Critics have piled on Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, not for the way the Wildcats played against Georgia, but for how the game unraveled in the fourth quarter, particularly the decision to punt on 4th and 8 with three minutes remaining.

After the game, Stoops defended his decision to punt the ball. Even though he was not directly asked about it during Monday’s press conference, he brought out his shield once more. He was asked about the offense’s confidence after failing to score a touchdown for the second straight game.

“We’re a team. We have to complement each other. The offense did some amazing things, starting with the first drive of the game. They’re on the half-yard line and go 10 plays out to darn near midfield. We do get sacked and fumbled. We just recover it. We punt, get that field position, it leads to three points,” he said.

After complimenting his offense, he used that as an opportunity to interject the situation that unfolded on the final drive. Stoops reminded us that on the first down, he told the offense to prepare to go for it on fourth down. That plan changed. He asked the media to “report the whole damn thing” so here it is, even though his words get a little muddy in the middle of his passionate plea.

Mark Stoops’ Defense of the Decision to Punt

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“I don’t take offense to the criticism of not going for it or whatever. Again, I told the coaches on the headset on first down, I had every intention of going for it. Wish we would have gained some yards and had a manageable third down, manageable fourth down. But you got to realize, in that same zone on the plus-48, we had two sack fumbles, one sack, and then the next one went back from the plus (territory). Think about if we get three there,” said Stoops.

“Think about if Coach Stoops goes conservative and we just run it three plays in a row and kick the field goal there, right? I mean, again, if you’re gonna report this, report the whole damn thing. If we would have just went — how many people are saying, ‘Hey, Coach Stoops, you’re dumb. We had the ball on the plus 47. Why didn’t you just pound it three more times? We’re moving the ball well against a good defense.’

“What if we got those three, instead of gotten sacked, instead of gotten sack fumbled, and went all the way back to the 22 on the other side? Think about that swing. Nobody talks about that do they? When I had the ball three times around the same zone and went negative, negative and on second down damn near had a fumble. Third down damn near had a fumble. We got to that point by playing field position and playing defense. We had a chance to win that game just the way we played it. We came up a play or two short. I stand by that.”

Any Late Game Regrets from Stoops?

On the final drive, Kentucky crossed midfield on a first-down run. As Bush Hamdan explained after the game, Kentucky stayed in a personnel package that was primarily used to run the ball. The offensive coordinator tried to surprise Georgia by throwing it on second down. Anthony Brown-Stephens was open, but Georgia batted the ball down at the line of scrimmage after nearly sacking Brock Vandagriff.

Following a candid response, the Kentucky head coach was asked if he regretted not keeping the ball on the ground when the Cats had a second and eight.

“I do,” said Stoops, “and again, I don’t put handcuffs on the play-caller. I want them to feel good and feel comfortable.

“I’ll say this before the (strip sack) that went back to the 22, I said on the headsets prior to it, ‘Hey, this is going to be one of those games. There’s tough yards. Don’t take negative yards, plays and turnovers.’

“It’s not his fault, but that’s who you’re playing. That’s where you’re getting in the danger zone. So the recipe was right, especially with the way we ran it, and again, we took our shots. It’s a lot like NFL football. You watch NFL football, they make hay on first and second down. You give those beasts time to, bear down on you on unpredictable pass, nobody’s comfortable, especially with the situation we’re in right now (in pass protection).

“We only had three explosive plays out of 78. So all of a sudden, we’re just supposed to convert a fourth and eight like it’s nothing? I mean, second and third (down) were damn near disasters.

“So yes, in hindsight, what if we’d have grinded it out there and got it to a manageable third down? We were very efficient, extremely efficient in third and short, and third and medium. We had one really nice pass to Dane (Key) and then the completely ad-lib scramble fluke (for a first down). It’s not going to happen all the time. So that’s where we needed to live in that world.”

Long Story Short

The Kentucky coach was pleased with the way his team performed. That was a hard-fought game. He’s happy to take the criticism from Kentucky fans, but it’s clear he was irked by folks who turned the game on late and just saw the final few minutes.

“Again, I’m not trying to be defensive. I’m just trying to say, when you just see one play — watch the game. Watch the whole game like we watch it on film, and what you’re in and the situation you’re in, that’s all I’m gonna ask. Watch it.”

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