Mark Stoops talks up punishing ground game following win over Missouri
By Keith Farner
Published:
Mark Stoops improved to 51-50 at Kentucky with the 35-28 win over Missouri on Saturday night, the first time he’s been over .500 in his tenure there.
Kentucky collected 340 rushing yards in a punishing performance against Missouri, as the Wildcats racked up 519 total yards. Because of that, Kentucky held the time of possession edge 32:48 to 27:12, and overcame 2 turnovers.
Chris Rodriguez had a career night with 206 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.
Here’s a sampling of what Stoops told the media after the game:
Mark Stoops begins postgame presser recognizing all the military and first responders on “Heroes Day,” the anniversary of 9/11. Thanks the fans for showing up and creating a great atmosphere tonight at Kroger Field.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) September 12, 2021
Mark Stoops begins his press conference by thanking the #BBN
“It’s been a while since we’ve had an atmosphere like that” pic.twitter.com/Zj46v1Dh5d
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) September 12, 2021
Stoops has used word “aggravating” a lot tonight in describing Mizzou’s offense and QB Conor Bazelak. Really tricky to defend.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) September 12, 2021
On lack of turnovers on defense, Stoops said sometimes it bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t. They were way in the + column last year. Had a chance at another pick tonight, though, and just dropped it.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) September 12, 2021
Stoops on Wan’Dale Robinson: Can’t say enough things about him. So tough. Takes shots. Keeps bouncing up. The two long passes he hauled in were critical, and they weren’t easy catches. Program has been looking for a guy who can do that for a long time.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) September 12, 2021
Stoops said Cats had a chance to “put the knife in them,” let Mizzou back in it, but responded big with that interception to start the second half. Gotta do a better job of putting games away, he added. No excuse for fumbling the ball.
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) September 12, 2021
Mark Stoops: “Scratch where it itches. Why take them off the hook if they can’t stop it?” On running it down Mizzou’s throat.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) September 12, 2021
Stoops wishes Will Levis would slide a little more, but his toughness is contagious. “He’s a tough guy, he made some tough yards and your team, your fans really rally around that.”
— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) September 12, 2021
Mark Stoops on Will Levis running hard: “I saw him at halftime icing up his shoulder, so he better learn to slide. We play some more big boys.” But … says that’s the kind of dude your team and fans rally behind.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) September 12, 2021
Mark Stoops is 2-0 and he sounds quite mad. Mad about fumbling when they could’ve buried Mizzou, mad about the blocked field goal. Little mistakes “really pissing me off.”
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) September 12, 2021
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
