3 Unusual Moments from Mark Stoops' Press Conference

You don’t need a thermometer to take the temperature of Big Blue Nation. We got a fever, and the only prescription is more Kentucky football wins. Unfortunately, those are few and far between right now.

Anger following an unexpected loss to Vanderbilt was amplified by a 28-point loss on the road to drop the Cats to 3-4. Kentucky has yet to score 21 points against an SEC opponent and only has one win in league play, a stunning 20-17 victory at then-No. 6 Ole Miss.

While the Wildcats’ wheels are spinning, Kentucky fans want answers from the head coach. The reality is he can’t say much of anything without making folks angry. That is one reason why today’s press conference was so unusual. Allow me to share a few of the more peculiar moments.

Stoops isn’t Calling Offensive Plays, but He Did Near the Goal Line

Scoring in the red zone is a nightmare. For the second straight week, the Wildcats got the ball inside the 5-yard line and left empty-handed. The Cats rank 99th in the FBS with 11 touchdowns on 20 trips to the red zone. The head coach was asked about the play-calling in short-yardage situations after Demie Sumo-Karngbaye was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

“With the pass in the open field, it’s a little different. You have a little more room (than) at the 1-yard line. Sure, there’s a balance there,” said Stoops.

Kentucky converted on a play-action pass to Josh Kattus on fourth and short later in the game. In another instance, they planned on throwing it near the end zone. Stoops intervened and they eventually punched it into the end zone with Gavin Wimsatt to make it a one-score game in the third quarter.

“I’m not opening myself up here. The criticism, fair. But I don’t get involved in play-calling. But they did ask me on the three (yard line), when we had a first and goal on the three, and I absolutely said pound it. Pound the rock. We did, and we scored. Let’s not get cute now. We can be physical. We can run it in here. I told him they had four downs because it was first and goal. So I said, Let’s not outthink this. On the others, I didn’t say a word. Call what you want to call.”

“I can’t be fun Mark today”

Typically Mark Stoops does not entertain too much talk about officials. He doesn’t want to pay a fine to the league office. Today, he actually went back and forth with the media across multiple questions addressing officiating. He explained why he is no longer challenging calls that don’t get reviewed.

“If it was going to be reversed, they would buzz it (from the booth) and reverse it.”

He elaborated even further about the current replay system with this:

“We have one challenge. I don’t have that flag to throw, which is probably a good thing,” he said. “I’m joking, but if I say anymore, I’ll get annihilated.

“I like working with you all. I think we have a good understanding. We’ve been here for a long time going through this, but when I elaborate, somebody grabs something, and next thing you know I’m ‘complaining.’ I can’t be ‘Fun Mark’ today. You guys are professionals, and just some people don’t listen to the whole conversation. They just grab a piece and next thing it’s online, so I’m gonna make that very clear.”

No Crying on the Yacht

Where have I heard that line before? This time we heard Mark Stoops use that colloquialism when he was asked about Texas and Oklahoma’s struggles during its first year in the SEC.

“It’s quite ridiculous this year. Yeah, it’s quite ridiculous,” Stoops said. “There’s a lot of talent in this league and I feel like it’s only going to get stronger. I can’t control all that. Yes, we watch it. Yes, my colleagues and I talk and commiserate together. But some of those guys are crying on the yacht, you know what I mean?”