Kentucky Governor's Cup win would complete Mark Stoops' impressive run

The success of Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops' 13-year tenure is, in part, viewed through the prism of his wins over Louisville in the Governor's Cup. It helped earn his big contract, and subsequently, his big buyout.

On Saturday at L&N Stadium, it could complete his single-best coaching job yet.

For real.

Better than 2018, when the Cats finished ranked 12th and along the way ended a 31-game losing streak to Florida, which was the fourth longest in NCAA history in an uninterrupted series.

Better than 2021, when he guided them to a second 10-win season and Citrus Bowl victory, and only the second time in his tenure that they finished ranked (18th) in the final polls.

He’s never had to rally the program through not only poor play on the field but also swirling speculation about his status off it. Even after salvaging this season with a 5-6 record heading into the Governor’s Cup, there are some UK boosters who still would like to see the school move on from Stoops.

They don’t have as much traction now and would have even less if UK can beat UofL.

Stoops owns a 6-5 record against the Cardinals and had won six of seven straight before losing 41-14 in Lexington last season.

The last time Stoops and UK beat Louisville in 2023, he had one foot out of Lexington. For a brief moment that the public wasn’t privy to, the terms were being finalized that he would accept at Texas A&M to be its next head coach. When that deal collapsed and he returned to UK, it hasn’t been quite the same.

The Cats slumped through a 4-8 season last year, and with the same grueling schedule this season featuring five teams (Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt) listed in the top 20 of the College Football Playoff rankings, there seemed to be no room for the Cats to come out with a winning record.

Things looked bleak well into the halfway point of the season, when the Cats didn’t seem to have an answer at quarterback. Fans were grumbling at any and everything that seemed a bit off, including the lack of Waka Flocka Flame’s hype song "Grove Street." And with all the in-season firings that became trending in college football, Stoops seemed primed for the chopping block, too.

Even with the big buyout, his job seemed in jeopardy.

Just last month when Kentucky had lost its fourth game in a row, which ran its streak in SEC games at home to 10 consecutive losses, it was extremely hard to envision UK making a bowl game. And even harder to see Stoops still being in place to coach them in said bowl game.

There’s not so much to talk about now.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley took over the starting job when Zach Calzada was injured against Ole Miss. His gradual improvement over the course of the season helped the Cats gain an entirely new outlook.

The defense came up with stellar performances in wins against Auburn and Florida, and it’s been a November to remember for Stoops.

A win Saturday would qualify the Cats for their ninth bowl in 10 years, which is a program record, and complete one of the biggest turnarounds in college football this season.

This may be as good as it gets for Kentucky. In an expanded SEC that begins a nine-game conference schedule next season, aiming to make the playoff might be an impossible task.

But Stoops could punctuate his right to keep competing for it with a win against the Cards.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: UK football win vs Louisville would add to impressive Mark Stoops run