A Reminder from Mark Stoops: This Loss Only Counts for One

Kentucky tight end Willie Rodriguez is tackled at Vanderbilt, via Mont Dawson, KSR

It was a loss BBN would soon rather forget. Kentucky served as a sideshow on Diego Pavia‘s Senior Night, a record-setting coronation of the man who was the catalyst for an improbable program turnaround.

Vanderbilt won 45-17. The game felt out of reach when they threw a long touchdown to go up 24-3 just before halftime. The Fat Lady was singing after two more third-quarter scores, and yet there was still an hour of football to play.

It was one of Mark Stoops‘ worst losses as the Kentucky head coach. However, he did remind his team, and the general public that it does only count as one loss.

“We weren’t very good,” said the Kentucky head coach. “The good news is it counts as one game. It felt like a lot more, but we have to regroup quickly and get ready for a big football game next week.”

Kentucky had won three straight games. No matter the opponent, the Cats were playing good football. It didn’t feel like they were capable of a performance this bad. It was a shell-shocking defeat.

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“This is one year, one game. I mean, things change very quickly, and we have to do a better job. Credit them, but it’s one week and one game, and we’ll regroup,” said Stoops.

One game remains on the schedule, and it’s a big one. Kentucky can earn a bowl bid with a rivalry win at Louisville. They must quickly move on from this loss, but Stoops will not let them instantly forget it.

“I’m not into flushing games, because we’re going to own our stuff. We’re going to look in the mirror, and we’re going to accept the responsibility where we need to, and we always will. That’ll always happen while I’m here, but we have to do that quick,” said Stoops.

“We’re going to look at it, we’re gonna own it, and look at our mistakes and areas we can improve, and we have to move on fast. And that’s just it. It’s not a good feeling. We got our butts beat, and it still counts as one loss, so we got to regroup quick and get ready to play next week.”