KSR Postgame UK FB vs Louisville 11/30/24

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone. It is the local Toyted Dealers KSR postgame show. The Cats get embarrassed today against Louisville in a rivalry game in Lexington forty one to fourteen. You can give the shout, Billy, hold the phones, we'll open them right after this first segment. I guess the way to talk about this is kind of three parts. I mean, we'll start talk a little bit about the game, and then I want to sort of talk about state of the program, and then I think we need to talk about what Mark Soups said after the game. So let's start with the game. The game was a disaster. It was clear from the opening that Kentucky wasn't ready to play and Louisville was significantly better. It was twenty to nothing at halftime, but honestly, it could have been forty to nothing. Louisville twice had drive sty mead right at the end, they made a turnover. I mean, Louisville should have been ahead even more than the were in the second half. Kentucky got a glimmer of hope when they scored the touchdown to make it twenty to seven. Defense got a stop. You had a moment where Kentucky could get back in the game, and then will Cox had his second fumble. Five turnovers during the game. Obviously you're not gonna win with five turnovers. Stoops talked a lot about the five turnovers after kind of being the key. But to me, the five turnovers took a game where we were still gonna lose and just made it to where we got blown out. Louisville was better and for a person, if you have watched these games over the years, it's always been interesting to me with the Louisville games because louis was the one team we play that because they're in another conference. It's a good gauge kind of of where we are. So there have been years where we're in the bottom half of the SEC but still beat Louisville, a team that's usually in the top half of the ACC, and you go, okay, well that goes to show you not this year. I mean, if you start with you know, the year we beat Lamar we lost the next year, but really start with that year and go on, you can see the decline of the Kentucky football program based on these Louisville games. I mean, we have we went from three or four years when they were really good, playing them neck and neck, winning some, losing some to four or five years where we dominated to now where we're getting dominated. And I would argue this Louisville team is not as good as the Lamar era Louisville teams, and while better than the last few, I think they were just as talented, if not better last year. And we beat them handily last year and they beat us handily this year. So that's where we are. It was a disaster. And to Louisville, first time they've won in six years. Congrats to them. They deserve it. And you know, they stopped us on our home field. So that's part one. Terrible performance all the way around, and a fan base, by the way, that still didn't fill it up, still showed up. But that's eight straight home losses against power four teams, eight straight home losses. You can never complain about the Kentucky fans when they've had to go eight times to big games and watch eight straight losses. All right, Second part, stay the program. Let's assume that Mark Stoops had made no comments after the game. Let's assume we had no idea what the future of the program was, because I thought that might be the case, and I was gonna sit here and say this, there has been a massive decline in the program, not just on the field, because I could make the argument that if you go four and eight after the last seven or eight years, you say, you know what, that that happens, right, Like, he gets a year, he gets a year. Everybody has a bad year. I could make that claim, and I think I would feel good about it. The SEC is good this year, he gets a year. My problem, though, goes beyond the fact that they went four and eight. My problem goes to some more culture parts around the program. We didn't just go four and eight. We had games where we were not competitive. We were not competitive against South Carolina, we were not competitive against Florida. We were not competitive really in terms of trying to win the game against Texas. And then we were not competitive today we lost to Vanderbilt at home for the second time in a row. Like I mean, those are not just losses. Those are the program is not doing what it should do losses. But then you go and win at Old Miss and you played Georgia to one point, which says to me you had the potential to be good, which gets to part two, which is the culture around Kentucky football is broken right now. It just is the culture which was probably the best selling point for Mark Stoops. If you were if you were trying to say why is Mark Stoops doing such a good job at Kentucky, you would point to the culture. You would point to his ability to play tough in the trenches. You heard the announcer today say I'm shocked to watch Kentucky. I think that get whooped on the line of scribbage that didn't used to happen. And it's a culture problem. And the culture problem is extending way beyond just what we're seeing on the field.

00:05:47
Speaker 2: There has been a a downgrade and what the staff has allowed from players, from just interaction in terms of coaches, interactions with the administration.

00:06:06
Speaker 1: There has been a massive drop, in my opinion, in the culture of a program that I thought was a model for how you run a program. In the last two years, I think it's taken a massive dip. The players have kind of been allowed to do whatever they want and that has caused discipline issues that you see on the field, not discipline issues where guys are getting in trouble, like we're not hearing the dudes getting arrested or anything like that. But just in terms of work ethic, ask anyone around UK football, they'll tell you the guys don't work like that. A lot of them don't work like they used to. They'll tell you that guys are allowed to kind of do whatever they want, and a culture and a discipline that was there for a long time just is not there. And you can blame sort of nil and all that, But other programs are finding a way to make it work. I think, starting at the top, Mark Stoops has let the reins slip. He has let the things he was the best at, which was allowing the program where players felt free but also would still show up and do what they were supposed to. That's been gone the last two years. And all you got to do is ask anybody around the pro they'll all tell you that. Ask players, ask coaches, as administrators, they'll tell you that. And Mark's reaction to that has too often been to basically blame resources. And I will tell you I have almost zero sympathy for the resources argument. You know, earlier this year Mark had a very what I think was a whiny comment where he said, I've had to do this all by myself. I've felt alone. Blah blah blah, blah blah. To whatever extent that's true, that was the whiniest thing I've heard a coach say, a person who preaches personal responsibility to sort of say that was ridiculous. Now, Kentucky doesn't have the resources necessarily that other programs do, but they have more resources than they've ever had. And my bottom line is there's more talent on this roster than there's been in four or five years. Maybe not than there was the Josh Allen year, but there's a lot of I mean, the year we had like seven guys get drafted. There may not be more talent on this group than that one, but there's more than there were the last couple of years. And you've blown it. And you can't talk about resources when you gave your highest nil payments ever in the last year. You just picked the wrong guys, and that's on you, And that's on the people that picked the guys. You got the wrong guys. You just did. Now he acknowledges that after the game, but like when he was winding about resources earlier in the year, that's on you. That's on you. And I think Mitch Marnhart was slow to embrace in Ale. I think that's a fair critique. I've made that critique many times. But you know what, now things are different. You know, basketball has zero problems with it and to the extent football has it. You got to look in the mirror. You got to look in the mirror and say, would you give a lot of money to what we just saw? You know, some of you guys out there or I've done ads for and I'm sure I'll continue to do ads for inile funds for football and some of you got folks give hard earned twenty dollars a month or whatever. And that's not easy for people, and you've done it. It's hard to but like, do you does that feel deserved after what's happened? I mean, I get it, I get what people are frustrated. You know, the football fan base is different than the basketball fan base. In a working class person in Kentucky can afford football season tickets, so you get a different set of people there. But it also means like it's not just all blue blood rich people there. It's people who like they have to sacrifice to go and you got to give it back to them. And when I hear somebody making nine million dollars a year whin about it's hard, I just I roll my eyes more than I can say. I did the same thing with cal Perry. Do not tell me you're making nine million dollars and it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be hard, and you failed this year. So in terms of a state of a program, if I'd heard Stoops say nothing afterwards, I'd say, and I've said in the last few weeks, Mark, you need to look in the mirror and say, am I ready to do this? You need to look in the mirror and say I've screwed this up. Not resources, not players, not you. You're in charge. When things slip, it's on you. You've let it slip, and you have to say, do I want to spend the next few years building it? Because, as I've talked about, and I won't go into it today, the next two years it gonna be the most important two years in college footballs in twenty five years, probably since games started all being on television. I think there are like these moments in college athletics where things changed, going back to you know, the nationalization of the sport, to integration to major conferences, to major television deals, and now I think this is the next one, which is the professionalization of the sport. And at different times, every time, different programs have stepped to the lead and others have retreated. And so the question becomes, now that we're entering you know, change five, Mark, are you ready to be a part of that or not? And if the answer is yes, okay, but you got to know what you're getting into, and you can't say like, oh, I don't like this anymore. This is what it is, which gives me to number three, which is Mark's comments. Now I'm gonna play you. He said a lot today, you know. He said Cutter will be back, that Cutter is the future. He said that he wants there's gonna be a lot of turnover in terms of the roster. He I think hented maybe some turnovers in coaching that I may be reading something into that, but I kind of read a little bit into that. But I think the most important comment is a comment about his future. And I've gotten Billy to pull the clip this is he talked about it to the media, but I thought wasn't as direct as he was with Tom Leach. So here I'm gonna play the entirety of what he said, because I think it needs all the context. This is Mark. When I don't think he was asked about it, well, we'll just play it. This is this is Mark STIPs.

