Stakes are High for Final Two Kentucky Football Games

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Alabama, defensive lineman Deone Walker said this Kentucky team is still writing its legacy. Instead of making this matchup a marquee victory for the program, the Tide rolled to a 28-point victory.

So what will this Kentucky football’s team legacy be? It all comes down to the final two games of the season.

Following the devastating loss, super senior Kenneth Horsey was the last player on the field. Ray Davis stuck around to comfort him by reminding him these Cats still have three more games to play.

“The season ain’t over. We still got South Carolina, we still got Ls Down, Louisville, and then we got the bowl game. Yes, it’s the last one at Kroger, but it’s not the last football we’ll play together. Just tried to remind him that and preach that to the team. It’s not over. A lot of teams would love to be in the position we are in.”

Davis added, “We gotta be able to keep our spirits up and know there’s a lot more football left.”

No one will feel sorry for this Kentucky team

After losses a cliched refrain is to discuss how the team will shake off the loss and bounce back the following week. We did not hear “you can’t turn one into two,” but there was a similar sentiment coming from the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.

“We’ve got a lot to play for… but if there’s a silver lining, it’s the fact that you don’t have to sit on this one all offseason,” said Brad White. “We’ve been lucky enough and afforded to have three more opportunities and it starts next week.”

Devin Leary added, “For us it’s about putting it all together, making sure we’re doing it for four quarters and then, honestly just playing complementary to our defense too.”

The bottom line is that none of that talk matters. Through ten games this has been a disappointing Kentucky football season. They’re running out of runway to change that narrative.

The Wildcats have now dropped four out of the last five games. Following the first loss Mark Stoops said he would not allow his team to not respond against Missouri. Before preseason practices even began he made “responding to adversity” his primary prerogative. Their mettle has been tested and they’ve failed to answer the call.

“We have to show the resolve, we have to show the toughness and come back, because it’s not easy. This schedule is not easy and the SEC is not easy,” Stoops said Saturday afternoon. “But as I tell the team, there is not a soul gonna feel sorry for you. You have to buckle it up, get back to work, get some rest, and we have to have a great Monday practice.”

How we think about this team will be defined in the final two games of the season, road trips to South Carolina and Louisville. It could be a 6-6 catastrophe, or the Cats can knock off a top 15 Louisville team and post an 8-4 regular season record, the third-best mark of the Stoops era. We could be sharing a success story or spend another long offseason in a disappointing doldrum.