A Decade of Mark Stoops: Top 10 Plays
In 2022 Mark Stoops will step on the sideline for his tenth season as the Wildcats’ head football coach. Before he surpasses Bear Bryant with more wins than any other Kentucky head coach, this summer KSR will reflect on the transformative decade under Stoops’ watch. Previous: 10 Most Influential People
Plenty of highlights have been produced over the last 59 Kentucky football wins. Whittling it down to just ten top plays is difficult. That’s why we’ve also added an honorable mention to scratch your nostalgic itch. After all, it’s our post. We make the rules. Without further adieu, enjoy the Top 10 Plays from Mark Stoops’ first nine football seasons, often accompanied by giggles from a giddy Jeff Piecoro.
10. 2016: Stephen Johnson Loves this Shit
Kentucky entered Cardinal Stadium as 27.5-point underdogs, searching for a win over Louisville for the first time in six years. On the opening drive future Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson drove the Cards 84 yards down the field in only five plays. While optimism faded around the BBN, Stephen Johnson was not only unfazed, he loved this shit. Kentucky scored a 75-yard touchdown on its first play from scrimmage, setting the tone for an improbable 41-38 win, the Wildcats’ first against Bobby Petrino at UofL.
9. 2018: Benny Snell’s Record-Breaking Run
Throughout his historic three-year career in Lexington, Benny Snell had a number of memorable runs. None stick out more than one of his of final carries, an untouched 12-yard touchdown run through the Penn State defense. It snapped Sonny Collins’ 43-year-old record, making Snell the school’s leading rusher, and propelled UK to a Citrus Bowl win, capping off the first 10-win season since 1977.
8. 2018: CJ Conrad’s Walk-Off Win at Missouri
Kentucky needed a win at Missouri to set up a showdown with Georgia for the SEC East title. The offense failed to deliver for almost the entire game. Almost. After the defense refused to give up one single first down in the second half, Lynn Bowden gave the Cats new life by returning a punt for a touchdown with five minutes to play, cutting the deficit to 14-9.
The offense got one final chance for redemption. A great play by David Bouvier, then Bowden and a pass interference drawn by Ahmad Wagner gave the Wildcats one final untimed down. CJ Conrad asked for the ball, then delivered a dagger to cap off an 81-yard, game-winning scoring drive. The only thing better than the catch? Mark Stoops’ postgame celebration.
7. 2020: ANOTHER PICK SIX!
Kentucky had not won at Neyland Stadium in 36 years. “Don’t fool yourself for one second,” John Schlarman told the team ahead of the game. “These mother f***ers don’t respect you. They don’t respect your ass. You gotta take it from them.”
The Kentucky defense did just that, recording pick sixes on back-to-back possessions. You can hear the boo-birds in the stands as Jamin Davis ran 85 yards down the field into the end zone.
6. 2014: Mike Douglas Tips a Pick Six to Bud Dupree
Trailing by 14 with just under 12 minutes to play, Jojo Kemp put the team on his back. Running out of the Wildcat formation, he carried the Cats down the field until he had to be carried off the field. Two Kemp touchdowns tied the game with less than three minutes remaining. Then the defense rose to the occasion. Mike Douglas tipped a Mike Davis pass into the air, Bud Dupree corralled the ball and ran into the end zone to cap off an unbelievable 45-38 comeback victory.
5. 2019: Bowden to Ali to Win the Belk Bowl
The legend of Lynn Bowden was already a tall tale. It entered a new stratosphere with his final performance. After Virginia Tech was lippy in the lead up, Bowden punched a couple Hokies in the face during pregame warm-ups (ultimately leading to an NCAA rule change that requires players to have numbers on their warm-up t-shirts), then ruined the Bud Foster retirement party.
Bowden carried the ball 34 times for 234 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He saved his best for last. The methodical Cats marched 81 yards down the field over the final eight minutes — including an impressive fourth down throw to Josh Ali — teeing up a legendary moment. Only 13 yards away from the end zone with 15 ticks left on the clock, Bowden emerged from the sideline huddle and immediately changed the play, calling for Ali to run a post instead of a fade. It worked to perfection. Bowden put it on the money, ending his Kentucky career with a game-winning touchdown pass.
“Y’all said I couldn’t throw.”
4. 2021: Blocked Kick Six
Of all the doors Mark Stoops has knocked down throughout his tenure, what some would argue is the easiest took the longest: Winning the sold out home game. There were plenty of opportunities for big wins at a sold out Kroger Field, but the BBN left disappointed far too often. That long build up over eight+ seasons was released with the loudest crowd pop this reporter has ever witnessed.
On the verge of following behind by six, Josh Paschal made one miraculous momentum swing against the tenth-ranked Florida Gators. He blocked the Florida field goal and high school sprint champion Trevin Wallace out-ran every opponent into the end zone. Kentucky won 20-13, marking the beginning of the end for Dan Mullen, and set the table for a 6-0 start and an appearance on College GameDay at Georgia.