00:12:57
Speaker 3: I have a lot of those player conversations already happened, or do they happen tomorrow the next.

00:13:00
Speaker 4: Day, you know there they will happen in the next couple of days. The staff org. We already had plans all all week to be in tomorrow, to get ourselves exactly on the plan that we want, you know. And there's gonna be players that, uh, you know, we asked to go somewhere else and go play somewhere else. And there's gonna be guys that we asked to come back. There's gonna be you know, new you know, incoming freshmen. There's gonna be incoming portal, and there's probably gonna be some surprises, let's be honest, and and and and there's gonna be a surprise and uh and you know again, we we won't flinch. It's not like we're gonna like it or anything. If you lose somebody, you don't want to, but it's not the end all be all. It's like, uh, you know, there there's ways to replace you know, everybody. And you know, I don't want to say that about me right now because everybody will jump on that bandwagon tell me I replace me. Everybody wants to replace me right now. But I'm not going anywhere. My butt is going to work tomorrow and I'm gonna try and uh, I'm gonna be motivated as hell get to get this thing fixed and get better. So anybody that's wishful thinking that I'm not gonna be able tomorrow's has got the wrong wish because my butt will be in my office and we will. I could promise you we will attack this offseason and there's nothing fun or lighthearted about it. But I know, you know, if you can't laugh at yourself for a moment, you know what I mean, then heck, you know, I know, I know it's I know it hurts.

00:14:25
Speaker 5: You know.

00:14:25
Speaker 4: I said it in my press converence. I so appreciate the fan base. Uh, They've been there every game even through today. It's been disappointing. I accept that responsibility. I'm sorry I disappointed him and let them down in many ways, but we've had a lot of great moments and and I could promise you I'm pretty optimistic that we're going to get back.

00:14:46
Speaker 1: To that, all right, So very defenditive, I'm coming back, I want to come back. Even sort of says it's wishful think. For those of you that wishful thinking that I wouldn't, you're gonna be disappointed. It was a very Mark stoopsesque quote. Some of it I actually think is positive. He does in that accept responsibility, but he also is defiant in the you want me gone, I'm not going anywhere, And I think Mark, again, unlike Cal, he understands that there's a large part of the fan base that doesn't like doesn't want him here. I won't say it doesn't like him, but doesn't want him here anymore. He acknowledges that, but he's also defiant in it and says I'm gonna be here, and I expect him to be here. But for me, when I hear that quote, you know, I don't know. I'm not inspired for excitement. I think arguing he should be fired is now a waste of a conversation because he's I don't think he will. He's not gonna be fired and he's not gonna resign, at least according to him. But I also think it's a little ridiculous to say it's lighthearted people with wishful thinking. Let's be real, Mark considered and maybe seriously tried to leave here last year. I think things in the last moments. I think maybe he had second thoughts. A and M had second thoughts. But regardless, it's clear he seriously entertained the notion of leaving here, and if he had, we would have all just had to accept it. Right, Well, then you just gotta get over that fans are gonna seriously entertain the notion of changing from you because you did the same thing last year and you should have. But it's also understandable that fans are like, you know, I just don't feel it. So I'm left with this, which is Mark Stoop's gonna be the coach next year, and I think that's almost certain. I don't think we're gonna have a situation like Arkansas that came and got came. I don't think there's gonna be a program come and get Mark. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I don't think that's gonna happen. It's hard for me to feel excited by I don't think he I'm not I don't think he said the wrong thing. I think he said fine things. But I worry. I worry about the culture. I'm glad he says it needs to change, but he needs to understand that he is why it didn't work. He allowed a changing, he started replacing, he started making the staff his buddies and not just the best of the best, and that's all got to change. We have, I think, at most positions, not all, but at most positions a low average coach. I think we have an above average defensive coordinator. I don't really know what to think of bush Hampden, but sort of like I don't really know what to think of Brott Vandergriff. I'm not sure any of it really matter. That offensive line was so terrible, and if that coach is back then, I don't really know how he's serious about making changes because that was a disaster. But when it comes to decision making on who you get there that they were below average across the board at most coaching positions and most player positions. So I don't feel a sense of excitement about the future. I just don't hope it works out. I think he's gonna be the coach no matter what. I'm gonna be interested to see he says there's a plan for resources. Well, there is a plan long term, which is this twenty two million dollar settlement. But that's not gonna be in place next year. So are their resources for next year? Are they gonna be able to raise the money to go get players in the portal? I don't know, he knew he would know better than me. Maybe he will. How many of these dudes are gonna leave? Is this gonna be an attractive place for people in the portal? And then what if Brad White goes? Vince Merriw's had many opportunities, what if he goes? You know, he talked a lot about continuity on the offensive side, but I kind of wonder was there an implication Brad might go do his own thing? Well, you tell, if you were to say to me that we get Mark back without Brad White and maybe without Vince or without pick a couple other people, all of a sudden, what are we doing? So I'm nervous about it. I don't think discussing though, should he be fired? I just think, like it's it's been decided. I have the feeling like I did when Mitch and Cal did that TV interview, and I remember I was eating at Skyline when I saw the interview, and I said, well, Cal's gonna be here, so whining about him being here is really not productive anymore. He's here. Well, of course that ended up changing. Stoops is here, he's the coach. And now the question is what's this program gonna look like in four weeks? And I just say buckle up because I don't know. I don't know what players are gonna be here. I don't know what coaches are gonna be here. Signing Day is Friday. Their star running back is visiting Missouri today. That's already committed to Kentucky. Whill we lose him like we have the twenty third rank recruiting class, Will you be able to keep it? Can you bring in an offensive line? I'm gonna assume Dion Walker, Barry and Brown, Day and Key are gone. I don't even know what brought Vandergris's future is. I don't think it's at Kentucky. But I'm not certain he's even gonna continue playing football. Who knows. There's just a lot a lot ahead and Mark Soups is gonna be the coach. But beyond that, who knows. A five nine twenty two eighty seven. We're gonna open up the phones.

00:21:19
Speaker 4: Uh.

00:21:20
Speaker 1: That was longer than I meant to go, but there's a lot to say. We will take your calls.

00:21:24
Speaker 6: Uh.

00:21:24
Speaker 1: We leave tomorrow for our trip. Just so you know, I'm gonna go ahead and prepare you on the trip. We'll give you all football news, but I'm not spending a week on one of my favorite things to do of the year being upset. We're gonna be enjoying it and talking about basketball. So get all the upset out today. Uh, because I do think we have the right for people to be be angry. Let's take a break. A five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. We're right back. It is the local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show walking back. It is the local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show text machine.

00:21:59
Speaker 7: Uh.

