Five Things Mark Stoops Said After Kentucky's Win

Mark Stoops didn’t stick around long in his postgame press conference, only speaking for ten minutes about Kentucky’s win over LSU. (Just a guess, he had immediate plans with his dear friend Old Wm. Tarr.)

Though brief, Stoops still covered a number of important topics from the game, five of which I will list for you below for an easy read. (Just a guess, the words are a little blurry if you’re reading this at 2:30 a.m. Try closing one eye.)

Now for the five noteworthy comments…

1. “Back to work.”

It’s not a Mark Stoops press conference without his favorite catchphrase: “back to work.” Stoops dropped his go-to line in his opening statement.

“Same message as last week when I sat here,” he said. Enjoy it for a few hours and back to work tomorrow. We are excited about the opportunity that we have in front of us next week.”

Stoops and his coaching will be back to work Sunday morning, but players are off until Monday. “They need to rest up, heal up, get some treatment, and be ready to go to work,” Stoops said.

Always working or going back to work.

2. Why roll the dice on 4th and goal?

After DeAndre Square stripped LSU quarterback Max Johnson on LSU’s opening drive, Kentucky drove the ball down to the goal line and scored on a 4th and goal from the 3. An uncharacteristic call by Stoops to not take the field goal, he rolled the dice on 4th down and Will Levis delivered with a touchdown pass to wide-open Chris Rodriguez.

“I felt good,” Stoops explained of the early gamble. “I felt with the turnover, starting the game with a turnover and having great field position, I just wanted to play aggressive. I wanted to score.”

Stoops trusted his defense to keep LSU pinned against the goal line if the offense turned the ball over on downs, which it did not.

3. “They started getting a little close for my comfort.”

Stoops grew a little uneasy as LSU narrowed the gap with back-to-back touchdowns to start the fourth quarter.

“They started getting a little close for my comfort in the fourth quarter, Stoops said afterward. “But we had some guys nicked up and some guys up front and got to get back and get healthy and look at some things.”

Octavious Oxendine was the most nicked up. The second-year defensive tackle had two sacks before he left the game on crutches with a serious knee injury.

4. Stoops’ evaluation of Will Levis

Asked what he thought of Will Levis, Stoops replied, “I really thought he played exceptionally well. You could tell early on, just to me his comfort level was there. You know, he looked really poised, really confident and just going through his progression, making some really nice throws.

“Maybe the numbers aren’t overwhelming you but I thought he was very clean and what Liam has been working with him, being calm in the pocket, and you could see that, carrying over and you could see his confidence stepping up.

“Then the way he plays it on the line and he runs so physical, that just gives everybody a great boost as well. He’s a tough kid and just getting better and better.”

5. “We want more.”

Kentucky brought out the Bowl Bound t-shirts to celebrate the bowl-clinching sixth win of the season.

“My equipment manager (Tom Kalinowski) said he had some shirts. It’s a push for bowl season campaign, and he put them out today. That’s good. They got a new t-shirt. We want more.”

YOU can get more in the full video of Stoops’ press conference.