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Mark Stoops hammered on social media following Kentucky’s rough home loss against South Carolina
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Mark Stoops and Kentucky played host to South Carolina on Saturday, and ended up losing their third game in a row to the Gamecocks by a score of 31-6.
It was a rough go for the Wildcats a week after beating Southern Miss 31-0 in a weather-shortened game. And the schedule doesn’t get any easier as No. 1 Georgia comes to town in Week 3, the 3rd of 4 straight home games to open the Wildcats season.
Stoops led Kentucky to a 10-3 record, a 2nd-place finish in the SEC East, and a Citrus Bowl win in 2021. Since then, the Wildcats have played to back-to-back 7-6 records and two bowl losses in a row. He was close to leaving for Texas A&M in the offseason despite signing a contract extension through the 2031 season paying him $9 million a year, but the Aggies opted to hire Mike Elko from Duke.
Now, the Wildcats are 1-1, and will be an underdog against the Bulldogs in a Saturday night matchup on ABC. After a blowout loss to Georgia last season, Stoops called for fans to “pony up” NIL funds for the program. Those comments appear to be coming back to haunt him now.
Meanwhile, social media reaction was plentiful following the loss to the Gamecocks at Kroger Field:
Embarrassing performance
Stoops asked for fans (and boosters) to Pony Up and they did…and this is the return
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) September 7, 2024
Maybe Mark Stoops should spend less time complaining about NIL and more time getting his team ready to play.
Least prepared team I've seen anywhere in college football this season.
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) September 7, 2024
Hey Mark Stoops,
Brock Vandagriff isn’t your biggest problem. Your pass protection is.
You just created a QB issue for your locker room because you took Brock out on that drive, cause you can’t stand losing to South Carolina & Shane Beamer.
— Andrew Lyon (@ALyon_SC) September 7, 2024
Since Mark Stoops' asked fans to "pony up" after losing to UGA 51-13, Kentucky football has a 3-6 record.
Includes:
**Likely loss to SC today, down 18
Last-minute loss to Clemson, 38-35
Loss to SC, 17-14 (-3 TO margin)
Loss to Alabama, 49-21
Loss to Tenn, 33-27
Loss to Mizzou,…— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) September 7, 2024
https://twitter.com/GamecocksInside/status/1832547569009860677
Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow perfecting the most frustrating 6/7 win season you have ever seen every year pic.twitter.com/WfFBEgIlBF
— Big Blue Carti (@bbcburnerr) September 7, 2024
Can Mark Stoops still take the A&M job?
— J. Vincent Bennett (@JVincentBennett) September 7, 2024
12 years in and Mark Stoops has yet to develop a QB. 12 years…
— Braxton Snyder (@BraxtonDsnyder) September 7, 2024
Who says Mark Stoops knows how to coach? This is his 12th year and Kentucky looks atrocious, not against Bama or Georgia, but against South Carolina. Shew
— Who am I? (@Iamwhoismoses) September 7, 2024
I think there's at least a decent chance we will look back on Mark Stoops' "flirtation" with Texas A&M as the end of the line.
— Chris Fisher (@ChrisFisher247) September 7, 2024
I think today may have been a wake up call to how many millions mark stoops has swindled from the university of Kentucky in the past 10 years
— the grundler (@RenceSpatt) September 7, 2024
This is a horrible loss. Mark Stoops needs fired before he gets to the locker room.
— Don Bender (@DonBender11) September 7, 2024
Absolutely pathetic game for Kentucky. I knew South Carolina wasn’t going to be near as bad as people tried to say, but they’re not this good.
This might be the end of the era for Mark Stoops. Greatest Coach in School History, but it might be time
— Cameron Waddle (@CameronWaddle) September 7, 2024
Mark Stoops has elevated Kentucky football tremendously over the last 12 years. Two 10 win seasons, bowl every year, beating Florida.
But there is one game a year that is an absolute brutal dud. Feels like season is derailed. Hope they rebound.
— Andrew Wring (@wringky01) September 7, 2024
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
