Kentucky coach not bragging about beating USC last season

You won’t catch Kentucky coach Mark Stoops bragging about his team’s victory against South Carolina last season, when the Gamecocks blew a 38-24 fourth-quarter lead and lost 45-38.

Asked at his Monday press briefing what he said to South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier about last year’s game, Stoops said: “Oh, we don’t talk about that. No, no.”

Stoops said his friendship with Spurrier hasn’t changed since last year’s game.

“It’s good. Believe me, I’ve only been in this a short time as a head coach, but I know what goes around comes around, so I’m not one to be spouting off about anybody,” Stoops said. “I’m just minding myself.”

Stoops said he has no plans to talk with Spurrier this week.

“No, we won’t. We have a good relationship, but it’s not like we talk on the phone or anything like that. We played golf during our spring meetings, so we had an opportunity to have a good golf match. I think, who was it? Me and Hugh (Freeze) lost to Gus (Malzahn) and Coach Spurrier.”

Stoops’ team blew a 23-point lead against Louisiana-Lafayette and had to score with less than a minute remaining to pull out a 40-33 victory in its opener this past Saturday.

In Kentucky’s victory over the Gamecocks last season, running back Jojo Kemp, working mainly out of the Wildcat formation, scored two fourth-quarter TDs.

Asked how many carries Kemp will get this week, Stoops said: “I’m sure he’s going to want the ball.”

Stoops praised new USC co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke.

“Jon’s a very good football coach, good guy, been around a long time. He’s got a lot of experience and I think he’s just like you would want in any great defensive coordinator,” he said.

“You’re not going to get a lot of easy things. You’re going to have to earn them. And he’ll limit big plays better than (Lafayette) did this past week.”

Stoops said USC’s defense last season “probably wasn’t up to their standards. I know they’re working hard to get better, and they played solid in the first game.”

The Kentucky coach called USC wide receiver Pharoh Cooper “a difference maker. He really is. I think you’ve got to be well-prepared for their Wildcat package and just everything. Just him, wherever he lines up, whether he’s under center or at the different places they play him, he’s a difference maker. You have to be aware of where he’s at.”

Stoops said USC quarterback Connor Mitch “looks like a guy that’s going to get better with every snap. I was impressed; I thought North Carolina had a good-looking defensive team and they’re very disruptive up front.

“He’s a very good quarterback and he’s got one of the best play-callers that’s ever coached calling plays for him. The creativity and the problems that offense presents are very difficult, so you always got your hands full.”

In his third season at UK, Stoops is winless in SEC road games.

“I think that’s been well documented: our struggles on the road and SEC opponents,” he said. “This is going to be another great challenge, and it’s a great opportunity for us. We have to go down there with a strong mindset and try to get a victory in a very hostile environment.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Kentucky coach not bragging about beating USC last season."