The Kentucky Wildcats played their best game of the season on Saturday against the Florida Gators, helping the program start its first win streak of the year in the process. As a result, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops may have quieted some of the rumors surrounding his uncertain future with the program.
After losing their first five conference games of the season, Mark Stoops seemed like an obvious candidate to potentially be on the chopping block if Kentucky’s year continued to go downhill. However, players have quickly rallied around Stoops amid his uncertain future, stringing together two straight conference wins over Auburn and Florida.
Now, Stoops could have a path to potentially save his job if the Wildcats are able to build off this newfound momentum for the rest of the 2025 season.
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After Saturday’s game, Kentucky starting quarterback Cutter Boley shared his feelings about the rumors surrounding Stoops’ future. Boley explained that the Wildcats’ locker room has shouldered the blame for their early-season struggles and will continue to fight for their coach.
“We hate it. We’re kind of taking it on our shoulders and putting it on ourselves,” Boley said about the rumors surrounding Stoops. “He’s a players’ coach. All the guys in here love him. All the guys want to fight for him, want to win for him, everything like that. We have a really good thing going in the locker room. You can see our heartbeat that we had tonight.
“Everybody loves Coach Stoops, what he does, and what he stands for, and how he addresses the team in every situation, loss, win, no matter what it is. He’s always the same guy. Loss, win, whatever it is. He’s always the same guy in the locker room. He’s always the same guy talking to us on Mondays, no matter the outcome. And I think every guy respects that and really wants to play for him.”
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Clearly, even if some Kentucky fans may have lost faith in Stoops, the leaders within the locker room have not. Regardless, the remainder of the 2025 season will likely loom large in what ultimately happens to Stoops after the season.
The Wildcats still have a chance to be bowl eligible this season with wins in two of their last three games after Saturday’s win. Though that may prove difficult, considering they have games against ranked opponents Vanderbilt and Louisville in Week 13 and Week 14.
In Week 12, Kentucky should have a good chance to build on the great play they have had in recent weeks against Tennessee Tech and get even closer to being bowl eligible.
https://www.newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/kentucky-wildcats-qb-sends-message-mark-stoops-job-security-after-florida-win-11018014