Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and Washington State’s Jake Dickert. The honor is named after the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant, who previously held the all-time wins record as head coach at Kentucky before Stoops surpassed him in 2022.
Stoops winning this award isn’t a shocker. Kentucky pulled off what was easily the biggest upset of Week 5 action. The Wildcats entered as 17-point underdogs on the road against the nation’s best statistical offense up to that point. But the defense held Ole Miss to half of its usual yards per game total while limiting the Rebels to just 17 total points. It was a masterclass from the ‘Cats on that side of the ball.
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But Stoops needs to be recognized for his decision-making on offense as well. Going for it on 4th-and-7 from his team’s own 20-yard line was a gutsy call that not many (including Lane Kiffin) expected him to make, but it resulted in a 63-yard explosive play to Barion Brown which turned into the game-winning touchdown a couple of plays later.
After being criticized for his game management early in the season, Stoops learned from his mistakes and it paid off in the form of the biggest victory of his head coaching career to date.
Thanks to the Ole Miss win, Kentucky has now won three of its last four true road games going into a bye week. The Wildcats sit on a 3-2 record (1-2 SEC) and will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7:45 p.m. EST when the Vanderbilt Commodores come to Lexington for UK’s 109th annual Homecoming.
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