Monday Huddle: Saving a lost season

There have certainly been lower moments during the Mark Stoops era than Saturday’s upset loss to Vanderbilt, but it doesn’t feel that way right now.

A combination of the worst defensive performance of the season and another lackluster performance by Rich Scangarello’s offense led to an abysmal 24-21 defeat as the once-hyped 2022 season is a goner as 7-5 now appears to be the ceiling.

Awaiting Kentucky is No. 1 Georgia who is undefeated and looks like the favorite to repeat. Things are not looking great for this program at the moment but the games must be played.

The Cats are a wounded animal right now, and this season could get worse very quickly. KSR’s Monday Huddle is back to help set the table for what could be a long couple of weeks for the Big Blue Nation.

First Down: Rich Scangarello Watch

During the loss to Vanderbilt, people were rightfully fuming as Rich Scangarello’s offense scored just 21 points in nine possessions against what appeared to be the worst defense in the Power Five. For the seventh time in seven outings this season, Kentucky’s offense has yet to score more than 21 offensive points against a power conference opponent.

With an offense that has an NFL prospect at quarterback, one of the program’s best-ever running backs, and some intriguing depth and talent at both wide receiver and tight end, scoring points was not supposed to be an issue.

Yet, here we are.

Entering Week 12, Kentucky’s offense ranks No. 87 overall in ESPN’s SP+ rankings. If that holds for the rest of the season, it will be the lowest of the Mark Stoops era. We have seen some bad offenses over the last decade, and the current one run by Scangarello is trending to be the worst for this program since 2012.

The offensive line has not shown any improvement, Kentucky is inefficient at finishing scoring opportunities with points, Will Levis has regressed in October and November, and the Cats often look clunky as everything looks very hard for this offense.

There would appear to be enough there to say that an in-season firing could be warranted. However, Mark Stoops went on record on the issue in the postgame saying he’s not currently considering staffing changes regarding Scangarello or anyone else during the season.

“They said in season,” Stoops told Tom Leach after the game. “They said like, right now. That’s not what I’m going to do, no, no. I don’t want to say anything right now because people take it and run with it. If I say maybe, they’ll say I am.”

“I don’t know. It’s emotional. It’s hard right now. I need to calm down, take a good look. I don’t want to say yes or no and people take it and run with it. It’s not time to blame.”

It certainly feels like Scangarello will not be back for a second season, but all signs point to him calling plays on Saturday when Kentucky hosts Georgia.

We’ll learn more this week as what happens with the offense moving forward via offensive coordinator and at quarterback is the top item among everyone’s agenda regarding Kentucky football.

Second Down: Brad White’s unit needs to bounce back

The offense deserves a lot of blame for how the season got to this point. However, the defense cannot get let off the hook for what happened against Vanderbilt at Kroger Field.

Kentucky held Vanderbilt to 24 points but it was how the Commodores got there that was concerning. With backup Mike Wright running the show, Vandy rushed for 264 yards, posted a 6.7 yards per play, and was 12 of 20 on third and fourth down. Twice the Kentucky defense took the field with the lead in the fourth quarter and couldn’t get a stop either time.

Most notably, Vandy moved the chains on fourth down during the game-winning touchdown drive as a penalty, and an unfortunate matchup prevented Kentucky from getting off the field. It was a very bad day at the office for White’s unit.

The Kentucky defense has played this season with a lot of pressure as the offense has not been able to score all season, and that means the defense must be very good weekly. Unfortunately, the worst performance of the season showed up at a very bad time.

But there is no time to sulk.

Kentucky’s offense is what it is at this point in the year. The Cats are going to need to create a lot of stops to win games. That makes the Georgia game a very difficult task, but the Governor’s Cup meeting with Louisville is winnable if the Cats can get back to the top-15 level they’ve played at on defense for most of the season.

It’s damage control time at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility over the next two weeks. If Kentucky is to get back to winning football, the defense has to play much better than what we saw on Saturday.

Third Down: A critical offseason awaits

Perhaps the worst part about the loss to Vanderbilt is that it essentially serves as the unofficial ending to Kentucky’s 2022 season. There is still a rivalry game to get up for at the end of the year, but any good buzz for the program is officially gone.

A win could’ve set the table for the Cats to take a swing at No. 1 Georgia with some momentum building. There is none of that now.

Everyone’s attention locally around this program is now focused on four things:

1. Who is going to call the plays in 2023?
2. Who is going to play quarterback in 2023?
3. Can the offensive line be fixed in the offseason?
4. What will be done about the catastrophic play from special teams?

Unfortunately, nothing else really matters at this point. In a week, Mark Stoops has gone from a hot coaching candidate for openings at Auburn and Nebraska to a head coach entering year 11 at Kentucky with some major questions to answer.

As we sit right now, it’s hard to envision Stoops coaching anywhere else next season. That means all of the focus will be on fixing the current issues plaguing the UK program. The loss to Vandy certainly felt like a sign and wake-up call that some changes must be made. Kentucky ruined a golden opportunity at getting back to double-digit wins with a very favorable schedule in 2022 due to multiple issues.

Stoops has a busy offseason ahead of him. We’ll all be watching closely as a lot of things need to be fixed, altered, or see philosophical program changes. Buckle up for what will be a wild ride as soon as the regular season ends on Thanksgiving Saturday.

The week ahead at KSR

There is still a football game to get ready for on Saturday as Kirby Smart will be bringing his 10-0 Georgia team to Kroger Field for their final SEC game of the season. There is no time to sulk.

KSR will be here all week to provide non-stop football content, and it all starts with what should be a jam-packed Monday press conference with Mark Stoops. After that, we’ll get to hear from offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello for the first time since his postgame press conference after the Vanderbilt loss.

Throughout the week, KSR will be your one-stop shop for podcasts, practice reports, pregame content, and any news that breaks this week. We are set to enter a very important offseason for Kentucky football but we must first see if Stoops and this team can get the train somewhat back on the tracks before the year ends.

Decisions made over the next six weeks will tell us a lot about Kentucky football’s future. But first, the Cats must play two important games at Kroger Field.