00:22:00
Speaker 1: Lighting up at this point of including people saying Billy, buckle up, put your phone down, which I totally agree with that that song buckle up and put your phone down. It remains it remains good. One person rights Matt, we just gave up forty one and you want to keep Brad White. That's your decision, but it's certainly not not. Here's what I would say about Brad White. I'd say it's about Brad White, and I say it's about Vince Merrow. If you don't believe those dudes are good coaches, watch them leave and see how quick a major program picks them up. They both would get like, Brad White leaves here, he'll have a job quick. Vince Merriw leaves here, he'll have a job quick. Is that true of everybody else on staff? I don't know. I mean, I know it's true of those two, and there may be one or two others the the what's his name, Bifano, He may be one, I'm not sure, but I know those two will so when I say that, look, was this a great year for the defense? No, but it was a lot better for the defense than it was the offense. And the defense dealt with tons of injuries throughout the year and found a way to keep going. You know, yes, I would take Brad White back, and like I said, you don't believe me, let him go somewhere else and see what happens. Would not shot me at all. They just announced Gus Balzan will be the offensive coordinator at Florida State. Would not shot me if you hear that Brad White will be the defensive coordinator at Florida State. That's not inside knowledge, it's just a guess. But you know so, yes, I would tell those two dudes. Those two dudes are dudes. I'm pretty rock solid on everybody else. I have some folks I think need to be replaced and then the others. I don't really know enough, but I do know standards of slip, did a lot of positions. Who's up first, Cody? Cody? How are you, Cody?

00:24:06
Speaker 8: I'm doing well, Matt Well. My wonder is with Stubs, says, no matter who our offensive coordinator is, whether it's Brown, Grand Cohen, Amden, it seems that our offense always runs into the same issue. And I'm thinking still Stubes reflects and improves on that. It doesn't matter what coaches or what players we have, because whenever he tries to run outside his own scheme offense and then wants to run power with those players, it doesn't work for what they try to do. So I'll hang up and listen.

00:24:39
Speaker 1: But yeah, well that's my I mean, that's my that's kind of my view when you're trying to grade Hampden. All right, Do I think Hampden's a great offensive coordinator? I can't say that. But do I think he's awful? I can't say that either, for two reasons. One, we can't keep blaming the offensive coordinators. Watch him go somewhere else and see them have success, right, We just we can't keep doing that. At some point, Liam Cohen might be the next head coach of the Chicago Bears. They may literally give him the number one quarterback rookie in the in the league at the draft pick, and then we're gonna sit here and act like he couldn't do it here, you know. So I can't say that. Plus, to be fair to Bush, Liam brought in Brock, and Brock is not the quarterback for the scheme that Bush has, so that that kind of is what it is. So maybe we bring him back and it doesn't work. Here's the way I'd put If Mark Stupis comes back and the offense is as bad this year as it was last year, he won't be the head coach here and Bush won't have the job, so like if he's gonna be putting his career in Bush's hands. But I also think you can't have like six different offensive coordinators in six years and think things are gonna be good. I just don't think you can. Who's next? Rocco, Rocco? What's up? Roco?

00:26:03
Speaker 9: Hey?

00:26:04
Speaker 10: I'm all right?

00:26:04
Speaker 11: How you doing?

00:26:05
Speaker 1: Man?

00:26:05
Speaker 10: First home caller?

00:26:06
Speaker 1: Also, so who are.

00:26:09
Speaker 12: All right?

00:26:09
Speaker 10: Thank you?

00:26:10
Speaker 9: Uh?

00:26:11
Speaker 10: And I was saying, like I heard Stoops say he just didn't really matter who the quarterback was this year since they were under distress all time always, so it didn't matter.

00:26:21
Speaker 13: Who he twit back there.

00:26:22
Speaker 10: So it made sense, like why he knows he's got to make a.

00:26:26
Speaker 13: Change of offense the line coach.

00:26:29
Speaker 1: Or he has to change the offensive line coach. And I know it's his body and I get that, but like you can't justify that offensive line. And I kind of agree with him, like Brock may just not be the guy, But how could we know everybody got the crap beat out of him? Like how would you even.

00:26:49
Speaker 14: Know you're right?

00:26:51
Speaker 10: It seems like though in the in the porter, these other teams have gotten a quarterback maybe not whatever, like Fandy got one on Georgia tech guy one or it seemed like these guys that have done good, you know whatever, well.

00:27:05
Speaker 1: But Devin Leary think about this, Devin Leary is in the NFL. Devin Leary is on an NFL roster. Right Brock Vandergriff, Maybe he was a bust, but like he almost won the job at Georgia. He was a five star war cutter. Bowley played I had and got knocked out tonight. I mean, there comes a point like at some point, maybe it's not them, it's the offensive line.

00:27:30
Speaker 15: Maybe you're right, You're you're right, That's what I'm saying.

00:27:33
Speaker 10: I was at the game and it was like the first series, great fumble whatever, but then it's like he just quit.

00:27:39
Speaker 15: Like it was like all of a.

00:27:40
Speaker 10: Sudden first down run, first down run, first time run. It's like he quit, like they just gave up on whatever, Like he just didn't have enough time to do anything. So it's like they couldn't mix it up, couldn't, you know, couldn't do anything, seemed like, so it's like it was a lost call. I was there, so it was like it was it was cold, but.

00:27:58
Speaker 1: It was very cold. Anybody aware by the way you do want stoops. Okay, so you're are you good? Are you happy to wear in the news? Are you okay?

00:28:08
Speaker 10: I did like what he said and that I like that he said. I'm I'm I'm burning, I fire, I want to get back to work.

00:28:14
Speaker 7: I agree with I love that.

00:28:16
Speaker 10: I mean, I mean, I think Soups has done things at our school we ain't never seen. I mean you've said at many times, like no one's won games like he's won here. It's never had.

00:28:27
Speaker 13: I mean, it's very very hard.

00:28:28
Speaker 10: It's just like next year we could be the South Carolina maybe, like like Soups said, that was a good play mate, Like they wasn't in a bowl last year and then this year they won nine games.

00:28:38
Speaker 1: They did. So you're right, and I appreciate the call. I think what you said is a good case for it. Here's what I would ark. Here's here's my only question. It's not often that you see a coach have a lot of success. Hit hit a down, hit a valley, and the bounce back up to where he was. I'm not gonna say it never happens, but it doesn't happen a lot. Usually you hit the valley at the beginning and then you build it up. So he acknowledged failure, and I appreciate that, like he I'm glad he did that. But it's weird though, like will he actually change or will he just say, we screwed that up? You know, we got the wrong players, but now we'll get the right players. And I'm still gonna do everything the same way. And it's gonna work because if he does that, he's gonna fail. But if he sits back and goes, Okay, this was handled poorly recently, let's start over, then maybe that can be successful. You don't see a lot of people who are very successful in life do that self examination. But if he does, maybe I hope it works out. Who's next?

00:29:56
Speaker 16: Ryan is next?

00:29:57
Speaker 1: Ryan? Go ahead? Ryan?

00:30:00
Speaker 14: Hey? Doing Matt the way I said. I've been filing Kentucky Sports. I'm seventy one years old. I see the same old thing. I'm tired of hearing that stuff. I'm going to work. He does the same thing. He said, what five or six offensive coordinators he handcuffed? Somebody won't let them do their job, and I'm tired of it. I'm sick of it. They need to find another coach. I don't know how they're going to do it, Matt, but you're the only guy that stepped up. Said they got that in at nil going Mitch Barnhart, he didn't want to do it now, Butch Barnhart made a couple good hires.

00:30:33
Speaker 1: You know.

00:30:34
Speaker 14: Coach Pope, I acknowledge I was wrong about Coach Pope and Coach Brooks, the women's coach. He needs to go. They and sense of coach Charmon or whatever his name was. Once he's left, he's they went downhill. And you're right everything you said. You've been right about Coach cow I stood up for him.

00:30:54
Speaker 6: I liked him.

00:30:55
Speaker 14: He treated me good. I never met him in person, but he always treated me good. I met all you guys. You know me, oh man, white headed guy. You know me, and I've been calling your show for years. You're right, and he needs to go, which Barnhard if he don't want to get rid of me, Coach Tuchty to step up and retire or go someplace else.

00:31:17
Speaker 3: That's all I got to say.

00:31:18
Speaker 14: Thanks for checking my call.

