"Put a gun to my head," Mark Stoops feels the BBN's pain

There were more Kentucky turnovers (4) than incomplete Mississippi State passes (3) Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium. Mark Stoops agonized over the 31-17 loss Sunday afternoon. When one reporter shared Will Rogers’ SEC record-breaking stat line, you could see the frustration in the face of the former defensive backs coach.

“The first thought that came to my head was, ‘Put a gun to my head,'” Stoops said during his weekly Monday press conference.

After starting the season 6-0, few anticipated seeing a Kentucky football performance like the dud the Cats dropped in Starkville. The UK head coach is eager to put it in the rearview mirror.

“Yesterday was a long day, that’s for sure. A brutal trip to Starkville,” Stoops said. “Obviously not pleased with out performance. A rough day at the office yesterday, but today’s a new day, so back to work.”

A Win was Within Reach

As frustrating as the game ended, at one point the Wildcats led 10-0. Despite a pair of three-and-outs and a couple of Mississippi State touchdowns, Kentucky could have entered the halftime locker room with a lead. Instead, the once explosive offense could not connect on a long pass. The play after Will Levis missed Josh Ali in the end zone, Kentucky’s quarterback was picked off.

“We had our opportunities. We can’t miss them. Sometimes when you’re playing a really good team, you have one or two shots that are touchdowns. That’s the difference between winning and losing,” said Stoops.

Levis took two steps forward against LSU and Georgia, then took one giant step backwards at Mississippi State. When the Bulldogs’ 3-3-5 applied unusual pressures, the Kentucky quarterback reverted back to old, bad habits.

“There was an issue at times where he wasn’t as calm. His footwork wasn’t as patient in the pocket,” Stoops explained. “I think you see a lot of quarterbacks doing that at times, maybe regroup during the game and it’s not for the entirety of the game. But you see certain plays where that’s a tough position and you’d like to have a few plays to do over.”

Returning to Stoops Kentucky Football

The stat lines are infuriating. The drive chart is disgusting. Nothing irks Stoops more than what you can’t see in the box score. Kentucky got manhandled by Mississippi State. It’s unacceptable and cannot happen this Saturday against Tennessee.

“For us, it’s about going back to being who we are,” said Stoops. “One thing I didn’t like about last week is we were definitely — they were more physical than us. That can’t happen. They seemed to be more motivated at times, certainly more physical at times, executed better. They out-played and us and it’s up to us to get back to who we are. I can’t control what opponents do but I can control the way we do things, the way we go about our business in practice and how we play on Saturday.”