‘That’s on me.’ Mark Stoops explains UK’s late fake punt gone wrong.
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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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A failed run on a fake punt attempt by Max Duffy didn’t cost Kentucky its season opener, but it helped put a win much further in doubt on Saturday.
Duffy, the reigning Ray Guy Award winner, lost 3 yards on a fourth-and-5 rush, setting Auburn up at Kentucky’s 27. The Tigers rushed for a 6-yard gain before quarterback Bo Nix tossed a 21-yard touchdown to Eli Stove to extend their lead to 29-13 with a little more than eight minutes to play in the game. That was the final score of the game.
Thanks to his kicking style, Duffy typically has room to take off, and has something of a green light to do so after securing a first down on his only attempt last season. At Auburn, though, the decision effectively resulted in the Cats’ second turnover in a five-minute span and made their ability to rally much more difficult (quarterback Terry Wilson fumbled in UK territory on the its previous series, enabling Auburn to extend its lead to 22-13).
Head coach Mark Stoops pinned the blame on himself for Duffy’s decision to run in that moment.
“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. We had it on, when we were down two (points) a possession before, but we turned it over and we fumbled. Then we went back down, and being down nine, that’s not when you call that.
“I don’t put that on Max. I’ve gotta communicate, take that off with my special teams coach prior to Max going out there, taking that read off of him. That’s on us. That’s on me.”
Kentucky in the offseason did not hire a special teams coordinator following the departure of Dean Hood, who is now the head coach at Murray State University. It was unclear who made special teams calls on Saturday, but quality control assistant Louie Matsakis has focused on special teams in his four years on Stoops’ staff.
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 4:27 PM.
