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:

https://twitter.com/GamecocksInside/status/1832547569009860677