KSR Postgame UK FB at Florida 10/20/24

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone. It is the local toy of dealers KSR postgame show. The Cats get absolutely blown out tonight in Gainesville forty eight to twenty and embarrassing loss. After a number of wins against Florida in a row, this one is pretty bad. Eight five, two eighth, twenty two eighty seven. Will open up the phones. I originally was gonna have Ryan do this one tonight, but then after I saw how bad we lost, it felt like I needed to come on. I think sometimes in uh in seasons, but also in sort of ten years of coaches, you get games that that feel kind of important, and I thought the Vandy game last week felt important, and I think this one kind of does two. You know, I there was obviously a chance they could lose this game, and I don't think the game was as lopsided as the final score showcases. But it also wasn't a game that we should have won, and it was a game that I think illustrates kind of the drop in performance of the program. I mean over the years, over the last few years, Kentucky has really kind of owned Florida. We've sort of and even in the one or two games we've lost, I mean, I think you can make an argument going back to the last seven years when we've played Florida that really accept one game, we were the better team probably six of the seven times, I think we won maybe four of them. Tonight that wasn't the case. And Florida is not particularly better. I mean, well, they are better, but then they've been the last two years, but they're not good. And yet they kind of out physicaled us and we're just kind of completely manhandled us for a lot of the game. I mean, how many games are you going to see in your life where a quarterback what completes what seven passes? Billy? Is that how many play passes?

00:01:55
Speaker 2: He completed seven fifty nine yards?

00:01:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, seven pass for two hundred and fifty nine yards. I mean that means you gave up big play after big play, which is the one thing that a Brad White defense really doesn't do. I mean, that's one of the strengths, and that was not the case. I think even coming into this game, we were one of the best teams in the country had not giving up big plays, and they got absolutely crushed with big plays all night. We could break down the myriad of things that went wrong, but Ultimately, I think there's a bigger picture discussion to be had, which is kind of a state of the program. I mean, there are five games left in the season. You play your two biggest rivals in Tennessee and Louisville. You play two teams that'll be in the top ten in Tennessee and Texas. You play an Auburn team next week that I think is probably the second worst team in the conference, and if you lose, then you're the second worst team in the conference. I only think Mississippi State is worse. So I mean, this is really a huge step back for a program at a time in kind of college football where I don't think you can have a step back. You know, in the new Innile world, this is a major time of transition. I think in two years there's gonna be a new set of rules for Inile and I think it's gonna kind of freeze programs in time. Maybe sometime we'll talk about that later in the year, but I do think these next couple years are very important for a football program. And we're kind of hitting a downslide at the worst time. And you know, I don't know what you do. I mean, I listened to Mark Stoops last week and this week on the postgame show, and it's pretty clear. Man. He one thing I like about him. He's pretty upfront and he doesn't have answers. I mean he kind of acknowledges that. Last week he sounded completely baffled, and this week he kind of sounded defeated to me. And I don't know, man, it's hard to see. It's hard to see how this it's a lot better. I think best case scenario for the season now is six and six. I think a more likely scenario is probably five and seven. I'm now to the point I think maybe we beat Auburn, maybe we beat Louisville, We'll beat Murray. I mean, you can have this could be a four win team. You know, a four win team after what seven eight years in a row of making bowl games, you don't get that extra practice. You know, you probably see a roster overhaul after the season. You know, we've been pretty fortunate here at Kentucky to kind of, even during this transfer portal era, really keep our rosters intact more so than almost any program in the country. I kind of don't think that's gonna happen at the end of the year, and I don't know, it just feels like a thing that has really taken a major step back. And you know, online people are are already talking about how there has to be a coaching change. And you know, if you if you listen to this show over the years, you know, I say that that's like not something that I think you really talk about until the years over, because they got to keep playing regardless. But it is hard to see kind of how this gets better in the short term. I mean almost kind of no matter what happens in these last five games, it just feels like the program is in a very stagnant and heading backwards place. And it is highlighted today because you're you have now played in the last two weeks programs that you've kind of owned during the prime of the Mark Stoops era, and you lost them both, one of them at home, and you got kind of demolished tonight. And I don't know how that gets better in the in the short term. I really don't. A lot of the same problems we've seen occurred, not as many penalties, but you know, bazar are play calling, inability to convert third and short situations, giving up third and long on defense, it didn't really matter, but once again, terrible clock management at the end of the first half. You know, it's just the same stuff. So it's hard to see how any of it really really gets better. And the longer I've been doing this, the less I say a lot. I think KSR is a reflection of the fans opinion. It's not necessarily a driver. Well, the fan base is a lot more negative than it's been, and part of it is a victim of stoop success. You know, there's a lot of young fans out there who don't remember the Kentucky that a lot of you listening do, which is when we were terrible. But because they've grown up accustomed to success. I mean, they believe this program is in its lowest point, and whether that's true or not, that's what they believe. And it just feels like a program that is losing support at a time that there's probably more excitement around the basketball program than any time since pre COVID, So it is going to be natural for people to just sort of walk away a little bit from football. You know, we play Auburn next week. Normally that would be a huge game, Auburn at night. Well, I think It'll be a fine crowd, but I don't think it's going to be a great one. And then I think the Murray State game, it might be friends and family at that game. I mean, there might not be anybody there for that one. And then Louisville, of course, the final one probably will have an okay crowd, But like, it just doesn't feel like this fan base is going to be excited for the rest of this season. And I just don't know where we go from here. I think, you know, I've said over and over Mark Stoops is not going to be fired, and that's just not going to happen. And like, there will be people who make that argument, and they can make it all they want. It's it's it's a perfectly fine position to have, but it's not grounded in reality of what the situation will be. But I do wonder if at some point there's going to be a decision that like this just isn't what even Stoops wants to do, because it just doesn't feel like the same program it was even even two years ago. In a lot of ways, if I'm nine two eightho twenty two eighty seven, normally, you know, when we do these late night when people are driving home. Obviously this was a road game, so if you're awake right now, you really care. So I want to hear what the people who really care think about the game, but also the program. I mean, this game sucked, by the way, Billy, Has there ever been worse production from a camera and game standpoint than the SEC Networks production too?