3. 2018: Josh Allen Denies Florida’s Two-Point Attempt
Josh Allen set the school record for sacks, but the 31.5 career quarterback takedowns pale in comparison to the impact of one pass break-up in Gainesville. Clinging to an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Gators converted one third and fourth down after another to march 99 yards down the field to score a touchdown with 3:43 remaining. Needing a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game, Josh Allen put on his superhero cape.
Watch No. 41 at the bottom of your screen. The play-action moved the entire UK defense to the right side of the field. Allen found the throwback target sprinting to the left corner of the end zone. Using out of this world athleticism, he caught up to the ball just in time to tip it out of bounds. There were a number of incredible plays in Kentucky’s streak-snapping win, but none were more unbelievable than this incredible feat by College Football’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Even though Paschal’s field goal block is a more miraculous play, I had to give Allen’s the head nod, purely because of the significance of that first win and how Allen’s play solidified the shocking victory.
2. 2019: Bowden Unleashes Hell on UofL
Lynn Bowden deserves his own top plays post. None truly represent his jaw-dropping 2019 campaign more than what happened on the first drive of the second half of his Kroger Field finale.
Entering halftime the Cats were struggling against the Cards in the rain, leading only 17-13 at the break. I specifically remember asking Tom Leach in the pressbox during intermission, “Is it time to switch quarterbacks?” Doubting Lynn Bowden was foolish. Two plays later he cut through the Louisville defense, carving up every single Cardinal to sprint 60 yards into the end zone. He finished with a career-high 284 yards, four rushing touchdowns and Kentucky set a school record with 517 yards on the ground in a soul-crushing 45-13 Governor’s Cup win.
Picking just one awesome Bowden play was difficult. His long touchdown run against Virginia Tech, the touchdown reception vs. Florida, the punt returns vs. Mizzou and Penn State, Bowden did everything.
1. 2021: Wan’Dale Robinson’s Record-Breaking Citrus Bowl
Is it recency bias to rank the third-most recent Kentucky football play No. 1? Maybe. However, when considering the improbability of the moment, few plays can rank higher. Like his predecessor, Lynn Bowden, everybody knew the ball was going to Wan’Dale Robinson on the final drive of the Citrus Bowl. It did not matter. He gained 79 of Kentucky’s final 80 yards.
After the Iowa defense suffocated Kentucky for most of the second half, the Hawkeyes delivered one big shot after another to Robinson, until they could not tackle him. Wan’Dale made Iowa trash-talker Riley Moss miss, then sprinted 52 yards down the sideline to the one-yard line. The play broke Kentucky’s single-season receiving yards record and set up the game-winning score with lass than two minutes on the clock. The still images of the turf flying through the air following his cuts are almost more impressive than video of the highlight.
Honorable Mentions
There are many more than 10 great plays from the Stoops era. Creating a pecking order for the Top 10 was difficult enough. Instead of ranking a Top 25, let’s use this time to revisit other incredible plays in no particular order.
2013: It’s a Fake!
Joe Mansour produced the most memorable moment from Mark Stoops’ first season. The fake field goal tied the game, then the Gators won 24-7.
2015: Boom Williams Opens Kroger Field with a Bang
After a clock malfunction, the first play in the renovated stadium was an untouched 75-yard touchdown.
Another Boom Williams touchdown, to open overtime at Florida, would have made the top ten if the refs did not cheat to help the Gators win. “BOOM goes the dynamite,” is an all-time call from Uncle Brent.
2016: Austin MacGinnis Game-Winners
His two game-winning kicks changed the trajectory of Mark Stoops’ Kentucky tenure.
The crowd roar at Cardinal Stadium is incredible.
2015: Denzil Ware Scoop and Score
Instead of tying the game with a two-point conversion, Denzil Ware’s scoop and score made it a four-point game to snap a 22-game road losing streak.
2014: Javess Blue only needs One Hand
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more impressive touchdown catch at Kroger Field
2017: Stephen Johnson Leaps to Victory
Hobbled by injuries, the quarterback put his body on the line to give Stoops his first win over Tennessee.
2021: Will Levis Truck Stick
Chris Rodriguez envies Levis’ ability to hurdle opponents, but the QB’s C-Rod impression against the SEC’s leading tackler was more jaw-dropping.
2016: Chris Westry SLAMS Hayden Hurst
South Carolina’s future NFL tight end thought he could hurdle the 6’4″ UK cornerback. It was a mistake.
2014: AJ Stamps One-Handed Pick
The JUCO safety produced one of the first jaw-dropping highlights of the Mark Stoops era.
2018: Mike Edwards on Senior Day
The Badger produced turnovers on back-to-back drives, including a pick six on the opening series, in his final game at Kroger Field.
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