Mark Stoops said he felt in his gut that it was the right decision to go for it on 4th and 7 with four minutes left vs. Ole Miss. The gamble paid off, in large part because his quarterback had the guts to pull it off.

Last night, Stoops told Tom Leach that Brock Vandagriff‘s deep bomb to Barion Brown wasn’t Kentucky’s first plan on the crucial play; however, when Vandagriff spotted Brown streaking down the sideline, he bet on the speedy wideout to win the matchup with Ole Miss’ defenders. It worked.

“That’s how good and well-trained Brock is, our offense, our team. That was not the number one go-to there. That wasn’t like — it wasn’t just called for a go to him. It happened that way, with getting press coverage, with getting aggressive coverage, he beat him. It was open and it took some guts for Brock to throw that and Barion went and made a play.”

“It’s a couple of different options,” Vandagriff said of the play on Saturday. “We had different answers for man or zone. They end up going man and pretty much every route except one on that concept is a man-beater. You just pick your matchup and let it fly.”

Brown’s performance after the catch was impressive. After grabbing the ball, he juked and broke some ankles, pivoting toward the middle of the field to stay alive and keep the clock going. By doing so, he turned a 34-yard pass into a 63-yard gain, making it all the way to the Ole Miss 17-yard line. However, just as much praise needs to be given to Vandagriff’s throw, which hit Brown right in the bread basket.

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“It was perfect,” Stoops said. “It really was. It was, like I said, it’s just playing the game. That’s the way that play unfolded. It was executed perfectly, and I’m grateful for it. Those guys made the play.”

Vandagriff’s big throw capped off another career day. He finished 18-28 for 243 yards and a touchdown, career-highs in completions and passing yards. On non-sack rushing plays, he also ran or scrambled 12 times for 48 yards, including five first downs. Stoops said Vandagriff’s performance is further proof the former Georgia backup deserves to be a starting quarterback in the SEC.

“He’s just got a lot of guts. People ask me a lot, like, what am I going to say to him before his first road game and in the SEC? And I’m like, I’m not gonna say anything to him. Trust your training. Go play ball.

“You know, he’s a very even-keeled young man. He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low. We talked about it, I think last week, when he was getting rattled or getting pressured, he doesn’t get frustrated, doesn’t get mad at the [offensive line], doesn’t slam his helmet. He just goes on to the next play and I love that about him. And he’s a great young man, he’s a competitor, and he’s put us in a position to win. “

Kentucky’s offensive line afforded Vandagriff a little more time vs. Ole Miss, but pass protection remains a work in progress (he was still sacked five times). A few games ago, we could have said the same about Vandagriff’s decision-making. Not against the Rebels, an aggressive team capable of capitalizing on every error.

“The last few weeks, I think his decision-making on when to pull it down, when to run is getting much better,” Stoops said. “I thought in the pocket, he didn’t hold it too long this week, you know what I mean? We didn’t want anymore — we couldn’t turn it over against a team like that, you know? So, he played very good.”

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