Mark Stoops, Kentucky are ready to strap it up

The college football offseason is very long. After surviving the dog days of summer, Week 1 officially kicked off on Thursday evening. Over at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility, Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football team are chomping at the bit to finally play a game.

The 10th-year head coach is very much sick of the talking season.

“Alright, not much of an opening statement. I’m kind of tired of talking,” Stoops told reporters on Thursday. “Let’s get on with the game. You know my normal spiel on Thursday. I don’t really have to dictate that, do I? Time to go play.”

It certainly is. The time for hype is over as Kentucky enters the season inside the preseason AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 1978. Will Levis is a legitimate NFL Draft prospect, but that will have to wait until the season is over. Now it’s time to go play a game.

During game prep for Miami (Ohio), Stoops and his program are currently putting on the finishing touches before the team hits the turf at Kroger Field on Saturday night in front of a jam-packed crowd.

“No surprises. Just trying to button some things up and make sure we cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s and get ready to go play,” Stoops said about his team’s prep. “As you can understand, it gets to be a long time at this point without playing a game. We’re all kind of anxious.”

The wait will officially be over in a few days.

Youngstown State game will be a family reunion

Mark Stoops enters the season just two wins away from breaking Bear Bryant’s all-time wins record (60) at Kentucky. The former Arizona and Florida State defensive coordinator can tie the mark on Saturday and break the record when Kentucky goes to The Swamp next weekend.

In Week 3, there could be a celebration from the previous week or one after the game as long as the Wildcats take care of business. There will be many folks from Youngstown making the trip south to Lexington. Mark’s mother and older brother, Bob, will all be in town for Kentucky’s Sept. 19 home game, according to the head football coach.

“They’re going to come back for the Youngstown happy reunion with half of Youngstown,” said Stoops.

That should be a fun weekend in the Bluegrass.