WILDCATS

UK seeks breakthrough against similar UT team

Kyle Tucker

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops believes this week's opponent, Tennessee, is "a lot like us," and he's right, mostly. Both the Wildcats (5-5, 2-5 SEC) and the Volunteers (4-5, 1-4) are in Year 2 of a major rebuild, UK under Stoops and UT under Butch Jones.

The two coaches have recruited well – consecutive top-30 classes for both – clearly adding difference-makers and demonstrating progress. But neither has enough pieces yet to make a big splash in the mighty Southeastern Conference.

The best win for both this fall is against South Carolina, a preseason top-10 team that has turned out to be a five-loss disappointment.

"Working extremely hard to improve, doing some good things and being inconsistent at times," Stoops said of his team and Jones' Vols. "I'm sure it's frustrating on both of us, but I see a (Tennessee) team that is very hungry and plays extremely hard."

Stoops hopes to see that on his side, too, this afternoon at Neyland Stadium. While their resumes stack up similarly, the vibe around the two programs heading into this game is quite different. Kentucky started 5-1, allowing fans to dream of SEC East contention and assume the program's first bowl berth since 2010 was just around the corner.

Now they've lost four straight, most recently by bludgeoning at the hands of Georgia, and almost all the air is out of the balloon. Can the Cats bounce back?

"I hope so," offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. "I want to say yes. I want to believe in my heart yes. But until we do it, I think it's still a question."

The Vols were in the same boat not long ago. They'd lost 5 of 6, with the only win coming against Chattanooga, before a come-from-behind road win against the Gamecocks two weeks ago reinvigorated the team. Then UT got a bye week to rest and recuperate and ready for a chance to beat the Cats and struggling Vanderbilt to punch its ticket to the postseason.

One team feels like it is on the verge of an achievement, the other on the cusp of complete collapse.

"We've got to make sure we're moving forward as a program and that we will be better this week and we will be better the week after and so on," Stoops said. "Gotta keep on pushing forward. We can't stay the same or take a step back, that's for sure. I know at times it appears that way, and it is, but I think if you look across the board in college football there is always going to be some ups and downs, certainly with a team like ours."

That leaves Stoops patching holes – in his sieve-like run defense and special teams, specifically – and pushing buttons, trying to find the right moves and motivation to get the Cats over the hump. Last week, the tactic was ranting and raving and challenge his players' manhood in a Monday meeting.

"Obviously it didn't work, so that's my problem as a head coach," Stoops said. "Maybe we're not to the point where we can – I better be careful of my words – not to the point where you can push 'em through that wall. We've got to do the very best we can and find the right mental approach, put them in the right position with coaching, and just continue to push and move forward.

"The fact of the matter is we're 5-5. We're a .500 football team and we have two big games left, starting with our first rival."

There's the trouble of history in this one, though. Tennessee has won 28 of 29 against Kentucky and the Wildcats' last win in Knoxville was 30 years ago. They've lost 14 straight at massive Neyland.

"That's not something we're trying to hide from," Brown said. "It is a rivalry game. I think it's up to us to uphold our end of the rivalry. Kentucky has not always done that. But it's an important game for us."

Lose this one, and the Cats will enter their final regular season game needing to win at rival Louisville – another tall order – earn bowl eligibility. No one wants to give the Cardinals a chance to rip their hearts out.

Quarterback Patrick Towles said it would but a "huge relief" to get that sixth win this weekend.

"These are the games that we like. Doesn't take much for us to get excited about this game," he said, adding that there was a bounce in the players' step during a crisp practice Tuesday. "We've got a huge chip on our shoulder. We're really, really hungry to get Number Six.

"We haven't won a game in over a month, so we're doing all we can to get that done."

Stoops said last week he didn't think the team was putting too much pressure on itself to qualify for postseason play, rather maybe not enough pressure. Either way, the heat is on now.

"Our team knows it," Stoops said. "I think it's OK to talk about that. Whatever, by any means necessary, to get our team motivated to go out and play a good game this week, we'll try it all. Our team knows. They want a sixth win. It's important."

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.