Kentucky lost 38–35 to No. 22 Clemson at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to Jacksonville on Friday. This is what coach Mark Stoops needed to say:
It was very painful to lose. A great football game. There were numerous occasions during that game where I was so proud of how our team responded and fought back.
We had a lot about trouble but got through it. You’re not proud of many things, such as the mistakes, turnovers, or fouls you made.
I really respect how hard our team worked, what they did in the weeks coming up to this, the manner in which they acted while they were down here, and how they fought as well as played a very tough game.
As teachers, I think there are many things we can do better, but we want to make it there. The off-season should be good.
Plays that lose points, moves that don’t go anywhere, hits, fouls, and balls in the ground can only happen so many times. Because we are staff, we are in charge of many things. I love this group. For their sake, I really wish that we could have ended it with a great win.
Even though it proved to be a tough loss, I love this group of players and admire how they’ve handled things. We’ll move on after that.
It was sad that Kentucky lost in Clemson 38–35 in the TaxSlayer Alligator Bowl on Friday. Mark Stoops was not holding right back when he raved about just how much better the teaching staff needs to be.
Stoops stated, “There are many ways we can improve as future coaches.” Kentucky was ahead of Clemson 21–10 at halftime.
The score went from one team to another between each of the teams in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats went ahead 35–30 after senior tailback Ricky Davis scored a touchdown.
But with seconds left, junior defensive player Phil Mafah threw it toward the end zone to put the Tigers back ahead. Clemson scored two more points to end the game after the run that won it.
“A profound loss.” Stoops said, “That was a great football game.” The long term was bad for Louisville because they lost two fumbles and quarterback Denis Leary picked off a couple of passes.
“That is the last one.” One more tip: don’t do it. The mistake inside the strip sack had to be fixed. Stoops told her, “You have to tuck that.”
Leary made 16 of his 28 passes, with two scores and a gain of 306 yards. Ohio State’s Davis raced 13 times and made a touchdown.
He went 63 yards. Brown grabbed a total of four passes over 98 yards and a score for a second consecutive year in a row.
At the end in the 2023 season, the Wildcats were sporting a 7-6 record. Okay, that’s it. “Guys, we’re continuing to strive for the beat this game,” I told them after we lost.
After some guys made moves that changed the game, I told them to “hang in there.” Those things really did happen.
We possessed a chance of scoring again, and this would have placed our squad in a position to win.
The things that really strike me about him are not how good he is at basketball, but how he prospects, how he trains, how much energy that he brings every single day, and just how much his cares about our school.
Also, he helps the defense stay together a lot. Many aspects of that game, we played really well. What you said makes sense to me.
We worked very hard, and Deone and many of the defense members were very brave by coming up and stopping them when things went wrong. At the end, that we had missed a few plays.