00:31:19
Speaker 1: I appreciate the call. I you mentioned with Pope and Brooks. All right, So Pope and Brooks were two new hires who boy they look good so far, and they both have said, all right, this is a new era, this is an nil era, this is an analytic era. I'm taking it head on and I'm embracing it, and here we go. And it's worked out so far. It's early in both of their tenures, but they're both undefeated. Basketball is probably gonna be number four. Women's basketball is gonna be in the top ten next week. Mark Stoops has got to reinvent himself to approach things like Pope and Brooks are approaching. That's just a fact, because the way he did things seven or eight years ago, you can't do it anymore. You can't do it anymore. And the offensive line is huge. As somebody pointed out to me a few minutes ago, they haven't had one successful offensive line recruit, like really successful in three four years, not one like really successful. And that's out in the heels of when Charman was a coach, having what we put like six in the NFL in four years. We put more in the NFL in four years than we had in our entire history prior, and now since then, it's fallen off a cliff.

00:32:45
Speaker 16: Who's next, Andrew.

00:32:47
Speaker 1: Andrew A five nine two eight twenty two eighty seven go ahead.

00:32:52
Speaker 9: So for me, there's a turning point in the season. Was at halftime of the Tennessee game. I don't know if people also listen to this, but when Susan's get an interview, when he walked off the field, he made a couple points to talk about how we were banged up. We were winning the game at Tennessee. Tennessee had missed two field goals and they had that end of the half debacle, and they also fumbled at midfield, and he brought up us being banged up. For me, as someone who's fires to work in football one day, that is a loser's mentality to be talking about how we're banged up. We were winning the game at Tennessee and he's talking about our injuries. Nobody feels sorry for you. You play in the SEC. Nobody takes him to the Wow, Kentucky's banged up. I feel sorry for Mark Stewkes. Nobody says that.

00:33:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I listen, I appreciate the call. It's weird. Mark Stoops has two qualities that are kind of in opposition to each other. He does take responsibility, but then he also makes excuses. I mean, how many times have we heard him say something to the effect of, you can't make excuses. I take responsibility.

00:34:00
Speaker 16: But and then Billy, what happened, but I don't apologize.

00:34:04
Speaker 1: But excuse it's like you, it's but I don't apology. That's right. I mean I've heard him over the years say in some form, it's my responsibility. He says that. I give him credit for that. He says it all the time. But do to do, to do, to do to do? That's a that is that's Mark's thing. And those two things kind of hit on each other, like is it your responsibility or is it this other thing's fault? You know, it is what it is. Conference is hard, but you went one and seven. Conference is very difficult. But we came in fifteenth out of sixteen teams, So it's got to be better than that. Billy, let me ask you, because I did all the talking, where are you on all this.

00:34:48
Speaker 16: Frustrating?

00:34:49
Speaker 17: I mean, it's extremely frustrating, There's no doubt about it. I mean, I don't think you can throw away the past two seven and six seasons as well, and you kind of saved your season last year by beating UL so I mean it hasn't lived up to standard. But you know, we get all really mean around this time of the year. We say a lot of things that I think we might regret looking back many months down the line. I mean, Stupent's done a lot for this program, like what do you mean? Just like people online and things like that, just just being really, really mean and forgetting probably the first ten years of the stups era here at Kentucky. But I know that what have you done for me lately? And even though there were a good times.

00:35:27
Speaker 1: I agree with that people are people can be very mean and they do forget. He's done a million good things for this school and has been arguably the most successful coach since Bear Bryant. But does it matter if the game, if the sport is completely different than it was three years ago? Now?

00:35:47
Speaker 16: Probably not, And that's probably the biggest sticking point.

00:35:49
Speaker 1: And until at the end of the day, like that, at the end of the day, this is not the same sport it was three or four years ago.

00:35:56
Speaker 16: Yeah, and he's going to show you a change a little bit.

00:35:58
Speaker 1: Indiana going from what were they five and seven to eleven and one in one year like that couldn't have happened ten years ago, but it can happen now and you have to like judge it based on that now because it's a different world. So who's next?

00:36:18
Speaker 16: Chip is next?

00:36:19
Speaker 1: Chip? Go ahead? Chip?

00:36:21
Speaker 3: Hey, what's going on?

00:36:22
Speaker 1: Matt?

00:36:23
Speaker 3: I just want to shout out to Billy.

00:36:25
Speaker 5: Respect.

00:36:25
Speaker 3: I respect that to you sometimes and not apologize and sometimes you got to stand by.

00:36:29
Speaker 1: What you do.

00:36:29
Speaker 3: I appreciate that, damn right, Chip. I just wanted to say, all right, I just wanted to say I was listening to uh Saban and start before on college game, did they talk about the keys to the game. I agree with you, Matt. We need to move on. You know, Stoops is gonna be there next year. We got to embrace it. But we got to look at what what actions will he take this offseason that will make us think all right, yeah we're on the right track, or all right, no, he's he to hang them up. Question it's got to be it's got to be old line, top down, has got to be redone. I mean, yeah, yeah, your quarterbacks are in the rest, Well, what are you going to do to fix it? Like you know, from the top down, the old line has got to come back, because I mean, the big blue wall. I mean, that's what we're known for, you know, and and up front on both sides of the ball. I think we're gonna have a hard time rebuilding that. And then, uh, I absolutely agree with you. Brad White is an amazing, amazing defensive coach, and I mean, but it's hard for our defense with what little depth we have to play when you know, you get offensive that can't come out and you know, you know.

00:37:45
Speaker 1: You're exactly we put them on the field a lot. We put them on the field a lot. You're exactly right. I appreciate cause I think that's a really good point. You know, you can't you can't. I mean we have when you when you say, well you gave up forty one points. We did, and I think the defense it's kind of quit in the second half. But we all say five turnovers. You know, at some point when you have five turnovers, how many times a you're gonna ask the defense to bail you out? Like you only have so many choices chances at that. So, uh, two eighty seven, let's take a break. I have a lot of you saying talking to me about a video of a player being in the concession line.

00:38:26
Speaker 16: Yeah, I saw that.

00:38:29
Speaker 1: I hope that's not true. That would be that's but it's part of what I'm saying. And at the end of the day, the culture around the program, to me, is a bigger issue than even the offensive line, because you can replace offensive linemen, you cannot replace a culture. Culture is a hard thing to build, and it's an easy thing to ruin. You can take a lifetime to build up a culture, and you can ruin it with one really bad day. And that's what I worry about honestly going forward. If I'm nine to eighth twenty two eighty seven, we'll take a break. Right back, it's the Local Toy Dealers KSR post game show. Look, I'm back, it is the Local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show. If I'm nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven, I want to thank all the Louisville folks that are listening, Billy, who are riding me saying you beat us thirty eight thirty one, we beat you forty one fourteen. You are right about that. I was thinking of two years ago, so you're correct. My bad. I was thinking of the number of years we kind of ran all over you. But you're right. Last year's game was closer, I believe, didn't Louisville louivill had a big lead and we came back. Is that what happened last year? I believe?

00:39:45
Speaker 16: So that was the right, right Davis?

00:39:47
Speaker 1: So did we have a big lead and then they came back? I can't remember either way. You're right, got to score wrong. Wish I could be as perfect as you all and never make a mistake. I like the people A lot of people play the video I have Billy where I said we could go nine and three, which was not obviously didn't end up happening.

00:40:08
Speaker 16: You work in the hype business.

00:40:10
Speaker 1: You know what. Here's the thing, Billy though about that video. I take responsibility, but I do not appos hold. I'm just kidding, Like, uh, I mean, you know, very good. South Carolina went nine and three like it was there to do. We just didn't do it, but it was there to do South Carolina. You know how last year we said Missouri had the season we wanted to have. Yeah, South Carolina had the season we wanted to have. This year, to their credit, I mean they went and had the season we hope to have. So uh So that video, I mean, people take that out of context that video. I was saying, I don't think we'll do this, but nevertheless they leave that part out. But I take responsibility, Billy.

