Make or Break Game for Stoops

[Kai Slater]

If UK doesn't win this game, then Mark Stoops will experience criticism from fans. UK football has struggled throughout this season.

UK can become bowl eligible with a HUGE win over UL. If UK doesn't win, then a bowl game is unlikely.

I hope we see improvements for UK football in the near future.

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

The OP is over the top to be sure. But.....it's bound to be a lot less difficult building a football program if you haven't lost a significant portion of the fanbase. And if we lose Saturday then, rightly or wrongly, he's going to lose a good portion of this fanbase. Maybe not forever but you're dealing with a lot of off-season negativity that I'm sure CMS would rather do without.

So first, you and others say I'm over the top, and then you proceed to state exactly what I stated in my post. My point is the exact same as yours:

"And if we lose Saturday then, rightly or wrongly, he's going to lose a good portion of this fanbase. Maybe not forever but you're dealing with a lot of off-season negativity that I'm sure CMS would rather do without."

That is exactly my point. If we lose this game, a lot of the fan base will be disgusted and it WILL affect recruiting. So I'm stating a very reasonable opinion and some on this thread say "OP has an agenda......" as if I post on UK's forum as some secret, foreign agent for another school's team. Some of you are ridiculous.

My post is an absolutely reasonable opinion about the consequences if we end up with a 5 win season again. It is NOT a good situation if that happens. Stoops will have a hard time crawling out from under that dark cloud. This game is HUGE for his future and recruiting. That is a fact.

 

[Jon(-24)]

OP doesn't understand football or money.

 

[ukalum1988]

UKWinsAgainNope has a penchant for being a drama queen.

 

[gojvc]

So first, you and others say I'm over the top, and then you proceed to state exactly what I stated in my post. My point is the exact same as yours:

"And if we lose Saturday then, rightly or wrongly, he's going to lose a good portion of this fanbase. Maybe not forever but you're dealing with a lot of off-season negativity that I'm sure CMS would rather do without."

That is exactly my point. If we lose this game, a lot of the fan base will be disgusted and it WILL affect recruiting. So I'm stating a very reasonable opinion and some on this thread say "OP has an agenda......" as if I post on UK's forum as some secret, foreign agent for another school's team. Some of you are ridiculous.

My post is an absolutely reasonable opinion about the consequences if we end up with a 5 win season again. It is NOT a good situation if that happens. Stoops will have a hard time crawling out from under that dark cloud. This game is HUGE for his future and recruiting. That is a fact.

I think his job is less difficult if we win Saturday. But it isn't a MUST win.

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

I think his job is less difficult if we win Saturday. But it isn't a MUST win.

I guess it depends on how you define "MUST". There will be zero optimism for UK football if Stoops' loses this game and we miss a bowl again. And just like last recruiting cycle, some of our recruits will bail out and they will not sign. That's a big deal. This game is in fact that big.

Remember, next season, Stoops won't be able to tell fans "we are rebuilding and almost there, etc.". No, fans aren't going to listen to that like they have the past 3 years. That's what really hurts. If we beat UL and go to a bowl, a lot of the bad taste from this season can be erased and we can go into the off season on a positive note.

 

[Goingfor9]

Stoops will only be on the hot seat if we fail to win 6 games this year AND next year.

This is why we suck. We have extremely low standards. 6-6 next year with the stable of athletes we have who will come of age would be a bigger disaster than this season without a bowl. As soon as you know it's not going to work pull the plug. Don't keep the crap around for any other reason than to believe it will grow beautiful flowers.

 

[shutzhund]

Must win if not I think he should hit the road. I like the way he recruits but if you cannot coach plus develop players recruiting does not matter. I think he is a bonehead coach. He must win this game period! Will not recover if he loses this one.

Wasn't he soft before and now he's a bonehead? Wish you'd make up your mind. You may have spent too much time in a tree stand poaching man eating deer.

 

[buckkiller]

Wasn't he soft before and now he's a bonehead? Wish you'd make up your mind. You may have spent too much time in a tree stand poaching man eating deer.

