Kentucky must regroup after consecutive losses, "The world's not over"

The once promising Kentucky football season is staring down the barrel of a disappointing spiral. After starting 6-0 for the first time since 1950, Kentucky lost its second straight game when Mississippi State ran the Wildcats off the field at Davis Wade Stadium. The sky is falling for some folks around the BBN, but not inside the Kentucky locker room.

“We gotta come back and work. At the end of the day, the world’s not over. The world’s not falling, it’s not over or anything like that,” said wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. “We still have a chance to do some things that haven’t been done around here in a long time. We just have to come back to work in practice and come out with a different mentality.”

While a return to the Music City Bowl may feel more likely now than a New Year’s Six game, the Wildcats can still effectively put the train back on the tracks. A win over Tennessee Saturday night in Lexington can restore Big Blue dreams and help folks forget the nightmare in Starkville.

Kentucky’s Running Concern

There are not too many things in common between the Wildcats’ two losses. After all, Kentucky could not muster an offensive touchdown against Mississippi State, even though two weeks ago they scored the third and fourth touchdowns Georgia’s defense had allowed all season. Kentucky’s only consistent problem was previously its greatest strength.

“Really, we just have to get our run game going,” said Robinson. “It’s something that we have to start up front, then it comes out to us at the receiver spots and being able to make plays on the outside.”

Chris Rodriguez entered the two-game losing streak with the most rushing yards in the SEC. He has 41 yards on 15 carries over the last two games. Rodriguez was one yard shy of five 100-yard rushing games in his first six outings. Kentucky recorded 117 total rushing yards in the two losses. For the offense to get back on track, Liam Coen must help UK rediscover its rushing attack against Tennessee.

Return to Physical Football

There were many reasons to be frustrated with Kentucky’s second loss of the season. Pick your poison. For Mark Stoops, nothing was more agonizing than how the Wildcats were physically dominated. The foundation of Stoops’ Kentucky football program is built on a physical, blue collar approach. Mississippi State fought UK’s fire with fire.

“We have to address it,” said UK’s head coach. “We just did. It’s not a good feeling and I don’t want to have a football team like this and I don’t think these guys want to play that way. That’s not who we’re going to be. That’s not going to be our identity. We’ll get back to work, get it fixed and make sure we get the right guys out on the field that want to continue to play like we play.”

The wear and tear of the season is taking a toll on Kentucky. Even so, ten regular season wins are still on the table, something not accomplished in Lexington in decades. A big New Year’s bowl is possible if Kentucky can regroup and return to form next Saturday against Tennessee.

“We gotta take a step back and look at ourselves,” said linebacker Jacquez Jones. “Like Coach Stoops said, look at ourselves in the mirror and say what can we do to get better and make sure that’s our last game losing.”