WATCH: Stoops and the Cats talk Kentucky's win over No. 6 Ole Miss

After celebrating with his players on the field, Mark Stoops spoke to the media about Kentucky’s 20-17 win over No. 6 Ole Miss. As you might expect, he was thrilled with his team’s performance, which he sees as a culmination of the hard work they’ve put in after he challenged them following the loss to South Carolina three weeks ago.

“I told you, I thought our team grew between Week Two and Week Three. We came up short. Again, we’re looking to play to win, but you played a great team, and we improved. Week Four, I thought, again, we went out and did what we had to do. The guys kept on fighting, the coaches were good and then this week, we needed to be better. We needed to continue to be that much better to go and beat a ranked team on the road. A great football team that’s super well-coached that I have a ton of respect for.”

For ten minutes with “Go Big Blue” chants ringing in the background, Stoops fielded questions about the victory, including the decision to go for it on 4th and 7, which resulted in a 63-yard pass from Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown. Two plays later, Gavin Wimsatt fumbled the ball at the two-yard line and Josh Kattus recovered it to score the game-winning touchdown. The offense did enough to win but the defense was the star of the day, holding the nation’s top offense to just 17 points.

“For us to play that way defensively, just took a total team effort. I thought our offense controlled the ball, our defense got stops, some big stops, and big plays. We had to win some one-on-ones but that’s a tough offense. They’re gonna roll a lot of people and score a lot of points, but we played really well today.”

Ultimately, Mark Stoops is happy to deliver a big win. Not just for his players but for the Big Blue Nation.

“Proud for our fanbase. They deserved a win like that. We’ve been close a lot and we’re very proud to get the victory.”

Transcript

Kentucky Head Coach Mark Stoops

Opening Statement:
“Obviously I could not be more proud of our team. As we talk about weeks, I told you I thought our team grew between week two to week three. We came up short but we played a great team. We improved week four, and we went out and did what we had to do. The guys kept on fighting, we are looking to play to win.”

“And then this week, we needed to be better, and we continue to be just that much better to go beat a ranked team on the road and a great football team and Coach that I have a ton of respect for. And we played it our way. It was a dirty game, just a hard fought tough game. Just proud of our coaches for staying the course. And that’s not just coach speak when I say that. Our coaches have stayed the course, our players have stayed the course, and we have gotten better each week. And we needed to go play very well this week and we did that. I’m just proud we are getting better. We still will improve. But I thought, you know the critical moments, the critical downs that I always talk about, we made some critical downs and critical plays. The O-line protected better, we got the ball down the field, we weren’t sloppy with the football, we needed to turn them over. There is a big discrepancy when they turn it over and when they don’t. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort. I know It’s one game but it’s important because of the work that’s been going on for a long time. Proud.”

On going for it on the 4th down:
“Your analytics will tell you to punt it. I felt like they were going to be very aggressive. We would get a one-on-one and Barion [Brown] made a great play. I felt like, at that moment where they were at, the way we were playing in the red zone, we had been playing pretty good. If they get it there, there was really not going to be much time off the clock, and we could try to hold them to three. And one of the reasons, I felt like we could get a one-on-one, so we went for it.”

On getting the recovery at the goaline:
“Yeah, you know that was huge to get the recovery. Was that a first down? It was a first. You have to be smart with the ball on first down and we left them plenty of time. Believe me, we were trying to score, but if we had scored on third down, it would have made life easier for us.”

On Brock setting the tempo:
“Yeah, we have run that a lot of different ways. It was there and felt like it could have been there once or twice later. We did a nice job adjusting, it complements. The biggest thing for us, I told them at halftime that we got to continue to get those nasty dirty runs. We got to get the two, three, four, five; that sets up everything else. So I thought Bush [Hamdan] was plenty aggressive and kept them off balance. I think the one series that was critical, I think we threw it three times in a row, we had the play pass open and got just tipped on that possession prior to our last one. You know it was going to be a big hit and it barely got tipped. I thought he called a really good game, and coach [Brad] White and the staff did one heck of a job.”

On Hardaway getting beat and then forcing a fumble:
“I think it says a lot about him. Just keep playing. We talked about that all week, just grind it out. Win your one-on-ones. They are going to win some.”

Kentucky DL Octavious Oxendine

On pulling out a win after coming so close to beating Georgia:
“It just feels like a blessing, honestly. Coach just preached to us all week about being persistent and the consistency in our team. We know how to play, we play hard all the time, it’s just about going out there and putting it on film.”

On if he felt it was the game they would finally push through:
“We honestly had a lot of confidence going into the game. Like I just said, it was about the persistent part. We knew we could play with this team that we had to face today, it was just about us going out and doing our part.”

On the defensive performance:
“I feel like it’s something that coach [Brad] White always preaches every week. He always says ‘win it at the line of scrimmage’ and he always tells the defensive line we’ve got to win that battle in the trenches. So, I feel like every week we go play, you can tell we’re going to put our heart on the field as a D-line and go battle in the trenches.”

On holding Ole Miss to a field goal attempt in the fourth:
“I feel like it just goes back to what coach [Mark] Stoops preaches to us all the time, that persistence and consistency. Like, yeah, that play happened but it’s football. Even if that play would’ve happened in the first quarter we would have reacted in the same type of way. It happened in the fourth, but it didn’t make us flinch.”

Kentucky WR Dane Key

On how it feels to win after losing in Oxford two years ago:
“It just felt really good to be able to come here and finish what we didn’t get to finish two years ago.”

On what the locker room was like after the win:
“Stoops was in the air. I’m going to let y’all know how the locker room was, when Stoops is in the air it’s a pretty good thing.”

On his thoughts on their 4th&7 play:
“The only thing that was going through my mind was, somebody needs to make a play right here. I didn’t really care who it was as long as that play got made. That play got made so it was a pretty good feeling.”

On Brock’s growth since the South Carolina game:
“Brock’s just a playmaker, he’s a competitor. He wants to continue to grow each and every week. That’s what I know from him. He’s going to come out to practice each and every week ready to practice and you know it all starts with practice. So, whenever Brock comes to practice ready to work, everybody else follows behind him.”

Kentucky QB Brock Vandagriff

On his fourth down pass:
“They lined up, they played man and Barion [Brown], obviously, one of the best receivers in the country man-to-man, and I just tried to give him a chance and he did the rest.”

On how he felt about the fourth down play call:
“Well, you know there’s a couple different options, we had different answers for man or zone. They ended up going man and pretty much every route except for one in that concept is a man beater. You kind of just pick your matchup and let it fly.”

On how excited he was for Barion Brown:
“Really excited for that dude, he’s a great kid. Great dude in the locker room, good teammate, a guy you want on your team. We were able to connect earlier in the game on kind of a little comeback route, like on the hash and good physical catch, it’s just what it takes. SEC matchups are going to be tough, they’re going to be physical and you’re not going to have as much space. I thought our dudes went out there and competed.”

On going back out there and making big plays after struggles:
“I think the word that comes to mind for me is just resiliency. Those dudes, with the guys we’ve got on our team, you’re never really out of the fight with these guys. It all comes down from the coach to the players. What’s conveyed to us, we’re gonna convey to each other. We knew if we came in here and executed our game plan like we should, we liked where we’d be sitting in the fourth quarter. Especially with our defense. That’s one of the best defenses in the SEC and maybe the nation. Just hats off to those guys and definitely to Ole Miss too. That’s a great football team.”

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