He is soft and not to smart of a coach. Is that better to understand?

 

[CatsFanGG24]

He is soft and not to smart of a coach. Is that better to understand?

He isn't soft. Not one bit of him is soft...head coaching skills are still to be determined, but he isn't soft.

For the record, he privately praised Dorian Baker for the block vs LSU because he saw it as clean and legal, but the SEC offices sent a message to him to sit him out or they will. Have seen that discussed on here and that is the story I have heard from two separate sources.

 

[buckkiller]

Well he needs to prove it cause our team looks soft and they need to get nasty. They need to hit UL in the mouth HARD! I just am not that confident at all. I hope I am wrong but this is a must win or he will lose a great portion of fan base. He promised a different product on the field before season started. He failed to produce. They got molested in multiple games! Got to prove it!! THEY NEED TO KICK UL'S @$$ BAD!

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Mark my words, if Mark Stoops doesn't get this win and ends up with 5 wins, he will not last more than one more season at UK. It is OVER for him at UK if he can't get 6 wins this season.

There have been so many bad coaching decisions and blowouts this season, UL is a MUST win. Don't kid yourself and say "Mitch won't fire him, blah blah....". It doesn't matter anymore how Mitch feels. It's about recruiting and the fan base.

The fans WILL GIVE UP on Stoops if we don't get this win. 5 wins is completely unacceptable this season. The stadium next season will not sellout for games like it did this season. I can already see the writing on the wall.

However, If we get 6 wins and beat UL, we can keep some of our recruiting momentum and he may survive.

He did this to himself. We should not be in this desperate position. This game is make or break. Recruits will completely frown upon this program if we end up with 5 wins. Our schedule was almost a "gimme" for 6 wins.

It's easily the most important game of his UK career because of recruiting implications and how this will affect the fan base.

I think its a must win game for the fans more than Stoops. UK fans, me too for that matter, expected UK to be at the very least 6-5 heading into this game and very likely 7-4 and they could have been, but things didn't turn out that way. A key play here or there cost UK at least 2 games this year. UK will be better next year because of added experience at almost every position, the downside is a tougher schedule than this year and not 8 home games. Picking up Bama next season isn't great, but Bama is so physical they affect you for the next game too, but I think they lose some of that defense of their's and may not be as physical. That might not be a ton of help against Bama, but it could mean a lot the next week against Vandy, I think that is who you play next, a game UK should be favored to win. The new coaching hires being made in the East will determine how strong the East is going to be. I don't know what is going to happen at UGA, we may have a new coaching staff, one or two new coordinators or it might stay the same. We are just a mess right now. But I expect UT to be very good, UF could easily lose 2-3 games next year, but then again they could fight UT for the East. I think those are the top 2 teams in the East in 16, the other 5 could finish in any order.

 

[Katwatcher]

The OP is over the top to be sure. But.....it's bound to be a lot less difficult building a football program if you haven't lost a significant portion of the fanbase. And if we lose Saturday then, rightly or wrongly, he's going to lose a good portion of this fanbase. Maybe not forever but you're dealing with a lot of off-season negativity that I'm sure CMS would rather do without.

I agree gojvc, Kentucky has some great fans, but they also have some that is easily swayed with a win or loss. If we lose some fans because of a loss to Louisvile, they will return quickly if there is improvement next year and I think there will be,

There may be some changes in assistant coaches but I can't see it being Dawson. Its ridiculous to expect an OC to fix UK's problems in just one year.

Actually that should hold true for the whole staff just having 3 years to put together a competitive squad that you can say was definitely down.

The recruiting has been good, but you are talking about freshmen and sophomores and they haven't had the necessary time to develop into an SEC type player.like most of our opponents. We need to give the coaches another couple of years to be fair with them.

Although the whole conference is down some, its not even close to where UK has been for years. We only lost 1 game in my view that we should have won and that was Vandy.. So just hang on , you will be glad you did.
jmho

 

[shutzhund]

He is soft and not to smart of a coach. Is that better to understand?

