With UK’s bowl streak gone, Mark Stoops still sees reasons for optimism moving forward
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Game day: No. 3 Texas 31, Kentucky 14
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Only the most optimistic of Kentucky football fans were still holding out hope for an extension of the program’s eight-year bowl streak prior to Saturday’s 31-14 loss at No. 3 Texas, but the expected result finally eliminated that possibility.
And in the process it only added more confirmation about the size of the rebuild facing Mark Stoops, who has insisted in recent weeks despite persistent speculation he might consider walking away from UK that he is committed to staying in Lexington.
Given one last chance to make a case he should retain his starting quarterback job, Brock Vandagriff completed just 3 of 7 passes for 51 yards, one touchdown and one interception before being benched for freshman Cutter Boley at halftime. A Kentucky offense that failed to score more than 20 points in an SEC game this season did not record a single passing yard in the first quarter.
Boley at least offered some excitement, but with the game still in reach in the third quarter he took a bad sack on a third-and-goal play at the 3. Kicker Alex Raynor then missed his first field goal of the year, marking the fourth time this season the WIldcats have failed to score on a possession that reached the opponent’s 5-yard line.
While Boley completed 10 of 18 passes for 160 yards, Kentucky did not score on any of his five possessions at quarterback and Boley was charged with a loss of 57 rushing yards with four sacks and a muffed snap. There is real reason to hope Boley can be the quarterback of the future, but it is equally clear he still needs lots of help around him.
“I know the bowl game streak is gone, and, hey, it hurts and it’s not fun,” Stoops said. “Something that we were proud of as a program, we put a lot of work into it. You can’t take that stuff for granted. … That hurts, because everybody thinks it’s easy. It’s not. Not in this league, and not with the guys we play.”
There are still bragging rights to play for in the annual Governor’s Cup rivalry game against Louisville in the season finale next week, but the outcome of that game is unlikely to change the perception of Stoops’ program heading into the offseason.
Even Stoops has acknowledged in recent weeks he had to balance time between planning for next season and the present due to a hectic December schedule that will see high school signing day moved up to the first Wednesday of the month and the transfer portal open on Dec. 9.
“Regardless of what anybody is saying about my future, I am busting my ass trying to win out and really play well down the stretch,” Stoops said Thursday. “But it gives me a lot of juice and a lot of energy just working on the pieces for the future as well because you kind of have to do that. Things happen so fast right now with the end of the year, with the portal and with signing day, if you’re not prepared you’re in big trouble. You have to balance those things, and that makes it exciting.”
For a coach who has not been shy about acknowledging the drain raising money for NIL deal to keep both his top players and fund the recruitment of new transfers has caused, Stoops will need that excitement in the coming months.
In the same way there was never a realistic scenario where Kentucky fired basketball coach John Calipari last spring, there is no reason to believe the school would even consider paying more than $44 million to fire its all-time winningest coach after one losing season. It’s hard to see a fit with another school who would be interested in hiring Stoops and could come close to his $9 million annual salary, so if Stoops is honest about not considering walking away it will fall to him to fix the numerous issues on display this season.
Kentucky is guaranteed to lose at least nine starters who have no more eligibility remaining after this season and is almost certain to lose more key players to the NFL draft or transfer portal. There were some glimpses of promise from young players in recent weeks, but it looks like transfers will be needed to fill most of those holes before even considering positions where UK is projected to return a starter but might need to pursue an upgrade.
“You got to have to get better in certain areas,” Stoops said. “Everybody does that. I don’t have to tell you. I mean, even the top teams, like I mentioned earlier, the way they filled a couple holes with guys that went on to the NFL.
“And we have good young talent. We have guys that care. And I feel like we are excited to hit that trail and recruit some more and attract a few guys that could help take us to a different position.”
Stoops has voiced optimism that this season’s struggles might spur donors to give even more to NIL collectives in order to help fund a quick fix, but that theory seems questionable, especially with excitement about basketball soaring amid early success with Mark Pope. The expected advent of revenue sharing for athletes could at least help attract transfers from smaller leagues where revenue sharing will be less, but schools across the SEC and Big Ten will be competing for those players.
And even if Kentucky can find enough transfers to fill the numerous holes on its two-deep depth chart, the staff will need to prove better at evaluating its additions than last season when most of the much-hyped portal class failed to meet expectations.
On offense in particular there will be questions about the caliber of transfer Kentucky can land if Stoops elects to roll it back with the current system in an effort to find continuity that has eluded that side of the ball after four straight offseasons of coordinator changes.
“That’s hard to even answer, because I don’t want to be the headline,” Stoops said Saturday when asked if he was committed to keeping offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. “Of course, he’s going to be back.”
Perhaps the excitement Boley generated in Austin and against FCS Murray State last week will propel him to lead UK to an upset of Louisville as the starter next week. That excitement would surely help attract other offensive talent to play around him next season. Stoops has acknowledged competition will be fierce for the transfer offensive linemen the program needs to fix persistent pass protection issues, but Kentucky will be able to sell SEC opportunity.
The 2025 schedule will be equally as difficult with the 2024 SEC opponents flipping home and road venues, but the fact that Kentucky played its best against the best opponents this season at least offers hope for a quick turnaround if the right transfer portal additions are made.
“We have a great group guys in that locker room,” Boley said. “They all have great attitudes, especially the young guys. We really believe we have something special moving forward, and we think we can do something here at UK that’s never been done before.
“I feel like every guy in that locker room believes that, and we’re going to keep taking the next steps to be that team you want to be.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 8:33 PM.
