Stoops stands by A.J. Rose after early celebration. But … ‘That’s not acceptable.’

After immediately falling behind by a touchdown in a 42-41 loss to Mississippi in Saturday’s home opener, it appeared that Kentucky would strike back even more quickly.

The Rebels took just 2 minutes and 22 seconds to get their first score of the game.

Then the Wildcats got their turn, and A.J. Rose took off.

Kentucky’s veteran running back took a handoff from Terry Wilson — on the Cats’ very first offensive play of the game — made his way around the left side of the UK offensive line and burst into the open field. He broke a couple of tackle attempts that had no chance of bringing him down around midfield, then — seemingly on his way to the end zone virtually untouched — started the celebration.

Oops.

Around the Ole Miss 30-yard line, Rose tilted back toward the middle of the field, glanced over his right shoulder and stuck up two fingers as he zoomed toward six points. If he’d looked the other way, he might have been more careful.

Over his left shoulder, Ole Miss defensive back Jakorey Hawkins was going all out to catch Rose, who appeared to gear down just a smidge with a touchdown clearly in his sights. As Rose neared the Ole Miss 10, he started pointing at the UK fans in the bleachers behind the end zone. Right as he pointed, Hawkins lunged and hauled Rose down from behind. Instead of six points and a kick to tie it, the ball was spotted at the Ole Miss 3. Two plays later, while Rose was fighting to get into the end zone, the ball popped out of his hands. The Rebels recovered. And what looked like a dynamic start for the Kentucky offense ended in nightmarish fashion.

UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran intercepted Rose as he came off the field, giving the senior running back an extended talking-to before he even hit the sideline. As the replay officials looked at the play — to determine whether it was actually a fumble — Rose crouched about six feet away from the referee, hoping it would be overturned. The call stood. Ole Miss ball.

“We’ve been a very unselfish football team through the years, and that’s a mistake that’s — it can’t happen,” said UK Coach Mark Stoops. “A.J. means well. He’s a great young man. I’m not going to give up on him for one mistake. We will certainly point that out and show him, and he understands that — that that’s not acceptable. It’s not how we’ve done things. It’s not how we’re going to do it.”

Sophomore running back Kavosiey Smoke was in the UK backfield for the Cats’ next possession — and he helped lead them to a touchdown and a 7-7 tie — but Rose returned to the field for the series after that, ultimately finishing the game with 12 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Rose is the Wildcats’ top returning running back after rushing 149 times for 826 yards and six touchdowns last season, trailing only Lynn Bowden in each of those categories. This year, he’s the senior member of a three-back attack — along with Smoke and Chris Rodriguez, both sophomores — and the expectations are big for his final fall in Lexington.

That trio — combined with Wilson — ran 56 times for 408 yards and six touchdowns Saturday, but that early miscue left a what-if feeling after it was all over.

It’s impossible to know whether Rose’s mishap in the opening moments of Saturday’s game would have had any bearing on the final outcome. The Cats had plenty of chances throughout the night. And, even after the fumble, UK’s defense forced a three-and-out, and the Wildcats’ offense scored quickly — starting in great field position — on its next possession.

Any momentum from such a home-run play, however, was quickly squandered.

“Fortunately, we got a stop and got the ball back in great position and scored,” Stoops said. “But it definitely has an impact. It definitely is not the right message, and it’s not OK. But I’m also not going to give up on him for one mistake.”

Rose was not made available for interviews after the overtime loss, but he did tweet an acknowledgment of the celebration gone wrong to start the game.

“Good lesson learned today on my end … anotha tough one but I love this team. We will bounce back.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 9:29 PM.

Ben Roberts

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-429-2848

Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006. Support my work with a digital subscription