Hakes me understand you a whole lot better. Another mouth from the couch.

 

[greginky1957]

Back away from the ledge, on 2nd thought go ahead and jump OP. We do not need this negativity from the "fan base". Coach Stoops is here for a couple of more years. It is a long process, we are heading in the right direction talent wise and the wins will follow, if not next year then the year after. Yes Stoops has made coaching mistakes and if he doesn't learn from them then that will be his eventual downfall, but give him the chance to succeed. We have many reasons to be frustrated, but it isn't the end of the world. Stoops will be here at least 2 more seasons, maybe 3 if he cleans up his mistakes then hopefully a lot longer. I personally think he waited too long to go with Barker because Towles isn't a quick enough decision maker for our porous O-line. Only time will tell for sure, but that coaching mistake(sticking with Towles so long) and in game coaching mistakes need to be minimized or he will not have a long career here.

 

[bigblueinsanity_rivals250340]

The telling part will be how the UK team performs.Do they come out looking like a team that has been prepared,wiht an attitude they are going to give everthing they have to win,or do they come out like we saw against EKU and too many other games,flat uninspired,going thru the motions,and looking to get the season over with?

Agree. I think if the team comes out, plays hard, limits mistakes - we will likely win. But the fans will still be able to swallow a loss. If they come out and fall on their face, then the fans could get ugly.

I am worried about recruiting if we lose. We will maintain most of this class. But we'll really lose our shine with other classes.

 

[buckkiller]

Lol this Kentucky football team is soft truth hurts it dont take a genius to see that.

 

[CB3UK]

The Vandy game is what sticks with me. Just no reason we should have lost that game whatsoever. I could get over the State, Tennessee, and Georgia debacles, but Vandy is terrible.

 

[docholiday51]

The Vandy game is what sticks with me. Just no reason we should have lost that game whatsoever. I could get over the State, Tennessee, and Georgia debacles, but Vandy is terrible.

A lot of truth in this post,the Vandy game more than any other defines this season,if we had won the same would be true As a long time fan I just can't justify or come up with acceptable reason we lost that game,we just gave it away and 75% of the blame goes on the coaching staff.

 

[KittyKat1978]

This game needs to be won and will be. UL isn't much better, if at all, and too much rides on this one

UK 24 UL 17

 

[UK Cats Rock]

On the other hand if he wins this one he is good for the next 4 or 5 years,this ain't LSU,where if you don't win 10 or so they line up a firing squad.

It seems sometimes there is a firing squad already lined up for Stoops. I can't understand why people think Stoops should be able to take a historically bad program, a hisorically bad program that was very, very down, play a lot of true freshmen in the SEC, and have the program built up enough in 2 1/2 seasons to where we don't have some "struggle years" during the process. That leads me to my view on his coaching abilities.....

Its pretty obvious that stoops made some bad mistakes this year...I do think it's a good chance that he grows as a head coach this year,after all this is his first head coaching gig.. He deserves that opportunity to make changes and correct the mistakes..
You really don't know how good/bad he will be.Next year we should not see the bad game management ect.better game management ect..
We would be sick if in 5 years he would be a coach in another program and turned out to be a very good coach ect..

He has certainly made some really bad mistakes. However, it seemed to me the game against Charlotte, he managed the game much, much better. The quality of opponent has nothing to do with getting special teams ready so we don't have to call timeouts, etc. I noticed when it was 4th and 1 (I think) near midfield , h didn't hesitate to get his punt team out there. We probably could have easily made that first down, but in my very simple opinion, he learned that's just a bit too risky and immediately called for the punt. I felt that was Stoops learning from his mistakes.and getting them corrected.

Our best players are "true" juniors, "true" freshmen, and "true" sophomores for the most part.
He has frustrated me this year at times; however, I am still 100% behind him. Like others have said: the answer is NOT to change coaches AGAIN.

