Stoops calls on fans to fill Commonwealth Stadium for Georgia game

Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops called it “very important for us to see the stadium filled” when the Cats take on Georgia at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday.

“Our players would love to see that happen,” he said.

UK fans are going to have to do their part, with just 52,950 tickets out for that game as of Monday morning, according to a UK spokesman.

“Our fan base, there’s been a lot of loyal fans to us,” Stoops said of the need for a loud crowd Saturday. “We just need more. We need more people in there to fill it up. I’d love to see it filled.”

Kentucky has won five of its last six games, including three straight over Southeastern Conference opponents.

The Cats are in second place in the SEC East and are facing a reeling Georgia team that has lost four of its last five games. A win over UGA would clinch at least second place in the East.

With winless Austin Peay on the schedule still, the Cats (5-3, 4-2 SEC) all but locked up bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010 by beating Missouri on Saturday.

Fans at the game could witness history. If Kentucky were to top Georgia, it would give the Cats a fifth SEC win for the first time since 1977. UK has gotten five or more wins over league foes just four times (1977, 1976, 1954 and 1950).

It would be the Cats’ first win over the Bulldogs since Rich Brooks helped UK to a win in Athens in 2009, and it would be UK’s first victory over the Bulldogs at Commonwealth Stadium in 10 years.

Kentucky’s highest attended game at Commonwealth Stadium this season was the opener against Southern Miss, an announced 57,230. The next highest was against Vanderbilt at 55,030.

Kentucky announced above-capacity (61,000) games five times last season: against Louisiana-Lafayette, Florida, Eastern Kentucky, Auburn and Louisville. None have come close this season.

“Again, I make no bones about it, when we see it filled, I expect our team to play at a high level to make those fans proud,” Stoops said. “Believe me, we’re going to go to work today and have a great week of preparation and put ourselves in position to win this game. It’ll be very important for us to play well.”

The school is doing its part to get more fans in the stands, offering an $85 mini-pack of tickets to both Georgia and Austin Peay, with lower stadium tickets still available.

Fans who purchase the mini-pack will have priority renewal for those seats in 2017 if they opt to buy season tickets. More details on that special are available at UKFootballTix.com.

A group of fans greeted the Kentucky plane at the airport on Saturday after the Cats’ win at Missouri.

Stoops said the reception was great for the players and the program.

“You want to deliver for those fans that have been starving for a long time to have a successful football program,” he said. “And believe me, we work every day around the clock to do that for them.”

Two Cats honored again

It had been nine years since Kentucky had two players honored by the league office when Benny Snell and Austin MacGinnis were honored last week for their Mississippi State heroics.

The wait lasted one week this time, with Snell repeating as SEC Freshman of the Week and Adrian Middleton earning league defensive lineman of the week on Monday.

Snell was honored for his career game against Missouri. He rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries and set a school record for rushing yards by a freshman in a single game, topping the 186 yards by Derick Logan in 1996.

His eighth score of the season also eclipsed Randall Cobb’s UK record for rushing touchdowns by a freshman.

Middleton, a sophomore from Bowling Green, had four tackles, including a tackle for loss. He has 19 tackles, including two for a loss, in eight games this season. He has started the past seven games.

News and notes

The start time for Kentucky’s game Nov. 12 at Tennessee will not be announced until Saturday, the league said. It is part of the SEC’s six-day selection process so kickoff times won’t be known until after the games on Saturday. The times available are noon, 3:30, 7 or 7:30 p.m.

▪  The only change on this week’s depth chart was junior-college transfer Naquez Pringle moving ahead of Matt Elam at nose guard. “He played extremely well in this past game,” Stoops said of Pringle. “He played extremely well. He was very physical, very disruptive. Doesn’t always pop up on the stat chart, but he commanded two guys to block him quite a bit and was very strong at the point of attack.”

•  Stoops offered a little clarity on the running back position, noting Sihiem King was going to play against Missouri and “had a few things not happened down the stretch, he would’ve been in there. Really wish we could’ve got him in there. That was the plan.”

Also, senior Jojo Kemp will wear a cast on his left hand again this week, but he could play. This week it likely will be with less pain than he had against Missouri, Stoops said.

This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Stoops calls on fans to fill Commonwealth Stadium for Georgia game."