00:40:52
Speaker 16: But I do not.

00:40:55
Speaker 1: Up next, Chris? Is next? Chris? What's up? Chris?

00:41:00
Speaker 6: Hey, Matt? I just think about when Coach Pope came on board, he would talk about entitlement versus gratitude. Yeah, I think Coach Doups needs to listen to that and take that to heart. The other thing I'll say is when we talk about culture of a program, when we talk about these things and life's not easy, but disordering a man's life and impact a lot of areas. And I just think we got to write the ship and it's it's been a tough season.

00:41:30
Speaker 1: It's been a very tough season. And you're right, I mean, that's exactly right. And the entitlement versus gratitude I think is a good Are you suggesting, sir with that when it comes to Stoops or when it comes to the fans with Stoops? I agree with you. I agree with that. I mean, I think there has been a sense of you know, when I will say I didn't feel this about his quotes today, but his quotes earlier in the year. There was a lot of entitlement. I think in what he what he said right, and yeah, but I.

00:42:01
Speaker 6: Always paid the pony up. I always had the pony up.

00:42:04
Speaker 1: I always hated it. I did too, and I hate that I'm out here on an island. I hated that. And I'll even say today, even though ninety I don't want to pick on him because eighty to ninety percent of what he said I thought was good. But then he also threw in there, I've done stuff nobody else here has, like we know, you don't need to tell us. I know that, but we But there's let me put it like this, I love Mark, but there's a lot of people that could go four and eight here. You know, there's a lot of guys who could go four and eight. We've had a lot of them, so appreciate the call.

00:42:38
Speaker 9: Now.

00:42:38
Speaker 1: I don't think there's many guys who could go ten and three. There's a lot of dudes who can go four and eight. So let's get back to where we're competing for those ten and threes. But the four and eight, you know, I don't know that that's the time to talk about all that we've done. It's sort of like remember when we were talking about cal I would say any one who argues twenty ten to twenty twenty cow was not good is a gooper. He was amazing. But the question is going forward. Anybody who argues that the run Stoops had from really year three to about year ten wasn't great, I think they don't understand Kentucky football. But the question is what's next year gonna be? Like you know, Kodak was once a great company. The question is what do you do now? That's the question for me going forward? Who's next?

00:43:37
Speaker 16: Jerry, Jerry?

00:43:38
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Jerry?

00:43:41
Speaker 12: All right, thanks taking my call.

00:43:42
Speaker 2: Man.

00:43:42
Speaker 12: I'm gonna make you a short tweet. I'm gonna say something is probably gonna piss a lot of people off of Big Blue Nations. I would never be so glad to see dem Walker and buying Brown to get out of our program. And they absolutely quit on this team. Walker has went from a first round he'll be lucky to get in the second round. And another thing is our offensive coordinator, Stoops cannot bring him back.

00:44:06
Speaker 18: Man.

00:44:08
Speaker 19: I mean, at the end of the day, why do you do you blame you do you blame the offensive coordinator for how bad the offensive line is.

00:44:18
Speaker 1: I mean, he didn't recruit the players. By the time he got here, they were already selected. Like, do you blame him for it? No, I don't.

00:44:26
Speaker 12: I don't blame him. I'm not a big fan of the offense, flying coach that they got them that came here from Malabama. But what I'm saying is, I was set to South Carolina the game early the season, and I set there and I watched Get You a Lot Easy to watch it live and it is on TV. And I sat there and watched Baring Brown and Dion Walker not just see him just take play at your play at the playoffs and Brown all he wants to do Matt is running cry and complain that he's not getting the ball. Well, first of all, brother, you need to try to work a little bit harder getting open your world class paid But all you want to do is just stop and start pointing fingers. And he did it today twice, two different times.

00:45:04
Speaker 1: Yeah. No, I mean, well, you don't have to be one of those guys. Either. One of those guys gonna be here. Yeah, neither one of those guys gonna be here next year. I mean you're right. I mean Dion, I'm.

00:45:15
Speaker 12: Part to You're probably right, but I'm just saying that just I'm just like you. I cannot stay in the thought of us getting smacked down and gets loublle like we did today, and at the end of the day, we just didn't. I just don't think the anper was think when the kids ripped out of his hands, I think that took right out of everything.

00:45:34
Speaker 1: I totally agree with you. I appreciate the call. I think that was a huge play. He just got the ball taken from him, just just literally taken out of his hands. You know, Barry and Brown and Dion Walker both uber talented guys. Both of them, without question, did not work hard this year. And Dion is a physical force the likes of which we may never see here again. I mean we we may never have anyone built like him again at this school. But he he he did. He didn't work card this year. He just didn't. Then he took plays off, and he's so good that he could take plays off and still be effective. But like the dominance that he had some last year, it didn't happen because of those When he decided to he could still be dominant. But he didn't do it consistently, and then Barrion. You know, I talked about this with Linn Bowden. You know, Lin Bowden, he took a lot of shortcuts off the field, but when he got on the field, his teammates knew that dude's gonna give us everything we have. And it gave him a lot of leeway with the coaches. But it also gave him a lot of leeway with his teammates. I don't think they like some of the stuff Lynn would do, but they'd be like, well, when we lace them up, Lyn's gonna be there. I think Barryon's done some of that stuff, but without the on the field lacing them up and gonna be there. And that's a recipe for negativity. And Dion Deon came into the season as a potential top five pick and now he's not in the first round and that's on him, like he has to deal with that. That that was him, that's not he made that decision. And you know, he'll still make the league. He'll probably be he might still be a first round pick, but he could have been a top five pick. And that was him that didn't make that happen. Who's next? Don don what's up?

00:47:28
Speaker 6: Hey man?

00:47:29
Speaker 1: Doing good?

00:47:32
Speaker 10: Ay?

00:47:32
Speaker 14: First time?

00:47:32
Speaker 20: Long time?

00:47:33
Speaker 1: Who are.

00:47:36
Speaker 15: I just want to take you back in time.

00:47:38
Speaker 20: You got Benny and c Rod and Cash and those guys. From a culture standpoint, I mean Steups was just on top of the world. I mean, it was a lunch pale, it was bringing lunch to work. It was a hard hat type mentality. I just want to know just how that's going to change, you know, moving forward. I just don't know if you're gonna you're you're getting a clean house from a roster standpoint, and I just want to know.

00:48:15
Speaker 1: I don't know. It's a great ques. I mean, that's a question he has to answer, right, Like he has to answer that. I mean part of it who you bring in, right, you know, I think they brought in a couple of dude. I think they brought in some people from the portal that just didn't have the work ethic and and I think that hurt. And then you know, they haven't developed some of the guys, especially when it comes to the offensive line. No, you're right, I'd like to hear him answer that question, but I'd like to hear him directly address the culture kind.

00:48:46
Speaker 20: Of I would I would like col situation where you're kind of hell hostage and you know you've got summer all out there, and I get it, you know some are all might have bigger and better things plan, but it's if you miss this window of opportunity.

00:49:04
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, if they WHOA, that's up to Mark, right like like that's up to Mark, Like Mark's the only one who can change any of this. This is all up to him, Like he's the ultimately gonna be the one. I think, and I appreciate the call. I think the first thing you have to do, and he says, he said, we're gonna go through the roster and see who who we have and who we don't. They got to get some of that out of there. But I don't think that fixes everything. Okay, if you I don't think these dudes we have are all bad guys. Maybe a couple of them were, but most of them probably weren't. A lot of it's the culture that you sat with the coaching staff and with the you know, I just saw Stanford's bringing in Andrew Luck as the GM of their football program. I don't know if Andrew Luck will be good at that or not, but I do know that anybody you here talk about Andrew Luck says he's one of the smartest guys they've ever met, said he worked harder than anybody they've ever seen. Okay, that's a dude I'd kind of like to have in a G position, a really smart guy of a name value who works really hard. I'm not even sure who our GM is. Do we have a GM? I don't know. I think in football you gotta have one at this point. I mean, you gotta have one. You might even need one at basketball, but you gotta have one in football. There's three hundred people you're looking at. So do we I mean, do we have someone like that? Are they looking at culture when they pick guys? I don't know, you know, I don't know the answer to that. So Mark's got to answer those questions. I'm not around enough to know who's next. Jimmy, Jimmy, what's up, Jimmy?