 

[stephenrhill_rivals380640]

So first, you and others say I'm over the top, and then you proceed to state exactly what I stated in my post. My point is the exact same as yours:

"And if we lose Saturday then, rightly or wrongly, he's going to lose a good portion of this fanbase. Maybe not forever but you're dealing with a lot of off-season negativity that I'm sure CMS would rather do without."

That is exactly my point. If we lose this game, a lot of the fan base will be disgusted and it WILL affect recruiting. So I'm stating a very reasonable opinion and some on this thread say "OP has an agenda......" as if I post on UK's forum as some secret, foreign agent for another school's team. Some of you are ridiculous.

My post is an absolutely reasonable opinion about the consequences if we end up with a 5 win season again. It is NOT a good situation if that happens. Stoops will have a hard time crawling out from under that dark cloud. This game is HUGE for his future and recruiting. That is a fact.

Stoops is the difference between what we have now and what we had under Joker. Don't get so complacent. It's only been 3 years. Get a grip.

 

[wildcatdon]

I can't figure out why Mitch would give him such a raise without Stoops having the results to back it up. Mind blowing. Recruiting good without results is not a reason to giv e a huge raise. Period. I think it shows Mitch is in it for the long haul.

 

[shutzhund]

I can't figure out why Mitch would give him such a raise without Stoops having the results to back it up. Mind blowing. Recruiting good without results is not a reason to giv e a huge raise. Period. I think it shows Mitch is in it for the long haul.

Don, recruiting doesn't show until a team is heavy in redshirt sophomores and juniors. Our redshirt sophomores are mostly Joker's since Stoops came in late. That's just my opinion bolstered by a very, small amount of experience. I think you are right about Mitch.

 

[Katwatcher]

I can't figure out why Mitch would give him such a raise without Stoops having the results to back it up. Mind blowing. Recruiting good without results is not a reason to giv e a huge raise. Period. I think it shows Mitch is in it for the long haul.

bigbluedon I have to disagree with you on this one. Recruiting good is the first step you have to make with or without results. Recruiting without good results is the history of UK's failures.

Just watching these kids play tell me he has done a pretty good job. The thing that a lot of fans are not understanding is the fact that his recruits are freshmen and sophomores and have a hard time competing against red shirted juniors and seniors.
I think Barnhart realized that results will come later, but you have to have the elite recruits first. Thats my thinking on why he was given a raise. These kind of situations, you just have to have confidence in Coach Stoops and hope everyone joins in and support all. jmho
You have to have the elite recruits

 

[stephenrhill_rivals380640]

I can't figure out why Mitch would give him such a raise without Stoops having the results to back it up. Mind blowing. Recruiting good without results is not a reason to giv e a huge raise. Period. I think it shows Mitch is in it for the long haul.

You're just supposed to use the period key. You don't have to spell it out or say it.

 

[sluggercatfan]

A lot of truth in this post,the Vandy game more than any other defines this season,if we had won the same would be true As a long time fan I just can't justify or come up with acceptable reason we lost that game,we just gave it away and 75% of the blame goes on the coaching staff.

My best friend and I were talking about that tonight changing plans for the game and came to the same conclusions...MS is almost starting(maybe be less than) over for me and will need to see some great improvement starting Sat...Absolutely ZERO excuse for the Vandy game and maybe Fla...

 

[sluggercatfan]

a

You're just supposed to use the period key. You don't have to spell it out or say it.

I think that is giving a pt of emphasis ...PERIOD:smiley::sunglasses:

 

[KentuckyWildcat4Life]

If les leaves lsu brain fart needs to fire stoops and go after him. Until Kentucky lands a top tier coach, no top tier players will commit thus making our program suck for another fifty years.

 

[Chuckinden]

It seems sometimes there is a firing squad already lined up for Stoops. I can't understand why people think Stoops should be able to take a historically bad program, a hisorically bad program that was very, very down, play a lot of true freshmen in the SEC, and have the program built up enough in 2 1/2 seasons to where we don't have some "struggle years" during the process. That leads me to my view on his coaching abilities.....



