‘We found a way to win.’ Everything Mark Stoops said after Kentucky upset Louisville.

Everything University of Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops said during his press conference following Saturday’s 38-31 win over in-state rival Louisville at L&N Stadium in Louisville:

Stoops’ opening statement:

“A lot of you in here have been covering us all season and for many years. Like any team, we’re going to go through some ups and downs. Just really proud of this football team for the finish. I think we’re the only team in the United States that have played four teams that were top 10 right now. That’s a tough schedule. No excuse for last week. We know that. We’re not running from that, but they found a way to pick themselves up and to finish strong in a game that’s important. It’s important for us to elevate where we want to go in a bowl. It’s important for us to finish. It’s important for us and our fans to bring that Governor’s Cup back home I think for the fifth straight (time). Against a very good team that I have a lot of respect for with Jeff (Brohm) and what he’s done in the first year. They’re a very well-coached team. He’s done a really good job.

“I think for our team and speaking for them, I’m just proud of the resilience and resolve, whatever you want say. All those words that us coaches use, it’s so true. You’ve just got to have the toughness, the grit and the determination to pick yourself back up because we play a grueling schedule. Say what you want, it’s taxing on them. I just appreciate the finish. A game that, again, started a little slow and we found a way to win. And picked it up and played together as a team. Had huge plays on special teams, huge plays on offense and defense. I’m just very proud of the group.”

On J.J. Weaver’s big game in his home city after an up-and-down season:

“Really couldn’t be more proud of J.J. He and I had a good one-on-one session the other day. Actually Jason Cummins was in my office, our leadership person that helps me and our team. Jason happened to be in there, and the three of us sat down on the couch and just had a good talk. That’s what I told J.J., to just walk around and hold his head high because I think he felt stress and pressure from numbers and producing, just different things. I said, absolutely not. You will not walk around with your head down or anything else. He’s done an awful lot. We’re all proud of him, regardless of whatever happens on the field. The things he’s done off the field, he’s been a great person, a great player and great ambassador to our program. I told him to walk around with his head held high and finish strong. And he did. So, very proud of him, and we had a good talk.”

On the offense getting going in the third quarter:

“I thought some critical moments. I didn’t like the way we started. Obviously, we were having some protection issues, which was on us. You’ve probably heard me talking about it: We’re tired of beating ourselves in certain ways. So, we talked about it on the sidelines, got some things corrected and cleaned up some things. Now again, Louisville is aggressive at twisting and blitzing. Give them credit. You know they were going to put some pressure on you. They do a great job, but some of it was strictly on us early. That we can’t do that and win against a top-10 team.

“So, once we straightened that out, I thought the balance really helped us. I thought the backs had some really critical, physical runs. Ray (Davis) obviously on the last one, but how about the fourth down he converted when he had a one-on-one against a good defender? Late there at the end we were talking about all kind of different things, and I asked the O-line to put it on them. I wanted to run it straight downhill and be a little bit like we used to be, and they responded.”

On not getting any penalties in a rivalry game after that had been a problem for much of the season:

“It’s saying that we’re still growing and they’re still listening. I told them how emotional this game was going to be and chippy. Ultimately, it comes down to execution, just executing. The execution. Everybody wants to win. You knew you were going to have to play a good game to go finish and win this game. Some crazy things happened in that game, but I was proud of the execution in critical moments. Obviously, didn’t like the turnover late, them converting the fourth down, but finding the resolve to come back. Liam and I were talking on the headset: Here we go. We have 2 1/2 minutes to win this game.”

On what this win does for this team:

“It means a lot just for a lot of reasons. We have expectations, we understand that. Again, nobody cares about the schedule you play, nobody worries about that, but I was just happy for our team and finishing like they did. They deserve it, and they grinded through the whole year. We had some ups and some downs. You know that. We’ve been far from perfect, but to finish off the regular season against our rivals — it’s a top-10 team — it’s important. No gratification in knocking them down, but I just want to win this game because it’s important to our fans and important to our team.”

On Khamari Anderson’s catch setting a tone:

“We needed that. We had some tight ends down, as you know. I think for him to step up in that critical moment, that was a big play, big catch and nice finish to get the first down.”

On feeding Ray Davis:

“It was really nice to see Ray run like Ray, put his shoulder pads down and get some tough yards. They are a tough defense. I think he had some difficult yards and some critical ones. Obviously the only that capped it off there, and I thought the fourth down was huge too.”

On Devin Leary bouncing back from slow start:

“Even after the pick. Getting the pick, going through the ups and the downs. Just having the confidence to go back out there and let it rip. It was interesting. I think Liam and I were conversing on the headset. We throw incomplete on first down, but second down we’re thinking about running. You’re thinking about killing some clock, trying to get a first down, getting in third-and-manageable. We’ve talked about we’ve been in third-and-too long, so it was second down and we were aggressive. I said, ‘Rip it. Let’s go.’ We throw it, and that’s the one we hit, I think, to Barion down the seam. We were aggressive. We had the ball and we went to play to win and got it done.”

On response to reports he is a candidate for Texas A&M job:

“Come on, you know better than that. This is a big win for our state and our program and our team. You know how good I’ve been at keeping my concentration and focus on this team. That’s all it is.”

On Barion Brown stepping up in big moments:

“...He’s a guy that we have to get touches. He’s a guy that can impact a game like this. He’s just a true sophomore. He’s just got to continue to grow and develop, but he’s an impact guy. He can certainly change the digits on the scoreboard, and he helped us do that tonight.”

On if this game means more to local players considering Weaver, Jordan Lovett and Izayah Cummings all had big plays:

“I mean, it should. I had some guys that were from the state talk a little bit this morning and just tell them what it meant to them in our team meeting. It’s important. We’ve played well in this game. Hopefully we’ll continue. I was just proud of all of them, but definitely I think it’s important to the guys in the state.”

On if he sensed this week players had bounced back from South Carolina disappointment:

“I did. I don’t know, it’s kind of like I have a lot of confidence in our guys Thanksgiving week. The schedule and the way we’ve had the same routine for awhile. It’s really good for the players. I think we get to see them a little more. We have confidence going into this. Again, I’m not — I don’t even want to say it, but we have confidence going against anybody. The SEC will prepare you for anything. Let’s just leave it at that.”

On Jeff Brohm’s impact on the rivalry moving forward:

“Definitely he’s made a huge impact already. Just a very well-coached kid. He really does. We have respect for each other. I have respect for his family. He does a really good job with his brothers and the whole family. We try to do the same, so hopefully we’ll keep it going for a long time, have some good battles.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 5:15 PM.