Mark Stoops mocks question about late timeouts vs Georgia

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops feels no remorse after a series of late timeouts against Georgia. Down 30-7 in the final minute, the Wildcats called timeout on third-and-goal. Quarterback Will Levis connected with all-purpose receiver Wan’Dale Robinson for a late touchdown, making Kentucky the first opponent to score two touchdowns against Georgia.

The play also covered the +21.5-point line, making the move controversial among gamblers and SEC fans alike. However, Stoops shot down the idea during his Monday press conference.

“I’m there to score,” Stoops told reporters, via KSR’s Jack Pilgrim. “Why not? Why in the world would anyone think that’s a controversy? They try to stop every play, we try to score every play. That’s how the game goes.”

He continued: “That’s a stupid question, ‘Why did you try to score?’ Because I wanted to.”

To Mark Stoops’ point, the Georgia defense never backed down, even following the timeout. After the touchdown, the special teams unit featured multiple first-team defenders determined to block the kick. A group of defensive linemen made their way through the line, blocking the kick before starting linebacker Nakobe Dean ran down the sideline.

Following the loss, Kentucky now pivots toward Mississippi State. The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. ET Saturday on SEC Network.

The rise of Mark Stoops

It sure took a while for head coach Mark Stoops to get the wheels turning on the Kentucky Wildcats football program. But now, in his ninth season at the helm of Kentucky, they won’t stop moving.

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart is entering his 20th year as the Wildcats athletic director, and he first hired Stoops to turn around the program in 2013. Things got off to a shaky start, as the Wildcats finished just 2-10 in 2013, but back-to-back 5-7 seasons, followed by back-to-back 7-6 seasons proved that Stoops had them heading in the right direction. Barnhart’s belief was only solidified by a 10-3 campaign in 2018, but then Kentucky trended back downwards the past two years.

But Barnhart defended Stoops, asserting his belief that the Youngstown, Ohio native — that he hired from Florida State, where he served as the defensive coordinator from 2010-12 — was the man to right the ship at Kentucky. Now, Kentucky is 6-1 after a 6-0 start, the best start since Bear Bryant was the head coach in 1950.

Thanks to his unlikely success at Kentucky, Mark Stoops has become a hot name on the coaching carousel, drawing interest from big schools in the SEC and beyond.