00:08:55
Speaker 2: They must have been drunk. I don't know what the camera guys were doing the third quarter.

00:08:59
Speaker 1: I could have been like a high school football stream. I mean, it was the worst thing I've It was the worst thing I've ever seen. And I still don't know on that one play, how how did we get a first down? I thought it was like fourth and two and we just had a first down And I still don't know what happened there at the end of the third quarter.

00:09:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, not only that, there was a score for Florida in the third quarter, which I'm I'm not sure he ever broke the line on that play.

00:09:27
Speaker 1: Well that was a ref's call, but part of why it couldn't be overturned as it looked like they were shooting it from an iPhone four and they didn't even have an angle of the play. It was just it was just a bizarrely terribly produced game, and our performance pretty much matched it in uh negativity. So eight five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven for those of you that are up at twelve forty five at night, we'll take your calls. Cats with embarrassing lost to go to three and four in the conference. This is the local toyty KSR postgame show. Looking back, it is the local Toy Dealers KSR post game show. I'm looking at the text machine and at Twitter seven to seven, two se to seven four five two five for it. Some comments that a few people have made that I just have quick comments on when person writes, Matt, what do you think is the biggest problem that the staff and the program has right now? I think it's that our last two quarterbacks haven't been great. I actually don't think that's the problem. I don't think our last two quarterbacks. I mean, I don't think Devin Leary was great. I'm not sure that Brett Vand and Griff's great either. But to me, it's the offensive line. I think the inability in the last couple of years to recruit and develop really good offensive lineman is the biggest problem the programs had because if you look at the years we were good, the offensive line was really good. And I don't know how many guys we had drafted five or six in the last five or six years before these two previous but they were like five or six seven Dick guys drafted, and I think we'd only had like three or four offensive lineman drafted in the history of the school. And it's just been a huge regression. And if you had a great quarterback, maybe you get by that, but we don't have a great one. But I don't really think the quarterbacks have been the problem. I think the problem, to me is a lot more on the offensive line. One person writes, Matt, do you think it all goes back to pony Up? Well, I don't think the problems with the program or him saying pony up, but I think he lost a I think Mark Stoop's one of his best qualities was he knew how to relate to our fan base and he knew how to talk to him. And in the end of the Caliperi era, whereas cal kind of drifted from understanding, and it felt like Stoop still did. And I just think that pony up comment was so tone deaf, just so tone deaf, and it sort of made fans question him in a way that I don't think happened before that. It was just it was Tony, especially when he said it and then we lost to Missouri the next week, et cetera. Another person along those lines says, Matt, do you think it's nil has hurt this team the players care more about the nil than the team? Well, no, but let's say that's true. You still got to get around it. I mean, these other teams are winning, like that's my thing to all these coaches. You know, if every team's stunk, that would be different. Indiana seven and oh with a new coach, right, he's found a way to work the NIL stuff to make it work for him. So if you can't do it, then you can't coach. Like you can. You can complain all you want about the system, but the system is the system. It's gonna change in the next two or three years and it's not gonna look like it does now. I think it'll be a lot more regulated. But you know what, if you don't want to do it, it's like I said with Tony Benny, you don't have to do it. Somebody else will do it, but other schools are navigating it. So no, I don't think an Aisle's the problem. I mean, Baron Brown was crying on the sideline after game. You think he doesn't care. I think he cares. But you gotta. You can't wind as they say, there's no wining in the yacht. Man. You gotta. You're making nine point one million dollars a year. You gotta figure out how to navigate this system. All right, who's up first, Billy, Jimmy, Jimmy, what's up, Jimmy?

00:13:29
Speaker 3: Hey Man? I just wanted to say, Man, I was looking so forward to this team this year, with the wide receiver room and the quarterbacks and all the good running backs and obviously the good defense. Like I'm forty years old and I remember going to Commonwealth when there was no one there and we absolutely sucked. But that being said, I've had some wars with my buddies over the last two years. I think stoops peaked about two years ago. Just to be real with you, and I just I don't understand.

00:14:06
Speaker 1: Wars with your buddies. Do they agree with you or disagree with you?

00:14:11
Speaker 3: They agreed with me in the long run of things.

00:14:14
Speaker 1: Just to be real with you, I think you probably peaked too. I mean you probably peaked as well. I mean, look, there's no doubt that it's gotten worse. What's frustrating to me about this, and I don't know if you disagree, but like when we were going twenty five years ago or twenty years ago and looked awful, we had no talent. We had no talent, right like now there is talent on this team, you know, and and that I think is what frustrates.

00:14:42
Speaker 3: People, absolutely absolutely man and and and one last thing on the the the buy out, And this has been my question. It was morely understanding on the contract that was it six seven wins Bowl games? My question is I understand and the beginning why that added more time and more money onto the contract. Why didn't they ever usk that?

00:15:07
Speaker 1: Okay, well you have to you have to go back to I mean it's sort of like again, I feel like we're having similar conversations. To win, Calvin John, you have to go back to win. These contracts were revised and redone. I mean, stoops. We won ten games two years or three years ago, right, and I think that's when the contract was redone and Stoops had a lot of leverage then, man, I mean he had a lot of leverage. He had just won ten games. If you go back to after the season where we won ten Will's first year we had and then won ten games in two of the last four years, right, So for Kentucky that's crazy. So if Mark Stoops's agent says, I want more money and I want this, what is Mitch Marnhart going to do? He has to do it, you know, So I don't I you're right, but I think the addition of years and stuff probably they had to do that too, because what if after that next ten win season he leaves and goes to a similar Kentucky type program, not A and M. But like somebody on our scale, our fan base would be furious.

