Stoops on Kentucky's test against Jaxson Dart and America's No. 1 offense

Before Kentucky’s first road trip of the season, Mark Stoops spent part of Monday looking ahead to the challenge of playing at Ole Miss. Speaking at his weekly coach’s press conference, Stoops complimented Lane Kiffin for the job Kiffin has done in Oxford, turning the Rebels into a top-five team nationally and a serious playoff contender.

“Everyone talks about the offense and the tempo and the explosive plays, which is well-deserved being the No. 1 offense in the country,” Stoops said on Monday. “670 yards per game, 422 passing, 248 rushing, so, really amazing, eye-popping statistics. They really do a great job with Lane and Charlie Wies Jr. Their whole offensive staff is remarkable. They’re a very good football team offensively.”

Ole Miss plays uptempo, using a lot of RPO (run-pass-option) with Jaxson Dart, a three-year starter at quarterback. A Heisman candidate, Dart leads the nation in five statistical categories. He ranks first in total offense (411.0), passing yards (1,554), passing offense (388.5), passing efficiency (219.44), and yards per attempt (13.1). Additionally, he is PFF’s top-rated quarterback in college football, with a 93.7 grade through four games.

Stoops agrees with Dart’s early Heisman candidacy. Given the difficulty of the Wildcats’ SEC schedule, he joked that Dart is one of Kentucky’s many opposing players with Heisman potential.

“We will get several of those guys this year, and he’s one of them,” Stoops replied to a question about Dart. “I just think he’s just special, and he’s operating at an extremely high level. Very, very comfortable. Great knowledge. You can tell the coaching that he’s getting from Lane and Charlie Weis Jr., and just the system. He’s very comfortable, and they put a lot of pressure on him.”

Stoops and defensive coordinator Brad White coached against Dart in 2022, Dart’s first season as a starter. Dart completed 15 of 29 passes for 213 yards with an interception while running for another 40 yards on the ground. You probably remember: Ole Miss won that game 22-19 in Oxford.

In preparation for the rematch in 2024, Stoops and White will try to simulate the Ole Miss offense in Kentucky’s practices. However, Stoops admitted that it is difficult to do for an entire practice. Kentucky already worked on tempo before Ole Miss Week, going all the way back to the summer. Still, it is hard to mimic the Rebels.

“It doesn’t mean that it’s going to lead to the simulation that we are going to see Saturday because that is a whole different level, and that is what they do. They do it all the time, and they are very good at it.”

“They just stress you.”

Stoops also spoke of the stress Ole Miss puts its opponents under with how the Rebels are constantly looking to hit explosive plays. He mentioned how Ole Miss’ run game pressures defenses, opening the RPO to play-actions and deceptive plays.

“They’re just well-designed,” Stoops said of the Rebels, especially with Dart, a three-year veteran, running the show. Staying dialed in and executing the defense on every play are key, he added.

“They put pressure on you every, every play. We have to have consistency in that. We’ve had these before, where you play in these games, and you play a lot of snaps good, but I think that’s part of what they do; they want explosives and to put that constant pressure on you, and that’s where we just got to be dialed in and locked in at all times because the moment you’re not, they’re going to hit you with a big play.”

Hear all Mark Stoops had to say on Monday.