He has certainly made some really bad mistakes. However, it seemed to me the game against Charlotte, he managed the game much, much better. The quality of opponent has nothing to do with getting special teams ready so we don't have to call timeouts, etc. I noticed when it was 4th and 1 (I think) near midfield , h didn't hesitate to get his punt team out there. We probably could have easily made that first down, but in my very simple opinion, he learned that's just a bit too risky and immediately called for the punt. I felt that was Stoops learning from his mistakes.and getting them corrected.

Our best players are "true" juniors, "true" freshmen, and "true" sophomores for the most part.
He has frustrated me this year at times; however, I am still 100% behind him. Like others have said: the answer is NOT to change coaches AGAIN.

With all due respect, I just don't think you get it. I'm not advocating changing coaches, but Stoops has got a lot to prove in how he operates the program. Losing the Vandy game in year three with so much on the line is inexcusable.

At this point in time, anyone with a semblance of coaching experience could have the record Stoops has this year. Next year is the year he will judged more honestly.

 

[Shydog]

It seems sometimes there is a firing squad already lined up for Stoops. I can't understand why people think Stoops should be able to take a historically bad program, a hisorically bad program that was very, very down, play a lot of true freshmen in the SEC, and have the program built up enough in 2 1/2 seasons to where we don't have some "struggle years" during the process. That leads me to my view on his coaching abilities.....



He has certainly made some really bad mistakes. However, it seemed to me the game against Charlotte, he managed the game much, much better. The quality of opponent has nothing to do with getting special teams ready so we don't have to call timeouts, etc. I noticed when it was 4th and 1 (I think) near midfield , h didn't hesitate to get his punt team out there. We probably could have easily made that first down, but in my very simple opinion, he learned that's just a bit too risky and immediately called for the punt. I felt that was Stoops learning from his mistakes.and getting them corrected.

Our best players are "true" juniors, "true" freshmen, and "true" sophomores for the most part.
He has frustrated me this year at times; however, I am still 100% behind him. Like others have said: the answer is NOT to change coaches AGAIN.

idk I am afraid the quality of opponent has a lot to do with getting organized and making the right coaching decisions. It's a much easier call whether to go for it on 4th down and such when you have the best team by far than it is when you are in a competitive game! Like you though I am hopeful that what we saw against Charlotte will continue as far as looking more organized!

 

[Kai Slater]

UK football has struggled at times this season. There have been games in which UK has not played good football and has made errors that have contributed to losing games. In order for UK to win football games, they must play better and score more points.

After we beat UL 37-13 on Saturday, we will enjoy a crappy bowl game, then we can await next season, which will be THE defining season for Stoops Troops. Will we step up and improve? Or will we regress and fade deeper into the hole?

 

[Anon1639625937]

Mark my words, if Mark Stoops doesn't get this win and ends up with 5 wins, he will not last more than one more season at UK. It is OVER for him at UK if he can't get 6 wins this season.

There have been so many bad coaching decisions and blowouts this season, UL is a MUST win. Don't kid yourself and say "Mitch won't fire him, blah blah....". It doesn't matter anymore how Mitch feels. It's about recruiting and the fan base.

The fans WILL GIVE UP on Stoops if we don't get this win. 5 wins is completely unacceptable this season. The stadium next season will not sellout for games like it did this season. I can already see the writing on the wall.

However, If we get 6 wins and beat UL, we can keep some of our recruiting momentum and he may survive.

He did this to himself. We should not be in this desperate position. This game is make or break. Recruits will completely frown upon this program if we end up with 5 wins. Our schedule was almost a "gimme" for 6 wins.

It's easily the most important game of his UK career because of recruiting implications and how this will affect the fan base.

As much as I get your frustration, Stoops will not be fired this year or even next for that matter. Although what happens on the field matters, UK is still a servicing institution that is governed by the almighty dollar and cannot afford to buy Stoops contract out anytime soon. UK is the only place I've ever seen that a person can have a salary of millions, annually, and the job is OJT. Our best bet is that Stoops acquires the critical thinking required to be a SEC Head Football Coach and applies it to game day.
With all that said, I'm like the rest of you that bleed blue. We are suckers and will support the team no matter what! Yes, we may come on this web sigh to vent from time to time, at the end of the day ~ We Are Kentucky!!