00:16:24
Speaker 3: Absolutely.

00:16:25
Speaker 1: I kind of It's kind of similar to the cow thing, like are you really gonna let John Calbary walk? Where you're gonna really let a guy who won ten games to the last four years walk? I just think it's tough. It is.

00:16:37
Speaker 3: It's very tough that I appreciate it.

00:16:42
Speaker 1: Thanks, Yeah, I mean, you know, I understand how tough that contract looks today, But it was a different situation then, and I just we just have to I think we just have to remember that who's next.

00:16:57
Speaker 2: Keith is next, Keith, go ahead, Keith?

00:17:01
Speaker 4: All right?

00:17:01
Speaker 5: Kay? Excuse me, man, I don't I don't want to be all negative. I got two points, ones about the game, ones about the program. We had two Google line plays that that went against us, right, you mean.

00:17:20
Speaker 1: One when we got stopped and then when they scored, and who knows if they scored or not? Is that what you mean.

00:17:26
Speaker 5: Exactly that those those those could be two game changers right there.

00:17:30
Speaker 1: They could.

00:17:31
Speaker 5: They could we have a first we have a first down, the one mont guard line, we stop a touchdown.

00:17:36
Speaker 1: You're exactly right. I mean those plays go differently. Look if this game had finished thirty four to twenty, I'm with you, But he didn't, you know what I mean. And and so while those plays frustrate me, they're not going to be my excuse for a forty eight to twenty game.

00:17:55
Speaker 5: I get that. But but a lot of things could happen when when when you don't score touchdown versus do or verse give it up?

00:18:03
Speaker 1: That's true, that's true. But I guess what I would say is, you know, yes, I agree with that. But remember, let's just put all that aside. It's thirty four to twenty. We're driving. We get inside the thirty and we run four of the worst plays I've ever seen, including a tempet to sweep with barrying Brown on third down, and we throw it on a fourth and six, we throw it one yard five yards behind the line of scrimmage. At some point when we do stuff like that, I can't get too worried about whether or not that guy was in or not. I mean, I didn't think he was in at all watching it live. There is a picture, a still framed picture that a photographer took from on the Florida sites, and he's in on that one. Now. I don't know if his knee had been down before or not. It's a still frame picture, but you know it does exist.

00:18:57
Speaker 5: And but and now I go to my to my mind less negative is I feel like Stoops is Tony Bennett. He is he hates the he hates what football is. Right now he is writing out the contract.

00:19:16
Speaker 1: I wonder if, Yeah, I don't if that's the case, and I don't think that's implausible. By the way, he doesn't seem happy to me right now. I think it's especially here and I don't know about you when he talks to Tom Leach after the games. If that's what it is, then he needs to not do it after this year. I mean, I don't know that's what it is. But if it is, because don't you agree with me, man Like, if you can't do this, then you can't do it, you know, right? But I mean, is not gonna.

00:19:49
Speaker 5: Change nine million dollars a year. You're not gonna wait for nine million dollars a year.

00:19:53
Speaker 1: Though, I will say this about him though, I don't think he's gonna be a dude who just stays here just to take the check. I think if he doesn't feel remember you know, he had he had his father die.

00:20:06
Speaker 5: For a while, he might for a while. He might for a while.

00:20:09
Speaker 1: Maybe maybe we'll see. I mean I hope not, because I don't think that's good for anybody. I wants for him.

00:20:16
Speaker 5: I want to believe that too. I want to believe that too. But you put yourself in the same would you walk away from now?

00:20:22
Speaker 1: That's that's a fair question, A fair question. Fair fair question I appreciate to call. It's hard to just say because there's a really good chance that if he goes somewhere else now after this, he ain't getting the money he'd get here. He's probably missed that time.

00:20:40
Speaker 2: Right, that A and M job less?

00:20:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that ain't well. The A and M job was different though. I mean he's he's not gonna get offered again. He's not getting offered an A and M kind of Now. Now, if he were to quit here, I do believe somebody would hire him. I believe a good like a school like Kentucky would hire But I bet they wouldn't pay nine million dollars. He'd probably make four or five million dollars. So you know, it is what it is. And who's next, Ethan, Ethan, what's up? Ethan?

00:21:13
Speaker 6: Hey, Matt, that's what I got a comment and a question here. Uh So, I would just like to point out that the potential best win in the Mark Stoops era is what's now ranked eighteenth ole miss.

00:21:27
Speaker 7: Notice, I don't think that's.

00:21:29
Speaker 1: The best win in the market. I don't think that's the best win, don't. I think we beat Penn State. We beat Penn State and Citrus Bowl. We beat Louisville that year with Lamar with him coming off the Heisman on their home field. That Florida team we beat in twenty eighteen finished ten and three. I mean, I don't I look, if Old Miss finishes eleven and it finishes ten and two makes the playoff, then maybe they are. But he's had good wins. He maybe hasn't had the signature beat the number one team in the country, but he's had good wins.

00:22:05
Speaker 6: And I agree. And this to add on that that I don't know if you realize that Penn State was seventeen at the time too, But like I say, they were.

00:22:13
Speaker 1: Seventeen after we beat them. They were seventeen after we beat them. But remember if you go back and look at if you go back and look at that game and there was a twelve team playoff that year, there's a really good chance that the two teams that would have been fighting for the final birth were US in Penn State. They probably would have picked Penn State. So we then beat them. But so, I mean, those are good wins. They're not maybe not world beater, but they're good.

00:22:39
Speaker 6: Right, And I got a question here for you. So I'm just thinking long term, whether it's football, baseball, basketball, soccer, or whatever, is it something that can be put in a coach's contract that they after their first two years as head coach, if they fall below five hundred, their buyout could go down.

