Tuesday Headlines: Mark Stoops Claps Back Edition

How do you feel about this?

By John Morgan Francis@MonJorgan Oct 10, 2023, 6:40am EDT

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: OCT 07 Kentucky at Georgia

The entire country watched the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs hand a Southeastern butt-whooping to the then-No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday. Georgia and head coach Kirby Smart put 51 points on the defense UK head coach Mark Stoops takes a lot of pride in.

The Kentucky Wildcats could only put together 13 points themselves, which declared Saturday’s loss a blowout.

While it was just Kentucky’s first loss of the season, what seems to be a majority of the fan base is rather disappointed in their team’s effort in Saturday’s game. From not being prepared, continuous penalties, an offense that’s miserable to watch, and a defense that was taken up and down the field time and time again, it’s hard to argue with the fans.

Stoops joined Tom Leach for his weekly show on Monday night, and though he didn’t exactly argue with the UK fans, it felt like he certainly pushed back a bit when asked this question.

Video got trimmed, here’s the full question from “Jason.” pic.twitter.com/SbgRfRSDK6
— Tres Terrell (@TerrellTres) October 9, 2023

The UK head coach also had some “interesting” comments regarding NIL.

"Fans have that right (to complain). I give it to them. I just encourage them to donate more, because that’s what those dudes are doing. I can promise you Georgia, they bought some pretty good players. You’re allowed to these days. We could use some help." https://t.co/rPKwMx4tIA
— Jon Hale (@JonHale_HL) October 10, 2023

There’s absolutely no question that Stoops has efficiently turned Kentucky around as a football program and made them viable in what is by far the best conference in the country. But it’s also a fact that Kentucky’s not been very viable when it comes to the top-tier competition on their schedule each and every year. With that said, most teams aren’t, and that’s why fans see the same group of teams eyeing the College Football Playoff each year.

What are your thoughts on how Stoops handled these questions? Too prickly? Or does he have a point? Should be an interesting week, especially with a feisty Missouri Tigers team on deck.

Tweet of the Day

Whether you agree with Kentucky Football Head Coach Mark Stoops or not, he has a point. In today's day and age, schools have NIL Collectives for fans to donate, and UK does too, but if Kentucky wants to take the next step, they need help with donations to the program. #BBN
— Chris Beasmore (@CBeasmoreSports) October 10, 2023

Hard to argue.