Mark Stoops is trying to move his Kentucky program on to the Tennessee game this week following the loss to Georgia that decided the SEC East.

On his radio show Monday night, Stoops explained that the type of loss to Georgia “should hurt you” because of how much is put into the game.

“It is a veteran group and they know what it takes to win,” he said. “This Saturday is going to be a challenge for sure.”

Stoops tried to explain the time it takes to build a winning program, and he recalled taking negative calls years ago.

“Nobody wants to hear it, but it’s true,” he said. “… If we continue to do things right, we are going to build this program to where we want it to be.”

Stoops this week has tried to tamp down any mentions of UK’s losing streak at Tennessee, where the Wildcats haven’t won since 1984.

“There is a lot of things,” he said of keys to the Tennessee game. “It starts with us being physical. We have to be physical on both sides of the ball. We have to limit their explosive plays and we have to create some explosive plays for ourselves.”