Kentucky Lifting Weight of SEC Losing Streak: "There's No Fun in Losing"

It’s been a long time since we’ve watched the Kentucky Wildcats win an SEC football game; more than a year, 368 days to be precise. Not to belabor the point, but there have only been two SEC wins in the last 15, dating back to a fateful fake punt against Missouri in October 2023.

That’s a lot of losses to bear for fans who invest their Saturdays in the Wildcats. That financial and emotional investment is a lot, but it’s hard to compare it to what the players go through, week in and week out.

Ty Bryant made the move from Frederick Douglass to Kentucky in 2023. The son of a former Wildcat, he grew up watching winning football at Kroger Field. Reality has not met those expectations, and even though I did not ask him directly, it’s got to suck. What I did ask him was about the morale of the team. How are the vibes after another SEC loss?

Bryant recalled a conversation he had with offensive guard Jalen Farmer after Monday’s practice, who shared a line that stuck with the safety. “There’s no fun in losing. We do all this work throughout the week. Then on Saturdays, you lose.”

Morale has improved throughout the week because they get another opportunity to avenge the most recent loss. “We don’t want to repeat that.”

They obviously don’t want to repeat it. They are humans who want to be successful when tested. The problem is that those losses continue to stack up, week after week after week. That’s gotta take an emotional toll on the 20-year-olds over time.

“Me and somebody on the team was having that conversation today during the lift, but I mean, I feel like every week brings new challenges and new opportunities. So I feel like that’s kind of how we just look at it, and that’s what keeps us going and keeps us motivated, at the end of the day,” said Bryant.

“We know the last time we won an SEC game. I mean, we don’t go out there trying to lose, you know what I’m saying? Things just kind of happen. The ball doesn’t bounce our way. But at the end of the day, I feel like we’re motivated to make a change for this season, give the season a whole 180-turn and go on a run.”

Hopefully the ball starts bouncing the Wildcats’ way and they do make a 180-turn, because the emotional toll on this Kentucky football team and its fans is becoming an overbearing burden.

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