 

[docholiday51]

With all due respect, I just don't think you get it. I'm not advocating changing coaches, but Stoops has got a lot to prove in how he operates the program. Losing the Vandy game in year three with so much on the line is inexcusable.

At this point in time, anyone with a semblance of coaching experience could have the record Stoops has this year. Next year is the year he will judged more honestly.

I think there are several here who don't those of us that desperately want Stoops to succeed but also understand (and are willing to admit)that he took several steps backward in the Vandy game.That was such a milestone game that is difficult to overstate the implication it had for the UK program.The question is can Stoops overcome what happened because of the outcome of that game.I don't think we know the answer to that yet.

 

[Shydog]

IF" we beat UL then win a bowl game, the fan base will be energized and the 10-2 11-1 predictors will be back on board next year!

 

[LowCountryCat]

Mark my words, if Mark Stoops doesn't get this win and ends up with 5 wins, he will not last more than one more season at UK. It is OVER for him at UK if he can't get 6 wins this season.

There have been so many bad coaching decisions and blowouts this season, UL is a MUST win. Don't kid yourself and say "Mitch won't fire him, blah blah....". It doesn't matter anymore how Mitch feels. It's about recruiting and the fan base.

The fans WILL GIVE UP on Stoops if we don't get this win. 5 wins is completely unacceptable this season. The stadium next season will not sellout for games like it did this season. I can already see the writing on the wall.

However, If we get 6 wins and beat UL, we can keep some of our recruiting momentum and he may survive.

He did this to himself. We should not be in this desperate position. This game is make or break. Recruits will completely frown upon this program if we end up with 5 wins. Our schedule was almost a "gimme" for 6 wins.

It's easily the most important game of his UK career because of recruiting implications and how this will affect the fan base.

Eighteen million reasons why you might be wrong.

 

[WhiteCityCat1]

Mark my words, if Mark Stoops doesn't get this win and ends up with 5 wins, he will not last more than one more season at UK. It is OVER for him at UK if he can't get 6 wins this season.

There have been so many bad coaching decisions and blowouts this season, UL is a MUST win. Don't kid yourself and say "Mitch won't fire him, blah blah....". It doesn't matter anymore how Mitch feels. It's about recruiting and the fan base.

The fans WILL GIVE UP on Stoops if we don't get this win. 5 wins is completely unacceptable this season. The stadium next season will not sellout for games like it did this season. I can already see the writing on the wall.

However, If we get 6 wins and beat UL, we can keep some of our recruiting momentum and he may survive.

He did this to himself. We should not be in this desperate position. This game is make or break. Recruits will completely frown upon this program if we end up with 5 wins. Our schedule was almost a "gimme" for 6 wins.

It's easily the most important game of his UK career because of recruiting implications and how this will affect the fan base.

Gotta love this microwave generation of fans.

 

[LowCountryCat]

What have we learned from this thread?

1. Groupthink is highly advised
2. You aren't a fan if you say anything critical of Stoops
3. After 50 years of futility, apparently UK fans are still too impatient and need to learn to wait, because Mitch Barnhart, who couldn't wait even two full seasons to sign Stoops to a HUGE extension, said we're microwave fans

 

[sluggercatfan]

I think there are several here who don't those of us that desperately want Stoops to succeed but also understand (and are willing to admit)that he took several steps backward in the Vandy game.That was such a milestone game that is difficult to overstate the implication it had for the UK program.The question is can Stoops overcome what happened because of the outcome of that game.I don't think we know the answer to that yet.

Agree Doc...was there and that was a jaw dropping game...hopefully we beat otis and go bowling, but next YR is BIG for MS

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

and will Stoops save the season? He's got 1 more quarter to save this season. 3rd quarter was an absolute disaster. Going conservative with a big lead.....