For the better part of the last two years, many Kentucky fans have been calling for Mark Stoops to be removed as Kentucky’s Head Coach.
Stoops, no doubt, delivered when he entered as Kentucky’s head coach in 2013, rebuilding a struggling program where in the season before his inaugural one, Kentucky went 2-10 in the season and 0-8 in the SEC.
From being Florida State’s Defensive Coordinator to leading the Wildcats, Stoops’ recruitment ties and ability to develop players brought new light to the Kentucky football program.
The 2023 season was the last time Kentucky has won more than three conference games and knew that this game was vital for the team, and for himself.
Now after Kentucky’s showing against Florida, where the Cats took a dominant victory with a score of 38-7, Kentucky not only has hope for bowl contention, but also hope that Stoops is finally bringing Kentucky pride back to football.
“I care about this university. The people have given me this opportunity, the fans. I mean, we’re going to bang away and we’re not going to stop,” Stoops said.
One of the main questions from Kentucky’s road game versus Auburn, where the Cats got their first SEC win of 2025, was whether this performance from the Wildcats was a fluke, or if it was actually evidence of a turnaround for Stoops.
The game earned the Cats their first SEC home win in 770 days – the last one also being against Florida – it might not be such a coincidence that UK is finally statistically, and by the scoreline, better than their opponent.
During the game against Florida, Kentucky quickly set the scene for how it was going to attack the game.
Kentucky brought the first points of the game from a 39-yard field goal from Jacob Kauwe. Although Florida’s response within the next six minutes was a touchdown, Kentucky swept the rest of the scoring, with three touchdowns in the second quarter and one-a-piece in the last two quarters.
There has been an apparent shift for Kentucky in the past two games where the offense is now becoming more dimensional – adding more passing to its game as quarterback Cutter Boley becomes evidently more comfortable.
Two of the five touchdowns of the night came from Boley’s passing ability – the first a 29-yard reception from J.J. Hester and the second, a 15-yard reception from Jason Patterson.
The last three were all from rushing yards, where the increasingly impressive Seth McGowan had a 2- and 5-yard rush to help grow Kentucky’s lead by 24 points. Dante Dowdell rounded out the scoring with a 65-yard rush.
Comparing the Florida game to that of the likes of Kentucky’s game versus Texas – a disappointing showing of playcalling that failed to support the Cats’ defensive line – it is starting to look like offensively, Kentucky is beginning to attack its opponents more confidently and creatively.
The stat-line will always reflect the players themselves, but the scoreline being different from that almost always leads back to the coaching staff and their ability to help the team flourish – at least that has been the case with Kentucky football this 2025 season.
Now, with an impressive two SEC upsets for Stoops, Kentucky now has tangible evidence to show that not only does the 2025 season have a shot at not looking as bleak as it was once looking, but also at proving that with time, Stoops still has the ability to turn around a Kentucky team.