00:50:38
Speaker 18: Hey, guys. I guess the biggest thing that stood out to me today is I went to Austin last weekend and I watched UK be pretty competitive with one of the top teams in the nation. And today it's night and day like I just that and you know everything with the end of the season, It's just I don't know, like like I just heard the quote from Stoops that you guys played a little bit of go. I'm just you know, my thing is just show me like, like the offense has been abysmal, but I.

00:51:15
Speaker 1: Wasn't surprised, just by the way. I don't know if you heard the pregame show. I mean, I picked against Kentucky for the first time against Louisville in fifteen years. I pick them even when I don't think it just because I don't want to pick them. I thought I thought we were gonna get crushed, and we did if I said by three. But if I was being honest, I thought we were gonna get crushed. I saw this coming in my way. I I you just talking to people this week, right, so this coming.

00:51:46
Speaker 13: Right?

00:51:46
Speaker 18: And and and another thing I'd like to add. You know, I really hope Cutter is the is the answer. It's just, you know, can we talk about Mark Stoops and developing quarterbacks and the lack thereof, like I hate hate to be the guy.

00:52:02
Speaker 1: We haven't We haven't. We haven't developed a quarterback out of high school yet, you know, I mean, we go you go to Terry, you got you go, Steven Johnson, Terry Wilson, Will Levis, uh, Devin Leary and now Brock. We haven't developed a whole quarterback out of high school ever, So I hope, I mean, I hope that's the truth, though, isn't it? Like I mean, he's we haven't. We haven't developed one yet. So I mean Cutter is hopefully the the the exception. They got another good guy coming in in Stone Saunders, so I mean they've got a chance. But the reality is, the success we've had at quarterback has all been guys transferring.

00:52:43
Speaker 3: In and in.

00:52:46
Speaker 18: In my last thing, I'll let you guys get the one. Like I guess positive stat I can look for is Macklin today? What a waste? Oh man, what a waste? But uh, it's basketball season.

00:53:03
Speaker 1: Fellas appreciates cal. I'm with you. I mean what you watch Macklin today and you go, how did he not get the ball?

00:53:10
Speaker 8: More?

00:53:11
Speaker 1: I mean, I think if they had it to do over again, they'd probably sit there and say, you know what, it should have been Dame and Macklin. That's probably what they'd say. But Barryon has such talent that you almost can't help but go. But man, I could make that work. And I think if you look back and you go, if we had done Machelin on the targets we used with barryon all the time. Yeah, we maybe we wouldn't have had the one or two super plays, but maybe it would have been more consistent overall. Let's do one more and we'll take the final break.

00:53:45
Speaker 16: Who's next, George and Lincoln.

00:53:47
Speaker 1: George, go ahead, George.

00:53:51
Speaker 13: Hey, Matt, first time, long time listeners.

00:53:54
Speaker 1: Who what's up?

00:53:55
Speaker 21: George Hey, we would like to have some advice of how to respond from r U of l friends and all their trash talk.

00:54:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's gonna be tough. You know. One of the things about when you're when you have friends and you trash talk with your friends is sometimes, George, you just gotta you just gotta eat it. Like sometimes you just gotta say you got us on that one, and then you save it up and you remember all the times that they that they make jokes. George, you keep it in the back of your mind and then when it comes time, you get them back. But you also have to acknowledge sometimes they get you and if you try to you know, if you try to win. Win. When you've lost, you just end up looking bad. So what I would say is, how old are you? George? Ten? You're ten years old? You're ten years old? Yeah, so so you should say since you all started going to school in football and basketball, you know the total amount of wins Louisville has since you've been in school.

00:55:02
Speaker 2: One one.

00:55:04
Speaker 1: So you add up all the ones we've won, and you say, you know what, I am nice, I'm George. I'm giving to my fellow friends, and I wanted to give you one because I already have eleven and I'm gonna win the next eleven. So you say that, okay, George, Okay, I appreciate it, all right, I appreciate the call, George. How about there you go? Wow?

00:55:31
Speaker 16: Matt parenting a little bit here on the post games.

00:55:33
Speaker 1: I think I couldn't be a parent. Everybody's oh, you can't be a parent. I could be a parent, you know, I mean.

00:55:38
Speaker 16: I just haven't yet until they start screaming.

00:55:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, when they scream, then I would give them to somebody. Yeah. If I'm nine to twenty two eighty seven, we'll take a break come back. Final segment. It is the local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show Waterback. It is the local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show ef I'm nine to two eight h twenty two eighty seven final segment. The uh, the Louisville fans just keep They pull out another video I did Billy where I said Louisville wise, Louisville ranked ahead of us, they never beat us. Oh yeah, but I can't do that one this year because they did beat us. Yeah, I mean we lost. What are you gonna do? But uh uh? One person writes, Matt, you did say you thought we're gonna lose. Did you end up betting Louisville? I did? I did. I even altered in line the Louisville a little bit. I thought they were gonna kill us. I did. I just you know, I didn't like the vibes and got out of hand quick. It could have been worse like it, really, I mean it could have been worse like they could have been up thirty five nothing a half time and then but what's weird is we had a moment, right it was twenty to seven, we had the ball and then he just will Cox fumbled it again.

00:56:56
Speaker 22: Uh.

00:56:56
Speaker 1: And then I don't think they played him again after that. So two fumbles at all? Do it to you?

00:57:00
Speaker 3: All?

00:57:00
Speaker 2: Right?

00:57:00
Speaker 1: Who's up next? Zach Zach? What's up? Zach? Zach? Go ahead?

00:57:10
Speaker 5: Can you?

00:57:10
Speaker 9: He?

00:57:11
Speaker 1: Yes?

00:57:13
Speaker 5: He so.

00:57:15
Speaker 23: My biggest thing with this year and with Stukes what I'm worried about. I don't like his attitude, with the I'm coming back and the way he said it, kind of talking down to the sands.

00:57:26
Speaker 13: I feel like.

00:57:27
Speaker 5: And my biggest thing is he's stubborn. He's turned into.

00:57:29
Speaker 23: Cal Perry, and if he comes back, I'm worried that we'll miss out on John summerw He's gonna get a big, big coaching job somewhere else. And I keep hearing the well, he he's old. A down year, It's fine, this isn't a down year. This is the last three years have been trending downwards and this is just the worst out of the three. And I'm tired of it. I don't know what we gotta do get rid of him.

00:57:59
Speaker 1: But yeah, what would you do? I mean, I guess ultimately that's the question. Let's say you are the A D. What would you do?

00:58:08
Speaker 5: I don't know, put up a bill board and Lexington and raise some money and get rid of him. I guess I don't know.

00:58:13
Speaker 1: I don't think that's gonna work. I mean, I don't really. I mean, there comes a point where it's like, I don't know that you have a choice but to make it work, you know what I mean, Like what other what other choice is there? Because he says he's coming back once. He says that, I don't know, I don't know what else you can do.

00:58:33
Speaker 5: Well, Cal said that too, and he sat with Mitch Barnhardt in a video, so I mean he did.

00:58:39
Speaker 1: But remember, but how did that? But think about how that went away? That went away because he decided to you know what, I mean, like he decided, Okay, I'm not gonna do it, So you know, I think that's just kind of how it is.

00:58:55
Speaker 23: Like I'm worried he's turning. I'm worried he's getting stuck in like Cowhich Grant Cal left, and I get that, but I'm worried he's getting like that and he's stubborn.

