Mark Stoops Praises Texas Football Ahead of Kentucky’s Matchup: "No Weaknesses on This Team"

As 4-6 Kentucky prepares for a significant challenge against Texas, head coach Mark Stoops didn’t mince words about the quality of the Longhorns under Steve Sarkisian. With 9-1 Texas operating at a high level on defense and a decent level on offense, Stoops highlighted their depth, creativity, and balance

“Another great challenge going into Texas,” Stoops began. “Coach Sark has them playing at a very high level. A very good football team that he’s been building for some time. It’s evident they have a lot of continuity.”

Stoops pointed out that Texas is one of the few programs in the Power Four conferences to maintain continuity at the leadership positions on staff. With Sarkisian, offensive coordinator Kyle Flood, and Broyles Award favorite defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski working together for several years, the Longhorns have developed a clear identity and a cohesive approach.

“That continuity shows both in their recruiting and the portal additions,” Stoops explained. “Especially offensively, you look at their wideouts. A couple guys they got [through the portal] are added to a dynamic wide receiver group. Just a good football team top to bottom.”

A Team Without Weaknesses

For Stoops, Texas isn’t just a strong team—it’s a team with no obvious flaws. He praised the Longhorns’ roster depth, highlighting talent across most positions.

“There’s no weaknesses on this team,” Stoops said. “The eye test—they’re as strong as anybody in the country. Tell me one group. You look at them offensively — dynamic play caller and a great coach. O-line is completely solid. Running backs, two great ones, maybe, probably more. Probably four, you know what I mean.”

Texas’ wide receiver corps also stood out to Stoops as “arguably the best in the country,” bolstered by a tight end group that adds even more offensive punch. On defense, Stoops commended Texas for replacing NFL-caliber talent lost in the offseason with high-level portal additions.

“Defensively, front four—they lost some guys that were pros, replaced them in the portal with pros,” he said. “Really deep, really big. I’d say arguably, again, the best secondary in the country, bar none. You put that together—pretty solid team.”

Creative Playcalling Sets Texas Apart

One of the aspects Stoops finds most impressive is Sarkisian’s offensive creativity. Stoops praised Sarkisian for his ability to design plays that keep defenses off balance, seamlessly blending the run, pass, and screen game.

“Creative. You hear the word ‘eye candy’ thrown around a lot in press conferences,” Stoops noted. “But, dynamic. He does a great job of marrying the run and the pass. And then a fantastic job in the screen game off all that. So you’re thinking run, you’re thinking play action pass, and they come back to a screen. He ties it together as good as anybody.”

Kentucky’s Focus: Consistency

While Stoops acknowledged the challenge Texas presents, he emphasized that Kentucky’s focus remains on itself. Coming off a bye week and then Murray State, the Wildcats are in good health and aiming to address a key area of improvement — consistency.

“For us, again, I feel like we gotta build on where we’re at,” Stoops said. “Getting healthy the last part of the season, coming off the bye I think we’re in a good place. For us, the challenge has been consistency. It’s not been competitiveness. We’ve been competitive against some of the best teams in the country. We just have to be more consistent.”

Kentucky played Georgia extremely close, losing by one on a late Bulldogs touchdown. The Wildcats also beat Ole Miss and played Tennessee close.

Consistency will be critical as Kentucky faces one of its toughest tests of the season. Stoops is confident his team can rise to the occasion, and he’s looking for the Wildcats to play their best football against an elite Texas team.

“We’re striving to give them our best shot and play our best ball,” Stoops concluded.