Kentucky Wildcats coach Mark Stoops isn’t backing down from his widely panned decision to punt the ball with just three minutes remaining against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.
At his weekly press conference Monday, Stoops was offered a chance to open up about the decision, which saw Kentucky pass up a chance to go for a first down on a 4th-and-7 play from the Georgia 47.
Instead, the Bulldogs took over at their own 15-yard line following the punt and moved the ball 50 yards while draining the clock down to just 9 seconds after punting into the end-zone for a touchback. That left Kentucky with time for just two more plays, including an ill-fated attempt at a lateral on the game’s final snap.
“I don’t take offense to the criticism of not going for it or whatever,” Stoops said Monday. “Again, I told the coaches on the headset on first down, I had every intention of going for it. Wish we would have gained some yards and had a manageable third down, manageable fourth down. But you’ve got to realize in that same zone on the plus-48, I want to say we had two sack fumbles, one sack, and then the next one went back from the plus (territory).
“Think about if we get three there. Think about if Coach Stoops goes conservative and we just run it three plays in a row and kick the field goal there, right? Again, if you’re gonna report this, report the whole damn thing.”
RELATED: Social media reacts to Mark Stoops ‘cowardly’ decision to punt with game on the line vs Georgia
“If we would have went, how many people are saying, ‘Hey, Coach Stoops, you’re dumb? We had the ball on the plus 47. Why didn’t you just pound it three more times?'” Stoops continued. “We’re moving the ball really good against a good defense. What if we got those three instead of getting sacked, instead of gotten sack fumbled and went all the way back to the 22 on the other side? Think about that swing. Nobody talks about that, do they?
“So, when I had the ball three times around the same zone and went negative, negative and on second down damn near had a fumble. Third down, damn near had a fumble. We got to that point by playing field position and playing defense. We had a chance to win that game just the way we played it. We came up a play or two short. I stand by that.”
Kentucky ran the ball for 170 yards on 45 attempts in Saturday’s 13-12 loss, with running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye gaining 98 yards on 22 carries.
Stoops was asked a follow-up on whether he had any regrets about not running the ball more often on the Wildcats’ second to last drive. On that possession, Kentucky ran the ball four times with their base running backs — in addition to a 10-yard run from quarterback Brock Vandagriff — but they attempted to pass on second and third down after reaching the Bulldogs’ 47.
“I do (have regrets),” Stoops said. “And again, I don’t put handcuffs on the play-caller (Bush Hamdan). I want them to feel good and feel comfortable. I’ll say this: before the one that went back to the 22, I said on the headset beforehand, ‘Hey, this is going to be one of those games.’ These are tough yards. Don’t take negative-yardage plays and turnovers. And it’s not his fault. It’s not his fault, but that’s who you’re playing. That’s where you’re getting into the danger zone.
“And so the recipe was right, especially the way we ran it. And again, we took our shots. It’s a lot like NFL football. You watch NFL football and they make hay on first and second down. You give those beasts time to bear down on a predictable pass and nobody is comfortable, especially in the situation we’re in now.”
Kentucky will host the Ohio Bobcats in nonconference play Saturday at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 12:45 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network.