00:22:55
Speaker 1: It can.

00:22:56
Speaker 6: Is that thing ever.

00:22:57
Speaker 1: Happened to me? It can, but they've got to agree to it. And what coach is going to agree to that, especially when they've had success. I mean, well, it's a million, it's like the comp But but what Mark Stoops would probably say is I'll go somewhere else that offers me nine million and doesn't have that in it, right. I mean, it's ultimately all contract negotiation is just leverage. And the reality is when Stoops renegotiated his contract, and then six years ago when Cal renegotiated his, they had all the leverage, so he didn't have any leverage.

00:23:41
Speaker 6: But at that point, you're kind of betting on yourself. So they may offer, you know, a million more, say he'd get offered ten million. If he accepts, you know that you're not going to lose.

00:23:52
Speaker 1: It's easy to say now when we lost to Florida. But remember, I mean, are you old enough to remember when Guy Morris walked away from here to go to Baylor? Do you remember that?

00:24:02
Speaker 6: I'm twenty seven.

00:24:02
Speaker 1: Okay, so God Morris many years ago and other people would know this situation better than me. But Goy Morris was coming off a decent year, left here to go coach Baylor because we wouldn't pay him enough. Rid got crushed for that. Well, I don't think you can do that coming off a ten win season, right.

00:24:27
Speaker 6: So, and I just have one last little question for you. Do you say if it wasn't forty million, do you think there is a number. Do you think if there was ten million, he's smiling like ed or Dron headed to the beach tomorrow.

00:24:41
Speaker 1: I don't know. It depends on how the season would end. To be honest with you, I appreciate the call. I mean, I think Mitch really appreciates Mark a lot. And I think there's other stuff at play. I mean a lot of it. We've talked about the show. Most of the football donors were cultivated by Stoops. You know, if you were to get rid of him and they didn't want that, you'd have to start over again. I mean, there's a lot. There's a lot to it. It's not just so simple as just write a check. But ten million is different than forty million. But I also think it will depend how the season is. There's a big difference between finish with four wins and fishing with six. So I think we got to wait and see what happens. Who's next, Lance, Lance, Go ahead, Lance?

00:25:26
Speaker 8: Yeah, man, there's I mean, there's all kinds of things to say, including Stuke's contract, But one thing I want to hit on is tell me why in what world doesn't an offensive coordinator bring in a quarterback that everybody knows it's either going to run or hand the ball off on a crucial third and six in the third quarter.

00:25:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't like I didn't like that either. I don't under I didn't understand. First of all, it felt like to me, this was the best passing game Brocket had, So I didn't understand it's a third and six passing situation that the dude pass right and then you're exactly right, I mean, Gavin is not gonna throw. And then I still don't understand what our fascination with trying to get bury on on the outside. We haven't been able to do that all year. Like, Yeah, I'm with you. I didn't understand that play all though.

00:26:21
Speaker 8: Nobody did, and I just it just goes back. It seems like the game planning. I don't know, it's just nobody's in sync. It seems like to me.

00:26:30
Speaker 1: I agree with that. It feels like, you know what, there are people that know a lot more about football than you or I that could break down the specifics. But I think what you just said that it doesn't feel like we're in sync is totally valid. Exactly.

00:26:47
Speaker 8: Yeah, and that's all I have.

00:26:48
Speaker 1: But all right, I appreciate it. If I'm nine to eighth, twenty two eighty seven, Let's do one more before we take a break. Who's next, Joe, Joe, go ahead, Joe.

00:26:57
Speaker 9: Yeah, thank you. Matt, I want to try you're one of your points before the show started. Here and everything come out the time management, Matt, I mean Buryan Brown gave us life. This guy those ninety nine yards on a kickoff. Now, earlier, coach Ster just blew a timeout. He wanted to argue with the referees and we lost a time out. But Matt, we still had two timeouts, and he does not take that last time out. He does us about fifteen seconds run off the clock. Now, Matt hell Murray had a buzzer a field goal at the bozzer would be used in this game if we could have got the ball back.

00:27:37
Speaker 1: But I don't Here's what I don't understand. He let twenty seconds run off and then call timeout, So like, if you're gonna let it run out, just let it run out. I don't think. I think they make decisions at the end of these halves just completely on the fly, and everybody's like, wait a minute, maybe we should try. Okay, twenty seconds later they call time out. I'm with you that I don't even care what bothers me about their time management is not even that they choose differently than I would. It's that their decisions have made no logical sense.

00:28:12
Speaker 9: No, man, I'm seventy two. I've been around for a long time and I've watched a lot of UK football. But this time management with this head coach Mark Soups, I just don't understand it. It's like, it's like, well, we'll be okay in the second half. Well when you left points on the field, yeah, let points on the field.

00:28:31
Speaker 1: Second But what I don't get is he let twenty seconds run off and then't called time out like that. I don't know.

00:28:39
Speaker 9: That's three that Stree play, that's three plays or maybe even four if you if you play it right. Well, that's what I just don't understand. I'm all for the guys. I love UK football, but by gosh, you cannot. You cannot win college football nowadays by giving up the leaping points and not going far. And that's part I don't understand about any Thanks a lot, So I agree with.

00:28:59
Speaker 1: You, appreciate call. If I'm nine two eight h twenty two eighty seven, I accept that, like if there are two choices to be made, and there's a case for both, that someone else may choose differently than I do. But but what I want is to have a coach or anyone in leadership who, even if they choose differently than me, at least the decision is logically done. What I don't understand about Stoops at the end of these halves is it seems like not only does he always choose differently than what I would have done, but he doesn't even execute his plan logically. And I don't get that, And it has to be because there's no one figuring out in those moments what to do. He If I'm nine two eighth twenty two eighty seven, we will take a break, take your calls. It's the Local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame Show quarterback and is a Local Toy Dealers KSR postgame Show eight if I'm nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. One person writes, uh, this is uh. Bryce says Matt. We didn't win ten games three years ago. Mark Stoops wasn't worried enough about his program, and those games got vacated. Yeah, I mean, you can blame a lot of stuff on Mark Stoops. I don't think it's Mark stoops responsibility to make sure Chris Rodriguez fills out his time cards on his off campus job, you know, I mean, I don't put that on Mark Stoops. So and also the concept of vacated games in twenty twenty four. And I love making fun of Louisville Ford as much as anybody, but the concept seems a little antiquated with what with what what college sports is now. But but if that bothers you, then that's fine. Who's up next?

