Several things didn’t go Kentucky’s way vs. Auburn; Stoops eyes what did
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Game day: Kentucky at Auburn
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Auburn football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.
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Mark Stoops did not seem as distraught about Kentucky’s 29-13 loss Saturday at Auburn as he has about some losses in the past.
There was some frustration with the officials, who appeared to blow a call, even after video review, that probably should have resulted in a UK touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half. Instead, the Cats were marked short of the goal line and quarterback Terry Wilson threw an interception two plays later.
“I didn’t really get good explanations all day,” Stoops said of that call, among others. “Us wearing these masks and all that, I don’t know. But that was a big swing.”
There was frustration about turnovers — the Cats officially finished with three to Auburn’s zero, but had two more if you count giving the ball away on failed fourth-down tries — and the 22 points that those cough-ups and non-conversions generated for the Tigers.
“We made too many mistakes to beat a quality opponent like Auburn on the road,” Stoops said.
There was frustration with himself, particularly on the second failed fourth-down attempt, a rush by punter Max Duffy in UK territory that should not have happened and ultimately resulted in Auburn’s final touchdown.
“That was a situation where it was a read, and that’s not on Max,” Stoops said. “That’s on me. That’s on us.”
Stoops was not fuming, though. He channeled whatever rage that lay beneath the surface into positivity.
He pointed to his team’s physicality as a strength, and it was: the Cats’ defensive line stifled Auburn on short-yardage rushes multiple times throughout the contest, and the offensive line helped them sustain several long drives. Kentucky won the time of possession handily — 36:29 to 23:31 — but out of six trips into Auburn territory only came away with 13 total points.
Stoops felt the offense showed promise and that Wilson, playing in an actual football game for the first time in more than a year, will be able to build on what he demonstrated Saturday. He finished 24 of 37 for 239 yards, his fourth-highest passing total on his highest number of pass attempts as a Wildcat.
Many of those throws were short, which was by design, especially early as he was getting a feel for what Auburn was looking to do.
“The game plan was to just get the ball out of my hands quick and get the ball to the receivers so they can make some plays,” Wilson said.
Seven different players caught at least one pass for Kentucky, and early indicator that the balance promised throughout the preseason will be realized. Josh Ali led the way with 98 yards on nine receptions, but sophomore Akeem Hayes, who had played snaps in only nine games before Saturday, had the Cats’ lone TD reception (his first at UK) and was one of six players to haul in multiple balls from Wilson.
Kentucky’s run game, its only hallmark on offense last year, proved powerful still without Lynn Bowden in the backfield. The Cats (145 yards) outgained Auburn (91) and were led by sophomore Kavosiey Smoke, who totaled 62 yards on seven carries and scored their first touchdown of the season to put them ahead for a few minutes early on Saturday.
Overall, it was a game played the way Kentucky wanted to play it. A few things didn’t go the Cats’ way, and they proved pivotal.
“You can play 95 percent of the game right and if you play 5 percent of it wrong in certain critical areas, you’re not gonna win,” Stoops said. “I thought we played a big portion of this game very good, very physical, did some things we wanted to do. There’s a lot of good things to take away and there’s mistakes.”
Next game
Ole Miss at Kentucky
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Kroger Field (limited spectators)
TV: SEC Network
Records: Ole Miss 0-1, Kentucky 0-1
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Series: Ole Miss leads 28-14-1
Last meeting: Ole Miss won 37-34 on Nov. 4, 2017, in Lexington.
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 5:35 PM.
