KSR Today: Mark Stoops sticking with Kentucky following 5th straight Governor's Cup win

Good morning, folks! Does anyone have any idea what the hell just happened? Let’s try to break it down spark notes style…

On Saturday morning, hours ahead of Kentucky’s rivalry showdown against No. 10 Louisville, head coach Mark Stoops’ name was tossed into the mix as a potential candidate for the vacant head coaching job at Texas A&M. Stoops was previously an assistant under former head coach Jimbo Fisher when the two were at Florida State over a decade ago, so there was a slight connection.

Hours later, Kentucky pulled off the upset of its season, beating the Cardinals 38-31 to secure the program’s first road win over an AP Top 10 opponent since 1977 (I promise we’ll talk about that game more in just a moment). Stoops was then asked about the Texas A&M job in the postgame press conference, but sidestepped the question with typical coach speak about focusing on his team. Over the next several hours, the Big Blue Nation would bask in the school’s fifth straight gridiron win over Louisville only to get hit with a freight train to close out the night.

Around 10:00 p.m. EST, word began to leak out from the Texas A&M side that Stoops was closing in on taking the job with the Aggies, “barring a last-minute collapse”. More Texas A&M sites would begin to report the same thing before the national media stepped in with similar reports. For a couple of hours, the move felt inevitable — until KSR’s Matt Jones stepped in just after midnight to reveal that Stoops would not leave Lexington, instead sticking with Kentucky.

More rumors have been swirling like wildfire ever since. Did Stoops actually accept the job and the offer was later rescinded? Did the Texas A&M fans bemoaning the potential move on message boards play a role? Did the Aggies brass offer an even bigger contract than the one Stoops currently has at UK?

In reality, we’ll likely never know the full, juicy details. That’s probably for the best. But man… What a wild ride Saturday was. Not long after Jones’ report, Stoops came out and informed the BBN he wasn’t going anywhere. Jones also reported on Sunday morning that UK did not give a raise or extension for Stoops to stay.

“I know there’s been much speculation about me and my job situation the last couple of days,” Stoops wrote on social media. “It’s true I was contacted about a potential opportunity this weekend, but after celebrating a big win against our rivals with players I love like family, I knew in my heart I couldn’t leave the University of Kentucky right now. I have a great job at a place I love, and I get to work with the best administration and greatest fan base in college football right where I’m at. I’m excited to say I’m a Wildcat!”

I know there’s been much speculation about me and my job situation the last couple of days. It’s true I was contacted about a potential opportunity this weekend, but after celebrating a big win against our rivals with players I love like family, I knew in my heart I couldn’t…

— Mark Stoops (@UKCoachStoops) November 26, 2023

Kentucky wins Battle of the Bluegrass

Now how about the actual game? You know, the one that essentially saved Kentucky’s season and injected the fanbase with some much-needed energy going into the postseason and offseason.

Coming into the game, Kentucky was the clear underdog. Louisville was 10-1 with a No. 10 ranking and a possibility (albeit a small one) of making it to the College Football Playoff. Cardinal fans packed L&N Stadium, even setting a record for the most-attended game in stadium history at just over 59,000. A win would put them at 11-1 going into the ACC Championship game in Jeff Brohm’s first season as head coach.

But then Kentucky proved why playing in the ACC isn’t the same as playing in the talent-loaded SEC. UK trailed by 10 points at multiple points in the third quarter but always found a way to respond to what could have been gut punches from Louisville. After the Cardinals went up 17-7 midway through the third, Barion Brown immediately ran back a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown. Oddly enough, former Kentucky quarterback turned UL tight end Joey Gatewood would respond for the Cards with an 11-yard touchdown catch less than three minutes later. But again, Kentucky had an answer. Devin Leary placed a perfect ball to Ray Davis for a 20-yard pass that again trimmed the lead to three.

Then, Louisville forgot how to hold onto the football (sound familiar?). Fumbles on back-to-back possessions for the Cardinals resulted in 10 straight points for Kentucky as they took a 31-24 lead with under nine minutes left in the game. Chaos continued to ensure from there. Louisville would turn the ball over on downs, Leary would throw an interception to give the ball right back, and Louisville immediately scored to tie the game again, but Davis countered with the biggest play of them all: a 37-yard run for a touchdown (his 20th of the season, breaking a single-season UK record) that sealed the win and UK’s fifth straight Governor’s Cup victory. JJ Weaver was named the MVP, mainly for recovering both of the key fumbles, one of which he forced.

The highlights hit differently now knowing everything that’s happened since the clock expired. Never take a good head coach for granted. A postseason bowl game now awaits the Wildcats. Check out more postgame video content below and enjoy this win for a little bit longer.

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

Mark Stoops’ postgame press conference

Kentucky celebrates the win

Kentucky volleyball wins 7th straight SEC title

How about a seven-peat for Craig Skinner’s program? With a 3-0 sweep of No. 20 Florida on Saturday, No. 10 Kentucky volleyball locked up its seventh consecutive SEC championship. After a slow start to the regular season while facing a tough schedule, the Wildcats bounced back once conference play began. Kentucky finished the year with a 19-7 overall record and a 16-1 mark in league play, including all 16 wins in a row.

Now, Kentucky will await to learn of its NCAA Tournament seeding as the 2023 NCAA Volleyball Selection Show will be held this evening at 6:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

WBB loses all 3 games at Paradise Jam

It was an ugly, no-good stretch of hoops for Kentucky women’s basketball. Playing down in the U.S. Virgin Islands at the Paradise Jam (a three games in three days event that also included No. 3 Colorado, No. 10 NC State, and Cincinnati), the Wildcats lost all three contests by a combined total of 82 points. The worst of them all came against unranked Cincinnati, as Kentucky only managed 41 points during Saturday’s finale in a 24-point loss to the now 3-3 Bearcats.

With the loss, Kyra Elzy’s group drops to 2-5 on the season. It doesn’t get any easier either with a matchup against Boston College this week in the inaugural SEC/ACC Challenge. The vibes are certainly not strong over at the women’s basketball facilities.