00:30:49
Speaker 2: Let's go to Matt.

00:30:50
Speaker 1: Matt, what's up? Matt?

00:30:54
Speaker 10: Hey, let me tug.

00:30:59
Speaker 11: Obviously, Mark Stoops he can't be fired, and I don't think he deserves to be fired. He can't fire your all time winning as coach after one disappointing season. He deserves the opportunity to write the ship if he wants to.

00:31:21
Speaker 1: I sort of agree with that for the most part. I do think well, first of all, I mean, again, the theoretical talk of firing, like you said, is dumb. I don't know that anybody deserves to keep your job forever. But what Here's what I worry about though. I just think there are these times in college sports if you look historically, where the whole genre shifts as to what it is, and we are in one of those times right now. In two or three years, college sports will look completely different than it looks now, and that'll be what it looks like for the next twenty five years. And I worry that we are heading into that transition, maybe at the lowest point we've been in fifteen years, and it's the worst time to have it. And so that's why the timing worries me so much.

00:32:11
Speaker 5: Does that make sense, Yeah, I think it does.

00:32:15
Speaker 11: I just think we have reached higher hides. I'm thirty one years old.

00:32:20
Speaker 10: We have reached higher.

00:32:21
Speaker 11: Hides under Mark Stoops than we have and the rest of my life. We went through I mean, obviously Probation years and Richbrook years and Joker Phillips hears. We've reached higher highs under Mark Stoops with a couple ten and three seasons. I just think, if we can finish this year six and six, beat Auburn, Murray, Louisville, get a bowl game, we're good. If we don't, I think it might be time for Stoops.

00:32:51
Speaker 1: I don't disagree with you, an, I think six and six and four and eight are two really different things. I really do. Just just terms of overall vibes and all that, I appreciate the call. Let me give an example of what I'm talking about, just in terms of like his like shifts in college athletics, Like ten years ago, when conferences were starting to align as like mega powers, that was the wrong time to not be good. There are teams like Missouri that are in the SEC because their football program wasn't that bad and adding them at that time made sense. Like I don't know if Louisville's in the ACC when they got in the ACC if it wasn't for the fact that Rick Patino actually had that basketball program competitive and Bobby Petrino and Charlie Strong had the football program competitive if their programs had been where they were two or three years ago during realignment, they mean, maybe like Memphis and left out. So I think we're in one of those shifts right now in college football. We are moving more towards a semi professional model, and I just think this is the worst time you could be bad, because I think everything's about to change, and it'd be real nice to be one of the programs doing well when that change occurs.

00:34:14
Speaker 2: But how is this possible? I mean, this was Stoops's most talented roster to date.

00:34:19
Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, I think at its core, our offensive line stinks. Yeah, I really believe. I believe that's a huge part of it. I mean, all these other things are important in their problems, and the defense, you know, the secondary took a step back today. I mean, there's a lot of little things you can say, but at its core, our offensive line is terrible and that causes problems with everything else.

00:34:44
Speaker 2: Is the jury still out on Bush Hampden or have we seen enough bad play calls?

00:34:48
Speaker 1: Within the thought? I think that it's not been great, But I also think he's hampered by the fact that like things we took for granted, like running it on third and one one and knowing we were gonna get the first down, we can't do with this group. You know, he can't do it.

00:35:06
Speaker 2: He has too the sun we have to play, and we have.

00:35:09
Speaker 1: To play these tight ends and that because we can't block, and then we have less receivers downfield, which give us fewer options. You know, there's so I don't think he's like blown me away, but I also think he's limited by the fact that our offensive line is not good and it's probably the worst it's been since Stoops first or second years. Doing good, doing good? What's up, guys?

00:35:37
Speaker 7: I wish I was doing good tonight, but I'm not.

00:35:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just.

00:35:47
Speaker 7: A lot of things you can say, but I just want to, you know, throw it out there that coach Stops if the absolutely best coach we could have had for our program for the last several years. It's bully for him. What do you guys think that we could do from a team standpoint to like make us overcome like the obstacles in front of us?

00:36:13
Speaker 1: You mean, how do we beat Louisville and Auburn? Really, that's what we're talking about, right, I mean, I think we certainly have that's the have That's I agree.

00:36:24
Speaker 9: I think that's the only chance we have to uh, you know, to to Robra Stephen.

00:36:30
Speaker 1: We we have the players to beat to win those two games, right, I mean, I think we have the talent to do that. Uh. And but I think they've got to clean up mistakes. I will say to you, I don't think you're going to see some dramatic shift. I mean, I don't think you can say, for instance, take this guy out, put this guy in. I don't know that there is any of that. I mean, I really don't. We kind of you are what you are at this point. So they just got to go win. They got to go play better. I mean, we could have beaten George, we could have beaten Vandy. We didn't, right, so now we just have to kill me. Well we could have. I mean I don't think you know, I mean, we the South Carolina games.

00:37:16
Speaker 9: Sorry, I'm not trying to talk to Elly.

00:37:19
Speaker 7: I think that kills me and everybody else in this fan base.

00:37:23
Speaker 9: We could have done those things, and now we are basically we're locked into two games for the year to determine what we're going to end up and that.

