By: LARRY VAUGHT
A four-game Southeastern Conference losing streak has some Kentucky fans questioning everything from the direction of coach Mark Stoops’ program to the lack of a special teams coordinator to changing quarterbacks.
Kentucky has gone from 4-1 to 4-5 going into Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt. Last year UK started 5-1 and then lost six straight games to finish 5-7 in Stoops’ second season.
“I can’t control whether they (UK fans) jump ship or not. That’s up to them. Everybody has a choice and I certainly understand that. I think frustration is a word you’ve heard me use a little bit,” said Stoops. “Of course, I’d be lying if we didn’t say there was some frustration. You’re always looking at ways to get better and eliminate mistakes and get your players to play at the highest level they possibly can.
“That’s what I’m gonna do and that’s what we’re gonna do as an organization. Like I’ve said many times, I very clearly understand what we need to do. And there’s no panic button. Not happy. Not happy with some things and some of the results, but absolutely not panicked one second.”
Stoops said fans asking if his team still believes it can win is a “fair question” at this point.
“I don’t think that was the case last Saturday (at Georgia), that we did go into that game believing we could win. No. I don’t think we did. And I don’t lie to you and I ain’t gonna lie to the players. I didn’t see that belief,” Stoops said.
He says “they better” change that attitude at Vanderbilt.
“I haven’t seen that all year. I have no reason to believe that they would have no doubt that every time we take the field we have an opportunity to win. He asked me if I saw that last week and I didn’t,” Stoops said.
However, he has seen it before at Kentucky.
“In the past. Prior to this year,” Stoops admitted.
Stoops also insisted rumors about a division in the Kentucky locker room is not true.
“I absolutely don’t think there’s one bit of a divide. I think I just – if somebody asked me, if you asked every (one of the) 110 people in our locker room if everybody was on the exact same page, I wouldn’t’ expect them to be,” he said. “There’s 110 guys in there. They have different opinions. There’s no problem whatsoever. Zero.
“Are there frustrations? I would hope so. I hope some guys are frustrated. That doesn’t mean you’re starting to point fingers.”
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