Q&A | Stoops: 'We can take the criticism'
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops was pleased with his team's effort in a loss at Vanderbilt but knows there is plenty of criticism coming his direction. You can read a full transcript of his comments below:
Opening statement: “OK. Very difficult loss. Heartbreaking for our team. I thought our team played with a lot of energy and a lot of passion and a lot of heart. I thought we practiced all week that way. They put a lot into this game, and we came up on the short end. The game comes down to a lot of critical plays and also a few decisions with myself. That can sometimes turn the outcome one way or another, and we came up on the wrong end of the stick.
“Again, I'm proud of the team. Through adversity, I loved the way they prepared. I loved their attitudes. I love their effort. It comes down to critical plays and critical decisions. It didn't go our way tonight. I made a bad decision on one play in particular that sticks out in my mind. And then we didn't make some plays. When you have the ball inside the 2 and come away with nothing, obviously that sets the tone right there. I think that's a big part of the game right there with our team. Had we gone up 10-nothing it would have been big for us. We talked about playing aggressive. At times we were moving the ball, and that was the mentality of the day, to be aggressive and get after it and put our team in a position to be successful. Did some good things. Not enough. Give credit to Vandy, Coach (Derek) Mason and them battling through tough times and coming up with the win tonight.”
On if he's more upset about the 4th and goal decision or the one at midfield: “I'm with – if you're gonna give me hindsight, I'd do it over again and kick it in a tight game down there, but I'm OK with the goal line one. I'm disappointed in the fourth-and-one at midfield.”
On what they were trying to do on that play and it looking like they tried to draw Vandy offsides: “We were. We were. And then we thought – we had them one on one we thought we could take a shot right there. It was a poor decision. Poor decision. That's all on me.”
On what happened on the uncovered Vandy receiver: “Deception play that we got deceived on. But it was legal. Totally legal. But they acted like he was going off the field and there was a bunch, there was four on that side and the corner just didn't see it. Corner or the safety just didn't see it.”
On the decision making process on playing QBs: “We had the mentality all week that we felt like Drew was going to get some opportunities in this game, unless Patrick just came out and completely lit it up. But we had prepared to play Drew in this game and that's the way it went. He had the good first series and got it going, and then we were just trying to see who would have the hot hand. We'll look at the film and see that. But I don't know if that had an effect on the game or not. That was the first time we had done it like that in three years. We'd prefer one quarterback to go out there and play real well.”
On if this is the low point in his tenure: “That’s fair to say. As I just said to the team, we all need to accept it, starting with myself. I don’t just say that. You can write what you want or whatever. I know I’ve got to make better decisions and put our team in a position to be successful. That goes with the territory, but I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to go back to work. That’s the only way we’ve ever approached things. The team is going to do the same thing. I loved the way they prepare, I love the way they played. They played with energy. Do we need to do things better and coach better? Absolutely, but we will. Everybody in the outside world is going to be tough on them and us, but we get paid to do that. I can handle that and the staff can handle that. We can take the criticism that goes with the territory, and a lot of it is deserved. So, that’s fine. We’ll go back to work. We’re going to do the same thing we’ve been doing. This team is just going to get better, and we’re going to work. We’ve got two big games left, and we’ve got to go get a victory. That’s the only way. I said it last week. And the team did that, so give them credit for that. They played hard. They played with energy and they played with passion, and they care and it hurts right now for them. They’re hurting. They should be. When you invest a lot. It should hurt. So, there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Just go back to work and try to get better.”
On if he considered going for two after third-quarter touchdown: “I did, but I thought it was too early. I didn’t want to go for two and not get it. Then with a whole quarter and a minute to play, if they get a field goal then if we didn’t get it we’d be down eight. So, on four in the third quarter, we thought about it, but I thought the right decision was to keep it to a four-point game. And again, if they got three you’re only seven down. We were moving it, so we got to a better job of getting it in the end zone, starting from the first quarter. Were both of those possessions in the first quarter? First or second, I don’t remember. I know one of them was in the first quarter – first-and-goal from the two, I believe.”
On the delay of game penalty before the field goal when it looked like Jordan Swindle wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be on the field: “I don’t know how we get it corrected because we get injuries and we get guys banged up…He got confused for no reason. He saw George (Asafo-Adjei) go in, and he thought he came in for him. George was playing for Kyle (Meadows). And it was tackle over, a little different scenario. I think he was banged up pretty good. Jordan is playing his tail off and was hanging on by a thread. Got confused. I decided to let the delay go because I felt like we would need the timeouts at the end of the game, and I felt like the five yards wouldn’t make a difference when in hindsight it did.”