What Mark Stoops said after Kentucky's loss against Tennessee
Kentucky had its chances on Saturday, but in the end, the Wildcats fell to Tennessee, 33-27. The Wildcats couldn’t stop the rushing attack of Tennessee, as the Volunteers ran the ball 47 times for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Jaylen Wright led the way for the Vols, as he finished with 11 carries for 120 yards and 1 touchdown. He set the tone with a 52-yard touchdown run less than five minutes into the game to put Tennessee up 7-0. The Wildcats battled all night, but couldn’t cut the deficit to less than two.
After the game, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops talked about disappointment in himself and his staff, as well as the inability to tackle on defense.
Kentucky HC Mark Stoops: Very disappointed that myself and my coaches could not come up with a few more plays to help this team win and reward the great fan support tonight. It's a game of inches, and Cats didn't make the critical plays in critical situations like Vols did.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) October 29, 2023
Stoops on missed tackles tonight… Team like this puts you in open space, and their backs are elite. They stress you. You have to do better than the defense showed tonight.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) October 29, 2023
Kentucky will look to end a 3-game losing streak next week as they hit the road to take on another struggling SEC team, Mississippi State. At 5-3, the Wildcats still have a lot to play for this year, but they need to get one more win to become bowl eligible. There are still 2 ranked teams on the schedule, as No. 9 Alabama and No. 18 Louisville still loom for the Wildcats. There is also a game against South Carolina on Nov. 18.
The Wildcats game against Mississippi State will kickoff on 7:30 pm ET on the SEC Network.