00:37:34
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, did I appreciate the call? Doing good? I would say, you know, now somebody can also say, well, we could have lost Ole Miss. So I mean, you know, there's you could do that all day. You are what your record is. But they can beat Auburn and Louisville, they also can lose to Auburn and Louisville. So you know, I thought I thought we'd win tonight, and instead we lost by twenty eight. So I'm I'm kind of done predicting. I have no idea what's going to happen next week, but you may. I think there's let's say you win next week, you're gonna come into that game against Louisville where I think the fan base's perception of Mark Stoops Billy could come down to that game. It kind of did that last year and the last year. But I don't think people last year were like, we've got to make a change. If they had lost a little, we still would have made a Bowl game, you know what I mean, Like you still would have You might get there this year, And honestly, if you lose last week, you're probably already there or she suld be lose next week. Talbor. Who's next, Nate? Nate? What's up Nate?

00:38:44
Speaker 5: Yeah?

00:38:44
Speaker 12: Man, I got a point in a question. First point. This is the first time in the Stoops There, I'm sitting next to my girlfriend. I'm taking her to her first UK game where or we live in Texas. We're taking her to my her first UK game next week in here wearing a Duke basketball shirt. And I thought to myself watching this, I can't wait for basketball season. This is the first time in the Stoops era. I was watching that game and I thought to myself, please let basketball season come.

00:39:11
Speaker 1: Fay No. I mean it's a good thing in some ways. It's probably a good thing for Stoops that basketball starts Wednesday, because it will divert some attention.

00:39:19
Speaker 12: And then my question, Matt is in the Stoops era, we've only had one top seven finish in the SEC and points per game in total offense, and that came from an offensive coordinator who's leading the top five offense in the NFL right now. So what that being said is if this gets any worse. I granted, like Stups isn't getting fired, You're right about that, but where's the push to say, hey, let's.

00:39:44
Speaker 5: Go grab that guy in New Orleans.

00:39:46
Speaker 1: He's a top But what does that mean? I mean when people when I continue to come back to what does that mean when you say where's the push? What would you like people to do? I mean, there's nothing anyone can do, Like, nobody can force that to happen, even if you think that's the right thing to do, like tweet. You know, I think there's people who think if they tweet really hard that that will happen. Like the money is the money, so it's gonna be I mean, I don't care if we finish four and eight. It's gonna be Mark Stoops's decision whether or not he's here next year. You know what I mean?

00:40:28
Speaker 2: Oh he hung up?

00:40:30
Speaker 1: Okay. I mean it's just like like people wrote me after the game and they go mad, When are you gonna say what needs to be said? And remember like, first of all, I don't know that it needs to be said that he's gone yet. I'm not sure that I'll even think that at the end of the year. But even if I thought that, it's not gonna change anything. Mark stoops is gonna decide whether he's the coach next year. That's just the fact. So you know, that's what makes it a little bit depressing because I don't really know that there's anything. There's no pressure that can be put. Really, as weird as that sounds, Let's do one more and then we'll take a break. Who's next, Jordan, Jordan, what's up? Jordan?

00:41:14
Speaker 13: Hey man? I just wonder who is in Mark Stoop's ear when he's hiring an offensive coordinator because bush Handon is awful and we're starting to see that.

00:41:27
Speaker 1: And I don't know that I totally I don't know that I totally agree with that. I mean, I don't know that he's he's I don't think he's done great. But you know, we thought me included. We thought Shannon Dawson was I understand that. I understand that, but I also think we have the worst offensive line in the SEC. But we thought Shannon Dawson was awful, and he's now the offensive coordinator for a team that's gonna make the playoff in Miami. You know, there were people that were ready to get rid of Liam Cohen last year, and now he's orchestrating the Tampa Bay offense that's top five in the NFL. Eddie Grand we all are ready for. But Eddie Grand was good. We just didn't like the style. But Eddie Grant's arguably our best team was with Eddie Grant, the team that beat Penn State in the Citrus Bowl. So I think at some point that's on stoops, like we can only point to these offensive coordinators so long.

00:42:26
Speaker 13: I don't feel like bush Hammon is a fit for what we have at quarterback right now though.

00:42:33
Speaker 1: Well maybe, but bush Hampden beat Ole Miss on the road. Bush Hampden played Georgia, who just went and whipped Texas. Bush Hampden played him to a one point game. Our defense was a big part of it, but our offense control. I mean, we couldn't get in the end zone, but we controlled the ball. I think we didn't we have the ball for forty minutes of that game. So I appreciate the call. I'm just saying I'm not I'm not saying bush Hampden's great, But you know, I feel like I've done a lot of these shows over the years where people were like, well, Neil Brown's not what we thought he was. Man, Shannon Dawson is this, and Eddie gran Is is ancient in the way he calls things. Liam Cohen second time arounds not as good as the first time around. I mean at some point, like it can't always be their fault.

00:43:29
Speaker 2: No, you're making sense. It was just four and five and you throw the ball behind the line of That was.

00:43:33
Speaker 1: A terrible calling. That was a terrible call. But I don't know. I don't know that I'm ready to say he doesn't know what he's doing, but that I agree. I thought that was a true Let's take a break, we'll do final segment. AF. I'm nine two eight twenty two eighty seven. This is the Local Toy Dealers KSR post game Show. Welcome back. It is the Local Toy Dealers KSR post game Show. I enjoy talking to Billy over the last few weeks about voting in the president. You I always talk about, I don't know an undecided voter. You're the one, right Like, you're the guy the one all these candidates Trump and Harris are chasing after you. Billy, You're the one. You're the only person I know who is undecided.

00:44:16
Speaker 2: A big decision coming up though November. Maybe they should send more of those texts my way, that is sending it to you, but like, I don't.

00:44:23
Speaker 1: Know another person who is undecided but you, And so I'm got so when I when I hear people talk about the undecided voter, I just picture Billy r Sports as the you are the face of the undecided voter. Hey five, twenty two eighty seven. All right, who's up next?

