Q&A: Mark Stoops on Kentucky’s ‘very difficult loss’ to Georgia

[Matt Dillon]

MARK STOOPS
“It was a very difficult loss. There's a lot of disappointed people in that locker room, and I feel for them because I think, again, I think our hearts and our minds are in the right place. We had really good preparation all week, and I really didn't feel like we had an edge about us today though. I just didn't like. Just a certain look in our eye. I think our players wanted it to happen, and I don't know, I just got to do a better job of getting them to play with that mentality and that edge. And that urgency that it takes in particular defensively. It certainly doesn’t help when they did to us what we do to people, possessing the ball and getting some quality first downs and it’s a team loss, starting with me. I need to do a better job across the board. We all can do better. It’s disappointing because it was an opportunity that was there and we didn’t make enough plays. The game comes down to several plays. You don’t know which any which play is going to make the difference. You can look at two, three, four plays out there that changed the outcome. Give them credit. They made them and we did not. And we need to do a better job. I expect our players to bounce back and practice with that same urgency and play with a better mentality about us next week. It wasn’t for a lack of effort or anything like that. They were prepared. It was a great atmosphere. I thank the support and I thank the fans because that was an awesome atmosphere to play in. Our players loved it and they wanted to win. We just have to do a better job, starting with me. I thank you for the support and the energy that was in the stadium. We certainly wanted to deliver for the fan base and we’ll come back strong next week.”

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/sports/colle...#storylink=cpy

[Owllycat]

It was a loss but we did fight hard. Least it wasnt that bad of a loss in terms of points, so I aint that disappointed by the loss.

[Lighthouse]

^A loss is a loss. Please describe the difference between a bad loss and a good loss. The all show up in the L column.

[boomdaddy]

I am not a D1 head coach, but, I would have liked to seen the red shirt pulled off the freshman QB, after Barker got hurt. Nothing wrong with Johnson starting and playing the majority of the snaps, but they should give the other kid a chance in live games, to see if he can help the passing game. Johnson has a good deep ball. He just isn't accurate with the short and intermediate throws.

The loss isn't the QBs fault, It was a team loss and they just came up short. I would still like to see them play another QB, once in awhile, and switch out to see if momentum can change.

[DA#23]

^A loss is a loss. Please describe the difference between a bad loss and a good loss. The all show up in the L column.

The losses to Southern Miss and UGA affect me differently.

[Westtncat]

^A loss is a loss. Please describe the difference between a bad loss and a good loss. The all show up in the L column.

If your team gets beat by 75 to an OVC opponent and you notice they dont really care, show no effort and no desire to win you could call that a bad loss. Going forward what would you have to look forward to? If your team plays hard against a talented team but gives a great effort and never quits but loses with no time on the clock because of a last second field goal, you could call that a good loss. Going forward you have hope and may look forward to seeing them succeed. I guess if you see it in black and white then wins are also wins. Beat Austin Peay, beat Alabama. Same thing. Both a W in the win column.

[fastkat]

I am not a D1 head coach, but, I would have liked to seen the red shirt pulled off the freshman QB, after Barker got hurt. Nothing wrong with Johnson starting and playing the majority of the snaps, but they should give the other kid a chance in live games, to see if he can help the passing game. Johnson has a good deep ball. He just isn't accurate with the short and intermediate throws.

The loss isn't the QBs fault, It was a team loss and they just came up short. I would still like to see them play another QB, once in awhile, and switch out to see if momentum can change.

We have been winning with Johnson so why pull pull the RS off. We are BUILDING a program. What if we need him in 2020? His eligibility is gone. IMO it's much better to be able to play a 5th year Senior than an underclassmen in most cases.

[Blue Heaven]

We have been winning with Johnson so why pull pull the RS off. We are BUILDING a program. What if we need him in 2020? His eligibility is gone. IMO it's much better to be able to play a 5th year Senior than an underclassmen in most cases.

I agree, but it's fair to wonder how good we could be if we had a competent passer. You need those short to intermediate throws in your arsenal. Johnson has the deep ball, but even that is not very accurate. I am not knocking Johnson. We are winning with him. Georgia may have been 4-4 coming into last night but they have a boat load of 4-5 star guys and still feeling out a new coach. I can't help but wonder what would've been with a well rounded QB.

[40bill]

A good loss is where you leave it all on the field and play to win.
A bad loss is what we have been seeing the second half of the year the past two seasons.

Best I can do for now.

[boomdaddy]

I don't expect the second coming of Tim Couch to walk out on the field, but it would be nice if they had a QB that could hit the receiver in stride half the time.

[Owllycat]

^A loss is a loss. Please describe the difference between a bad loss and a good loss. The all show up in the L column.

A good loss is when you play hard and still lose by not many points. A bad loss is when you dont even try to win and lose by alot.

[KevinHall]

I don't expect the second coming of Tim Couch to walk out on the field, but it would be nice if they had a QB that could hit the receiver in stride half the time.

He did hit Badet in stride and he couldn't catch it. UK never seems to have good receivers either. Almost every game you have key drops that really hurt. That one by Badet was a game changer.

[boomdaddy]

He did hit Badet in stride and he couldn't catch it. UK never seems to have good receivers either. Almost every game you have key drops that really hurt. That one by Badet was a game changer.

Johnson throws a fairly good deep ball. But, on the play you are referring to that Badet couldn't catch and it ended up being an interception, the pass was short and hit him on the hip. I would have liked for him to stop on a dime, made sure he caught it, and take the tackle at the spot of the reception. He had his man beat and if the pass had been on target, it would have been a TD. I could be wrong, but that is how I interpreted the replay.

[Spiritof96]

Johnson throws a fairly good deep ball. But, on the play you are referring to that Badet couldn't catch and it ended up being an interception, the pass was short and hit him on the hip. I would have liked for him to stop on a dime, made sure he caught it, and take the tackle at the spot of the reception. He had his man beat and if the pass had been on target, it would have been a TD. I could be wrong, but that is how I interpreted the replay.

He dropped it in right over his left shoulder. It was 4 inches left and behind of ideal but Badet got both hands on it before shovel passing it to the defender. Inexcusable drop that cost us the game.

Johnson was mostly fine in that game. Dropped passes, fumbles, and penalties at the worst moments were the issues of the game. Not Johnson.

[Joneslab]

Johnson throws a fairly good deep ball. But, on the play you are referring to that Badet couldn't catch and it ended up being an interception, the pass was short and hit him on the hip. I would have liked for him to stop on a dime, made sure he caught it, and take the tackle at the spot of the reception. He had his man beat and if the pass had been on target, it would have been a TD. I could be wrong, but that is how I interpreted the replay.

No, that ball was perfectly thrown. Hit him right in the hands and in stride.