00:59:04
Speaker 1: I worried about that.

00:59:05
Speaker 5: And I think I worried abo.

00:59:07
Speaker 23: He's putting it all on his OC and I don't know if he's going to change. I mean, it's the same thing every year. We can't keep changing offensive coordinators. We can't keep doing that. I mean, at the at the end of the day, it falls on him.

00:59:20
Speaker 5: And this is a.

00:59:21
Speaker 23: Three year spiral down.

00:59:22
Speaker 5: And I used to be one hundred percent on board of.

00:59:25
Speaker 23: Stoops, but the last three years, I just it's hard to it's hard to back and I hate to say it because he has been the best coach we've ever had. I get that, I understand that, but at the same time, you can't go off the past and continue on.

00:59:42
Speaker 1: Totally agree with that, especially when it's a different sport. I mean, I appreciate the call. I mean that's like saying, so, let's say that you know tomorrow the radio industry completely changes and all of a sudden. To be a good radio host, you also have to know how to oh okay. You also also have to be a really good singer. I can't sit here and say, and you're sitting there going you're the head of iHeart, and you go, well, who do we want to helm this ten to noon radio show every day? Well, Matt's had fifteen good years. That's making when I go, we can't sing, and I go, well, first of all, yes I can, but then I would say, but I've had fifteen good years, and they go, yeah, but can you see because in the future you have to see. Well, for Mark, you may have had ten good years, but now you got to do this in ail thing, and now you gotta do this culture thing, and now you're gonna have a twenty million dollar you know, payments and all this stuff, like, now you gotta do something different. Can you do that? Because if you can't sing, and if you can't do that, then it doesn't really matter what you did before.

01:00:50
Speaker 17: In some ways, Yeah, but it's not singing in the new world. I think you hire a co host that can sing while you do the other things.

01:00:57
Speaker 1: Good, Fine, go hire a GM that is analytically based, that understands then that I'm fine with that. Go hire your Andrew Luck. Again. I don't know if Andrew Luck's gonna be successful, but go hire someone like that. That would make me some confidence. You know. That's why maybe he'll do some stuff during this offseason that makes you excited. But you know what I worry about. Here's what I really worry You want to know what I really worry about, Billy, For just being honest, we got a handful of coaches that I think need to be replaced that I think Stoopis is gonna be histant to replace because he's their buddy. We got a couple of coaches that I think are our strongest parts of the program that I'm worried will lose. So if we don't replace the ones that I think need to be replaced, and we lose the ones that I think are good, then it's hard for me to be excited. That's kind of my work. What's next?

01:01:58
Speaker 16: Aaron is next?

01:02:00
Speaker 1: And go ahead? Aaron? Aaron?

01:02:07
Speaker 13: Sorry, Barren?

01:02:09
Speaker 15: Was it Barren?

01:02:11
Speaker 5: Yeah?

01:02:11
Speaker 1: If you're on the phone, then it's okay.

01:02:16
Speaker 13: Thanks Matt, Sorry, first time, long time?

01:02:19
Speaker 1: Who are so?

01:02:22
Speaker 22: I Uh?

01:02:25
Speaker 13: I love Mark Stoops. I love everything it's done.

01:02:29
Speaker 22: But I think.

01:02:32
Speaker 13: Just the way it's gone and the way it's gone with Mark Pope is you get this young person who's energized. They get the people excited. Think of next year, we go six and six. If we're lucky with Mark steps, who's gonna be happy about that? But if you bring in a John Summer all rebuild it all, we go six and six, everyone's happy And just like you said just in that last before you put me on is you bring in? You know, it's kind of like Cal what was a downfall of Cal keeping his friends?

01:03:08
Speaker 1: And no, I mean what you just said is what you just said is completely valid. Okay, so what let me give you what Here's how valid what you just said is. Let me ask you a question. If Mark Pope this year were to go twenty five or let's say twenty four and seven, all right, be a three seed in the tournament, and we get to the second round and we get upset in to a six seed. None of us are going to like it. But are we still gonna be excited about the future? Yes, wouldn't you agree? But what if John Caliperry?

01:03:48
Speaker 9: But what if?

01:03:49
Speaker 20: John?

01:03:49
Speaker 1: But what if John Kyle Perry? Let me finish my question. Let me finish my point. What if John Caliperi went twenty four and seven, was a three seed and lost to the sixth seed? We go? Oh, here we go again? Right? So you're right, there's a freshness that happens with a new coach. The older coach the standard will by definition be harder. And I think that's a big point you raise, and I think it's valid, and you get buy in.

01:04:22
Speaker 13: You get everyone excited about the future. Things are different, and I love Mark Stewkes. He's the best coach we've had since Bear Bryant.

01:04:31
Speaker 22: He built this.

01:04:33
Speaker 13: I mean, look at what John cal Perry did for us coming off of Billy g. You know, he thank God for everything he did or we if we would have made the wrong hire when we hired cal we could have been Indiana.

01:04:47
Speaker 1: You're exactly right.

01:04:49
Speaker 13: But but but but we needed a change and it came in. You've got someone who's happy, who's refreshed, who's reaching. I mean John John Summer all played for Kentucky.

01:05:00
Speaker 1: Well, you gotta just stop. I mean, honestly, though, the John Summer things a waste of time. Okay, because Mark's not leaving. I get what you're saying, but like there's gonna be no argument you can make that's gonna make that happen, you know what I.

01:05:15
Speaker 13: Mean, Like we'll see no, no, no, no no. I I completely agree. But what I wish I could say to Stoops is think of five years from now. If he left today, in five years from now, there'd be a statue of him.

01:05:30
Speaker 22: And he has.

01:05:33
Speaker 1: Totally agree. He's putting his whole legacy he's putting his whole legacy on the line, exactly's no doubt about that.

01:05:41
Speaker 13: Again, he's gonna be run off, he's gonna be disliked, and it's gonna be like, I'll let you go.

01:05:46
Speaker 1: I appreciate the call. You're exactly right. He is putting his whole legacy on the line. And if he if I was his close friend, uh, and he came to me and said, Matt, what should I do? I would have said, you know what, Mark, maybe this is the right time to step away. But he has made clear he's not gonna do that. And you're exactly right. He is putting his legacy uh at Kentucky on the line. He seems to believe in it, though, and I hope it works out. Uh, let's do four more. We'll call it a night. Who's next, Billy? All right? Johnny? Go ahead, Johnny? Yo, what's up?

01:06:23
Speaker 20: Matt?

01:06:24
Speaker 7: Uh just just kinda say, man, as a little of a fan, this was great. It was an absolute beat down. Y'all had this one coming.

01:06:35
Speaker 13: Uh.

01:06:36
Speaker 7: So you know, y'all can y'all can sit on this one for the next year because it was incredible.

01:06:41
Speaker 8: Uh.

01:06:42
Speaker 7: But all jokes aside Matt rivalry side. I do, I do enjoy listening to your insight on on things, but I just think Kentucky fans need to realize that that there's a lot more issues at hand than than just than just stoops. But you know, we needed this one. It was a lot of fun, you know, and we're gonna see y'all in two weeks.

01:07:11
Speaker 20: Go cards.

01:07:12
Speaker 1: Yeah that'll go different. Yeah, well listen, maybe might maybe that'll happen. I appreciate to call if you all. Uh, I think very un probably will end up in a program like Louisville. I'm not saying it will be Louisville. I don't think he'll go there. He's thrown too many l's down for that, but I do think that that's probably where he ends ends up. No, Louisville did need this one. And look, a rivalry is not a rivalry unless you all occasionally win. So, uh, it had been a while I didn't know if y'all remembered even like how to win these games. So you did. The good thing is, though you're you're not gonna win the basketball game and uh may never win it ever again. So but never again, you all should enjoy you should enjoy this one. If I were you, I would I would completely enjoy it because you deserve it.