00:44:42
Speaker 2: Let's go to Josh.

00:44:43
Speaker 1: Josh, Go ahead, Josh hey Man, first time? Long time? Who are what's up?

00:44:52
Speaker 14: I just wanted to talk about when that, Like, Like, I.

00:44:56
Speaker 1: Don't get it.

00:44:57
Speaker 14: Why we put him there just to run the ball? Hm, it's it's you basically take up.

00:45:03
Speaker 1: Half of our offense.

00:45:04
Speaker 14: At that point, it's gone, Like passing offense is gone. So every defense in the country knows blitz Blit's that play.

00:45:12
Speaker 3: He's not gonna throw it.

00:45:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's a fair point. I also don't understand why at the end they didn't play him instead of Cutter Bowley, Like what a terrible situation to put Cutter Bowlie in by the way for his first game down twenty one at Florida, Like, and he throws a pick six first play, Like if you want, if you want Gavin wims It to throw, why not do it? Then? To give him some run. I didn't really understand that either.

00:45:39
Speaker 14: Yeah, they let him throw the ball in the I can't remember the team we played with, the team we beat bad. They let him throw the ball in that one, and he threw dimes. They just won't let him throw the ball any other time.

00:45:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean they need to, because you're right, he'll be more effective. I also don't understand, though. It feels like when he has a third and one or a fourth and one, he always gets it right. So why did we have two third and fourth and ones where we ran a quarterback seek with Brock, Like, if he's gonna why don't we keep letting him do it until he doesn't get it? You know? Uh, I don't know. I mean, I'm not the one made to make the decisions, but I appreciate the call. Derek says, Matt, I can tell you pressure we could put on UK. What if Kroger Field looked like it did when Joker played or played Vandy. I mean, I think that would definitely be a statement. Still a different situation. Though Joker was making two million. Joker had like one year left on his contract, so I think the school holding two million, not the same. I mean it's a big difference. Who's up next, Andrew, Andrew, what's up Andrew?

00:46:47
Speaker 9: Hey? You can hear me?

00:46:49
Speaker 1: Yes?

00:46:50
Speaker 4: Okay, A few things first. One thing that Buss does it drives me crazy, is his personnel groupings are so bad. So we were down two score there in the second half, and he's constantly running new people out.

00:47:04
Speaker 5: So what that was.

00:47:05
Speaker 4: Doing was allowing Florida the seventh so we needed every second we could get your down multiple scores. So he's like changing Willie and Joshkatis constantly, which I personally don't think there's much of a difference between any of our tight ends, but that was allowing so much time off because Florida was just walking players onto the field and so we just constant time being run off second on fourth and eleven. Your season's on the line, no, Dame Key, no Barryon Brown?

00:47:34
Speaker 10: Are you serious?

00:47:35
Speaker 1: Yeah? I didn't get. I think you are exactly right about the personnel groupings. Okay, because not only that, you know, the best drive we had, I think was when was to start the second half, when we ran up tempo the whole time, right coming out of halftime, and when you change those personnel groupings, you can't go up tempo because you're right. They let him sup so that I.

00:48:02
Speaker 4: Could see some of Florida's coaches just walking those dudes on this.

00:48:05
Speaker 1: Of course they and that's what they should do. So like our best drive of the game was the one where we ran up tempo, and that was I think the only time we did it. And then you're exactly right on the fourth and I appreciate the call on the fourth down to have neither Brown nor dang key and makes negative sense to me. I cannot believe on two fourth downs we targeted a player that has one reception on the year, both of them. That's I don't get that either. Let's do four more and we'll call the knight. Who's next? Dog? Dog? How are you? Dog?

00:48:41
Speaker 9: Hey, I'm doing good man. Well. I appreciate everything y' all do for UK Sport. I'm a lung time ticket holder. Also contribute to the nil, yes, and I'm really hurting right now.

00:48:55
Speaker 15: And let me ask you a question, dog on the nil thing, Cause like when you make the decision.

00:49:05
Speaker 1: To contribute on the nil, does like do you look at this and say I'm less likely to do that next year? Like I'm really kind of curious with people who do that, what the success or failure of the team, what it will lead you to do in the future.

00:49:27
Speaker 9: I'm I'm right now, I'm I'm disgusted. You know that may change here in a doe more weeks or a month or next year, but right now, I just don't think we'll get an investment on our quarterback. We're paying him like over nine hundred thousand dollars and he's just not We need a quarterback and our officeneive coordinator is out of his league and we'll de hurt my Now.

00:50:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I appreciate it, dog, and thank you for the no I understand well you're entitled to it, and thank you for the kind words there too. I do you know? The new age of college sports is what it is, and I think it is more, in my personal opinion, more fair than what it was before. With that said, nothing in life is free, and in exchange for players getting money that I would argue they deserve, the expectation of how they're looked at is going to be different. If you're going to be paid like a pro, people are going to judge you like a pro. And I think It's going to be fascinating to see when people are giving money to pay players like a pro if they don't get that performance, will they keep doing that? I think programs all over the country are dealing with this, and we are going to be one of those this year. Three more Who's next?

00:51:13
Speaker 2: Brandon?

00:51:14
Speaker 1: Brandon?

00:51:14
Speaker 9: Go ahead, Brandon, Yes, sir, How are y'all doing?

00:51:18
Speaker 1: And that I'm doing good?

00:51:22
Speaker 16: Well, what I'm calling in to say is is that I don't Mark Stoops. It feels like he's living in the shadow of his bigger brother, Bob Stoops. He's trying to chase that and he's just not ever going to match it.

00:51:36
Speaker 1: Why do you say that? I mean, what does what does Mark Stoops having a bad season have to do with his brother?

