Ad Disclosure
At the end of the season, there will be 127 FBS teams who will wonder what might have been if a play or two had gone differently.
For Kentucky, this season’s 5-7 mark contained a few key moments — both good and bad — that helped shape the season.
Let’s have a look:
5. The end of one streak: After a harder-than-expected opening week win over Lousiana-Lafayette, the Wildcats visited Columbia for a SEC tilt with South Carolina. The Wildcats rolled up 308 yards of offense in the first half and made it stand up for a 26-22 win. The victory snapped a five-year, 22-game road losing streak for Kentucky.
“I was tired of hearing about it,” coach Mark Stoops said. “The only way you get this victory is by improving as a football team. You ain’t going to talk your way into all that stuff. You’ve got to just get better.”
4. While another streak lives on: So, with a 2-0 record and hearts full of hope, Kentucky entertained Florida in hopes of stopping a 28-year skid against the Gators. Instead, a dropped touchdown pass by Dorian Baker and just enough from the Florida offense led to the Gators taking a 14-9 win, and pushing that streak to 29 seasons.
“I’m very proud of the effort,” Stoops said. “We just weren’t clean enough.”
3. The search for consistency: After consecutive narrow wins over Missouri and Eastern Kentucky, the Wildcats stood at 4-1 overall, and 1-1 in SEC play. Auburn came to Lexington for a Thursday night game with a 3-2 mark that included a pair of SEC losses. In a game where Kentucky had more first downs and more total yards, Auburn had more points in a 30-27 win.
Early in the second quarter, Wildcat QB Patrick Towles had a pass intercepted by Carlton Davis in the end zone. Even a field goal at the end of a 10-play, 85-yard drive could have changed the outcome.
2. The search for consistency, part two: The Auburn loss was the beginning of a losing streak that ultimately shattered the team’s bowl hopes (more on that in a bit). The slide had reached four games when the team visited Vanderbilt.
The Commodores defense stole the show in a 21-17 win, pushing Kentucky’s losing streak to five. Early in the first quarter, already leading 3-0, the Wildcats had a first-and-goal on the Vandy 1-yard line. With four plays to gain three feet, Kentucky gained nothing. A touchdown there would have made all the difference against a team with trouble moving the ball consistently.
1. One last shot: A win over Charlotte the following week put Kentucky in position to earn a bowl bid with a win over in-state rival Louisville. The game was at home and hopes were high.
It started brightly enough. Josh Forrest picked off an errant Kyle Bolin pass and returned it 81 yards for a touchdown, and all of a sudden, Kentucky had a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
Louisville responded by outscoring the Wildcats 38-3 the rest of the way to take a 38-24 win, ending Kentucky’s season.
“Five wins isn’t good enough and I’m tired of the woulda, coulda, shouldas,” Stoops said.
He’s not alone in that assessment.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