01:08:00
Speaker 11: There's up next, Brian, Brian, go ahead, Brian, Hey, Matt, longtime, first, long time listener, first call. I just want to make I just want to make a comment on a on a statement that was made a couple of segments ago about comparing uh Kentucky to the to Indiana and and how you know they're eleven and one this season and they were what five and seven past season, but you got to take into account you know their their schedule is is relatively weak.

01:08:36
Speaker 22: This year, and then with it is.

01:08:40
Speaker 1: It is, but we didn't beat anybody we beat. We can't we can't say anything about I mean, when I go on ESPN and I talk about who it should be in the playoffs, I will say Indiana schedules week and that will be very perfectly valid as a Kentucky fan. We lost to Vandy at home. We can't complain about anything of Indiana's schedule because we lost a Vandy at home. We lost by twenty five or whatever it was, to Florida. We got run off the field by Louisville, who lost two weeks ago. To Stamford. We can't say anything about Indiana's schedule as Kentucky fans, as when I put my national commentator hat on, I can, but as a Kentucky fan trying to justify where we are visa the Indiana Indiana's schedule has If we played Indiana tomorrow, they beat the crap out of us.

01:09:32
Speaker 11: All right, Sair enough. I just think if Kentucky were to pay, if Kentucky were to play Indiana schedule, I guarantee.

01:09:41
Speaker 1: We wouldn't be eleven and one. We wouldn't be eleven and one, not this year. I appreciate the call. There might have been years where we would have, but it ain't this one. Look, Louisville's what fourth fifth in the ACC. They just destroyed us. They lost last week to a team that finished three and nine. Two weeks ago, he lost a team that finished three and nine and lost yesterday to San Jose State at home. We can't say anything to these other programs. Two more, Who's next, Brandon Brandon? What's up? Brandon oh Man?

01:10:17
Speaker 15: I love the show. I got an unpopular opinion and a regular opinion. I guess I'm popularive. We have been, We've been declining since Mike Stoops got here. Nobody's brought that up. It probably has nothing to do with anything, but he started the buddy hiring system and we've declined ever since he got to the program. In my opinion, I.

01:10:37
Speaker 1: Mean, I think factually that's accurate. I don't know if that's correlation or causation, but factually, Uh, you're right. What's your other opinion?

01:10:49
Speaker 15: I'm rid or die Mark Stoops. He got us to where we are. I'm forty five years old, close to your age. I know where we came from. He deserves a mulligan. In my opinion, I'm right or die for Stoops. If you don't do it next year, I'll change.

01:11:02
Speaker 1: All right. Fair enough appreciate the call. I do think there are more of those people than you would think if you were online only that got callers like that. What the percentage is, I'm not really sure, but I will say this. We talk about COL. This reminds me of where Kentucky was after col lost to Kansas State. If you remember, after that year, it was still pretty divided, but then after Oakland the consensus formed. If we have a bad year next year, the consensus will be formed and then you're really in a pickle. And by the way, next year's schedule is hard. We play all the same teams we played this year, so yikes. Just keep that in mind. Last one, who's there, Brad? Go ahead, Brady?

01:12:02
Speaker 22: What's I disagree with you on the consensus? I think the elephant in the room, uh, with the contract and all that good stuff, is that there is a monetary uh implication for him staying. And that's the thing that nobody's talking about because there are people that are just flat out done.

01:12:22
Speaker 14: Uh.

01:12:22
Speaker 22: So that's something that Uka is gonna have to consider. Barnhart's gonna have to consider.

01:12:29
Speaker 1: When you say done, though, I mean I assume you mean like I assume you means like season ticket holders.

01:12:36
Speaker 22: Yeah, I think there's gonna be season ticket holders that are not going to renew. There's gonna be people that are not gonna quote unquote pony up, you know, and iol wise and just across the board. So I mean there's gonna be a monetary impact. Will that is I don't I don't know there will.

01:12:53
Speaker 1: I don't think there's any doubt about that. I think the question is the second part what it is. I also would note, though, most still the revenue now that Kentucky brings in comes from the television deal, But the season tickets do matter a lot. And I think the second, the last thing you mentioned, the nil thing, really matters a lot. Next year after that you're gonna get into the revenue sharing thing, and I actually think it will matter less. But next year, I think you're right, it will matter a lot.

01:13:22
Speaker 22: I mean, because when you have a guy, you know, right out of the shoot, I mean, the first opportunity that he has to speak, he basically just has one of the worst pr statements that you could make, basically telling the fans that he's going to hold the program hostage. You know, I mean, that's just the worst thing he could have said in that postgame interview. And you know, lastly, before I jump off here, we Barnhardt has to stop writing these contracts where he's leaving the university, no backstop when you know.

01:13:56
Speaker 1: He won't do it again, like he's not gonna do it again. I agree that he will not do that again. You are, you are right. We've talked about like why he almost had to do it, but I will make it. First of all, I don't know if Mitch will even be around to write the next renewal version of a contract for any of these coaches, quite frankly, just because I don't know how many more years he'll do it. But you're right, I think both the Cal situation and this one, I'd be shocked if he ever did it again.

01:14:29
Speaker 22: And I totally get like why they did it, But I mean, from your standpoint as an attorney, like, would would there be any reason from the other party's perspective, like why they wouldn't sign a deal, like a big money deal, like if that portion wasn't.

01:14:44
Speaker 1: There because they could get someone else to give it to him, you know, like UCLA. UCLA was willing to give Cal essentially the same deal, maybe not the lifetime ambassadorship, but they were willing to give him basically the same deal and maybe even a little more money.

01:15:09
Speaker 22: And then I know that what I'm saying is I'm not not not leaving some kind of any kind of leverage at all.

01:15:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, But I mean answering the question because because the because at the other place they believed that they could. You're playing a game of chicken in some ways, right, You're sitting there saying their agent comes and says if you don't give me this, then I'm going here and you're sitting there going or are they just saying that or do they meet it? And it's like a game of chicken. And if you don't give them that and then they go, people are gonna be like, well, why'd you let them go? And it's tough. Negotiations are tough. I hate doing negotiations for that very reason. I don't like doing that. I end up I'm not good at it because I don't like playing that game. I think in Col's case, his leverage was real. Stoops this case, I'm not sure if it was as real as as Barnhard and them thought, but they clearly thought it and that's how we got where we are.

01:16:09
Speaker 22: So yeah, I mean, yeah, just the close of me for me, I think that's something that, you know, the university needs to look at us. I mean, how much projected loss could it be that, you know with fan turn off?

01:16:22
Speaker 1: I mean, you'll find out.

01:16:24
Speaker 22: I don't I don't know what it'll look like, but I'm pretty disgusted with the program right now.

01:16:30
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I appreciate the call. I mean, if it's a big number, it'll matter. I think, you know, I think the Nile piece is the biggest thing. Eventually, I think most people will renew their season tickets, maybe not all, but the Nile piece. You know, you got to go get players in the next three four weeks. I think it's gonna be hard to look at somebody and give them a say, give me fifty thousand dollars to go get this player right after you went four and eight. That's gonna be tough. Billy, Thank you very much. I wish you were going with us. We will miss you this week.

01:16:57
Speaker 16: Yeah, enjoy your trip, don't get all right.

01:16:59
Speaker 1: This Cincinnati area. Tomorrow morning I'll be with Myron and with these guys at Jefferson's Social outside of the Bengals game. So if you're going to the Bengals game you're in the Cincinnati area, come say hello. I'd love to meet you and say hi, and then we will take off and we will be in Iowa City on Monday morning for our show. Follow all of us on social media to see the trip. We'll have a full car. We got me, Drew, Ryan, Shannon, Mario and Max all going. So it'll be should be a great trip and we'll be on the road all of next week. Thank you all very much for listening all football season. Now we switch it to basketball. Two big games this week with Clemson and Gonzaga. This has been the local Toyter Dealers KSR postgame show