00:51:44
Speaker 16: Well, I mean it's not necessarily that I mean, but it's just like you know, I mean, you got a bigger brother that does better on you. But in the first half, but.

00:51:55
Speaker 1: His big brother, it might be that his big brother being successful is what drove him to have the success he has now.

00:52:03
Speaker 16: Yeah, but in the first half, we ran four straight plays on the one yard line right up the gut, and every single one of them got stopped. Instead of running an RPO play and trying to fake it and like fake a run and throw a flat run when you could have you could have done that and faked out the defense when they knew what was coming. He's so predictable as a coach.

00:52:27
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I don't disagree with the play calling. This is now back to back and I appreciate the call. Back to back games where we've been right at the goal line and get zero points. So I mean, that's that's a disaster. I don't think that has anything to do with his brother, but uh yeah, I mean we've been inside the five now two straight games, uh, and come away with zero points and you're not gonna win like that. You're just you're just not gonna win. Two more. Who's next, Joe, Joe, go ahead, Joe.

00:53:02
Speaker 10: Hey, Matt Uh, I'm just I know he's a great guy, a great kid. But I'm just curious why Jagger Burton continues to start. I mean it looks like to me, he has, you know, at least a penalty or with the block every game and every time we put in Dylan Ray. I mean he's not a you know, an elite blocker, but he does his job, and so I just I don't.

00:53:24
Speaker 1: I mean, I I think the their answer to that question would be they don't feel like anyone's better. The one position where I think that argument is tough is exactly what you said. I mean, what we have seen of Dylan Ray has been seemingly pretty serviceable and good. So you might say, well, why don't you try it? I will say, though, and I don't know. You may you may have played offensive line or something. I don't consider myself a great judge of interior offensive line play. Uh, I think I you know, if can judge tackles a little bit because you see it, but I don't. I don't know. So I don't watch Jagger play by play to be able to say, to be honest with you, yeah, And that was what I used to rely on Freddy for that. Freddie was the dude who would break down interior offensive line play for us. So it's hard for me to say.

00:54:22
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:54:23
Speaker 10: And then you know my second question is, I mean, I know you have some some inside information, but can Gavin Wimsett just not throw the ball or like.

00:54:32
Speaker 14: I don't understand why he's not given more of an opportunity.

00:54:35
Speaker 1: I don't think they again, And I think this goes back to the Rutgers days and just kind of the way he played there. I don't think they necessarily feel like his decision making in the passing game is all that great. Now, can he throw it downfield a little bit? Of course? And I it feels like to me, I mean, he seems like he does a pretty good job figuring out on the read option, like what what to do, So throwing into where he also had an option to pass, to me, doesn't seem like it'd be the worst thing in the world.

00:55:09
Speaker 10: I mean, why not give him at I mean, give him the time.

00:55:13
Speaker 9: It's the experience.

00:55:15
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you. I feel like, if you're gonna trust him enough to run the ball inside the ten, which is a pretty serious time of a game, then you should trust him enough to throw a pass during the game. So, uh, I agree with him. I appreciate the call. Let's do one more and we'll call it a not Who's next.

00:55:37
Speaker 2: Or Cutter Bowley being put in that situation.

00:55:39
Speaker 1: I don't. I didn't. I don't understand that. Like what, I feel like, that's a terrible situation to put the kid in. I mean you want to get cutter bowlie reps do it against Murray State in a few weeks, Like, I don't understand that. And now he's zero for six in his first game and he's and he throws it in a pick sick, Like I just wouldn't that have been a perfect time to see how you have? I mean, that feels like I don't. I didn't get that. I really didn't. But who's next? All right?

00:56:05
Speaker 2: Final caller?

00:56:05
Speaker 1: Jake, Jake, go ahead, Jake.

00:56:09
Speaker 17: Hey, Matt, No, I was just I was on my way home from the game. I went to the game tonight, okay, and on the right before the fourth or eleven that you were talking about, it was weird. So there was a TV timeout. Mark Soops was completely away from the offense by himself, not sure what he was doing, but he wasn't talking to any of the players, not the other coaches, just standing over there by himself. But as I was driving home, I was just thinking it was like at the top of Mark Stoup's era at Kentucky, we finished second in what was the SEC East this season. If we were to finish in what would be the SEC East, we'd be last. So that's the progression that we had gone under the Mark soups era, and I don't see it getting any better. And at this point, if we don't make a change, the conversation definitely need to be getting started. Thanks, Matt, have a great night.

00:57:01
Speaker 1: J Pet. I think that's man. I think that's fair. I mean, you do have to remember that when he got here, we were last in the SECSED and I hadn't really thought about it like you're saying it, but you're right. There's a very good chance we finished last in the SEC East this time, so you know, life comes full circle. And in some ways I think about the basically back to back plays with barryon Brown where he lets the ball go through his hands which leads to a near pick six, and then immediately on the next play runs a ninety nine yard touchdown back like that's the Barry and Brown experience, and unfortunately it's kind of been the Kentucky football experience this year. But the problem is we're not getting enough ninety nine yard kick returns. We're having way too many drop through the hands for the other team to run it back, and that's unfortunate, but it is where we are, and I think next week. I really do believe. I think next week is a game that it's not gonna win. Everybody back over. But if you lose that game to Auburn and we go into a stretch Vandy, Florida Auburn where we thought we could win all three and play Tennessee in a game that would be one of the most important in UK and years. If instead we lose all three and we're guaranteed pretty much a losing record and no bowl game, that's gonna be hard to come back from. Thank you all very much for staying up and listening. The numbers of this show at one forty five in the morning, show this program, the people around it still really care about this thing and hopefully gets turned around. I will see you all Monday morning. If you're up tomorrow, come listen to me on ESPN. I don't know who's playing tomorrow, Billy, so I gotta figure that out. We'll see you. This has been the local Toyer Dealers KSR postgame show.