KSR Today: Mark Stoops didn't hear no bell

The leaders of both programs were undoubtedly coaching for their jobs on the sidelines at Jordan-Hare Stadium late Saturday night, Kentucky and Auburn both monitoring their situations closely under Mark Stoops and Hugh Freeze, respectively.

For the former, it was about picking up not only the first SEC win of the season, but also ending a 10-game losing streak in conference play. The Wildcats will have to end their 11-game losing streak at Kroger Field against Power Four competition another day, but this one was just about getting back in the win column if there was any chance of salvaging the relationship. For the latter, it was about positioning to avoid a third straight losing season under Freeze’s leadership and a fifth outright as a program.

The result? Loud and proud “Fire Hugh!” chants at the final buzzer as a teary-eyed Stoops got choked up talking about the importance of the 10-3 win that should allow him to fight for at least another week in the blue and white.

“Just a team effort,” Stoops told SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang. “So happy, so proud. We have been getting better. We have been up and down, like a lot of people. It is tough. I am just grateful for this team and these players. They hung in there, they believe, they don’t flinch. I love them. … It means an awful lot. It’s one victory, but we’ve been through a lot, and it has been a long time, let’s be honest. So it means a lot. It’s emotional.

“You are trying to get me to cry.”

It wasn’t the prettiest display of football the sport has ever seen with 13 combined points and more punt yards (269) for Kentucky than offensive yards (240), but have we ever talked about Stoops coaching pretty football? For this week maybe more than ever in his career, it was about doing whatever it took to leave the Plains with more points than the competition — he would have taken a 2-0 win on a safety, if I had to guess.

He knows the noise is out there regarding job security with his seat essentially on fire at this point, listed at No. 1 in the Hot Seat Rankings by On3’s Andy & Ari going into the weekend. That wasn’t the focus for him personally, though, Stoops crossing that bridge when he gets there and taking things week by week. Instead, he was just happy for his players, who finally got to see their work turn into results against SEC competition. They’ve had their hearts broken too many times this season, so for them to finally experience joy, especially when it would have been easy to give up? That meant a lot to the 13-year coach.

“Our players deserve it. I’m proud of them,” Stoops said at the podium. “I thank them for their effort, along with the coaches. No, it’s fair to say, it’s been a tough year. … Our players never flinch. They never submit to any outside noise or pressure; they just stay the course.”

Stoops lives to see another day at Kentucky while Hugh Freeze is probably packing up his office as we speak after losing the Hot Seat Bowl. What does it mean long-term in Lexington? Probably not a whole lot — we could be having the same conversation next Sunday if things go poorly at Kroger Field against the coachless Florida Gators at 3-5. Win that one, and the Wildcats are just two victories away from bowl eligibility (with a home matchup still to come vs. Tennessee Tech). It’s not likely, but a 7-5 finish is still on the table with an eighth win sitting there for the taking in the postseason.

Definitely a different tune this week than last. The ball is in Stoops’ court to decide his future.

Stoops, White, Hamdan and players recap the win

We know how Stoops felt after the win, but how about Brad White putting together a bounce-back masterpiece after a disaster last week against Tennessee? What did Bush Hamdan think about an up-and-down day for the offense — doing just enough to pull off the victory? Cutter Boley, Cam Miller and Sam Greene made appearances at the podium, too.

KSR’s Rapid Reaction from Jordan-Hare Stadium

Vibes are much, much better with the KSR crew now than they were last week. With Nick Roush out for a wedding, Steven Peake stepped in next to Adam Luckett on the Plains to talk about sending Tiger fans home sad and angry while crediting Stoops and the Wildcats for their resiliency when the college football world already counted them out.

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No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 2 Texas in VB

It’s not all about football this weekend — a must-see volleyball battle is taking place this afternoon, too. Just days after No. 3 Kentucky (17-2, 10-0) swept Vanderbilt to take sole possession of first place in the SEC, Craig Skinner’s Wildcats head down to Austin to take on No. 2 Texas (18-1, 10-1), live at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Longhorns are coming off an upset loss at Texas A&M, allowing the Cats to sneak in atop the conference standings and control their destiny the rest of the way. With a win, that’ll hold, just as it will every match moving forward. With a loss, it will be a three-way tie between Texas, Kentucky and Texas A&M at No. 1.

UT leads the nation in kills per set (14.96) and assists per set (13.93) while ranking second in the country in hitting percentage (.311). Defense makes the difference for UK, leading the SEC in digs per set (14.90) while also bringing in a superstar duo in Brooklyn DeLeye and Eva Hudson.

KSR will have plenty of coverage this afternoon. Make sure you’re watching yourself on ESPN.

Tyran Stokes is down to three schools

Oh, how about a final three from the No. 1 recruit in the country? That got lost in the shuffle of the Auburn madness late Saturday evening, as Tyran Stokes is down to a trio of finalists with Kentucky remaining firmly in the mix. Mark Pope and the Wildcats join Kansas and Oregon ahead of his commitment. He cut USC and Louisville — despite being a native of the 502.

The 6’7″, 225-pound wing has taken official visits to all three schools with Kentucky trending as the favorite, according to most experts.

Can Pope close on his biggest fish yet?