What's the Identity of this Kentucky Team? It's about to be put to the test

The Kentucky football program is stuck in a rut. Losses are adding up, and the games aren’t particularly close either. Yet there are still seven games left on the schedule. That’s a lot of football.

If I were to ask a fan on the street to describe this Kentucky football team, they would probably use one word: “bad.” The numbers certainly suggest that’s the case, but Mark Stoops is leading this program. He must remain optimistic. What would he say is the identity of this program?

“The biggest thing for us, what I love about them, is they do have a very much of a steady mindset. They’re working very hard every day. I think it’s a hard-working group. You know what we want our football teams to look like, what I want them to look like each and every year,” said Stoops.

“I feel like this team is very much united and working extremely hard and very much passionate about getting better each and every day. If we stay that way, we’ll see the results eventually.”

Will Kentucky Unravel?

It’s been 366 days since Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt. After the 20-13 loss, the Cats let go of the rope. They were blown out at Florida. Auburn ran for a thousand yards at Kroger Field. Kentucky was frisky for a moment at Tennessee, but that game eventually got out of hand late. The Cats didn’t get embarrassed at Texas, but no one would characterize that as a “close game.” Jamarion Wilcox handed a ball to the Louisville defense in the first quarter, then the Cards were off to the races.

The Kentucky coaches made it clear in the preseason that they had to coach this group to overcome adversity. It was Brad White’s primary talking point at Kentucky football media day. During last week’s call-in show, the defensive coordinator emphasized coaching confidence numerous times.

So far, it hasn’t really worked.

Against Ole Miss, Kentucky had a chance to tie it in the fourth quarter. That’s the only time they’ve been in a close game against a Power Conference foe in the second half. The Cats got their doors blown off in Columbia. The second half between the hedges looked more like a JV game, with tons of reserves for each team receiving significant snaps.

Stoops says this is a hard-working team. According to the Kentucky head coach, the process is correct. The issue is that results haven’t changed. We’ll find out just how united this team is in the coming weeks.