SEC Preview Kentucky

Wildcats dwell on 5-1 start

In this Nov. 16, 2013 file photo, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops watches from the sideline in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

HOOVER, Ala. — The first half of last season couldn’t have gone much better for Kentucky. The second half couldn’t have gone any worse.

Kentucky’s 5-1 start, including home victories over Vanderbilt and South Carolina, had the Wildcats one victory from becoming bowl eligible.

At a glance

2014 RECORD 5-7, 2-6 (sixth in SEC East)

COACH Mark Stoops (7-17 in two seasons at Kentucky)

RETURNING STARTERS (16): Offense 7, Defense 7, Speciality 2

KEY RETURNING PLAYERS QB Patrick Towles, OT Jordan Swindle, FS A.J. Stamps, LB Josh Forrest.

SEC TITLE SCENARIO If you’re looking for Kentucky to win an SEC title, wait for basketball season. The Wildcats should be able to compete for a bowl appearance. Having eight home games should help them get to six victories.

Kentucky schedule

DATE OPPONENT

Sept. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette

*Sept. 12 at South Carolina

*Sept. 19 Florida

*Sept. 26 Missouri

Oct. 3 Eastern Kentucky

*Oct. 15 Auburn

*Oct. 24 at Mississippi State

*Oct. 31 Tennessee

*Nov. 7 at Georgia

*Nov. 14 at Vanderbilt

Nov. 21 Charlotte

Nov. 28 Louisville

*SEC game

All the Wildcats had to do was win one of their six remaining games.

They couldn’t do it.

A 44-40 loss at Louisville was Kentucky’s sixth in a row and ended the Wildcats’ season at 5-7.

All of the Wildcats’ six losses came against teams that played in bowl games. Four were road games.

“We played some good teams, but I think what happened was more us,” Kentucky senior safety A.J. Stamps said. “We didn’t stay disciplined enough to beat those teams.

“You can’t just walk out there and beat an SEC team. You have to be disciplined and do the right things, and I think we kind of fell away from those things.

“We’re stressing in the offseason to take care of your body so you can last throughout the season.”

Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said it’s always frustrating to lose and worse when the losses are strung together.

“It does mount on you,” Stoops said. “I was pleased with the preparation, but I didn’t feel very good about the way we played in some of those games down the stretch.”

Stoops said the Wildcats have to learn how to sustain their early success.

“We have to change some things in our development in the second part of the season, the way we train them, the way we practice, and we have to continue to breed that confidence, and we need to continue to build depth,” he said. “I think depth is a big thing.

“We were in the middle of a tough stretch in the SEC, and physically and mentally we did not handle it. We have to continue to grow.”

Kentucky’s five victories don’t look too bad when compared to the Wildcats’ 2-10 record in 2013, Stoops’ first season.

“I don’t want anybody to take away from our team’s improvement from a year ago,” he said. “We have a long way to go. I knew what I was doing when I took this job, and I’m very optimistic about where we’re at and where we’re going.”

Senior offensive tackle Jordan Swindle said the Wildcats’ mental approach has improved, and continues to do so, since Stoops arrived from Florida State, where he was the defensive coordinator.

“We’re changing the team culture,” Swindle said. “Our chemistry has gotten a lot better.

“We’re getting to the point where everybody’s buying in and going the extra mile. When you have that, I think that’s the recipe for a successful team.”

Kentucky junior quarterback Patrick Towles is among 14 returning starters, but he’s listed as a co-starter with redshirt freshman Drew Barker on the team’s depth chart going into fall camp.

Towles started every game last season and completed 225 of 393 passes (57.3 percent) for 2,718 yards and 14 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. He rushed for 303 yards.

“Patrick Towles played extremely well for us a year ago,” Stoops told ESPN in a recent interview. “We felt very good about him and the improvement he’s making, but he has a very talented guy that’s pushing him in Drew Barker. It will be a healthy competition.

“Everybody likes to talk about the quarterback position, but all of our spots need to be earned.”

Kentucky’s schedule includes eight home games, with five of the first six games coming at Commonwealth Stadium.

Four of those first six games are against SEC opponents, starting with a road game in week 2 at South Carolina and home games against Florida, Missouri and Auburn.

“We’ve worked extremely hard to make Kentucky relevant in the SEC East,” Stoops said. “As we move into this third year, we really feel like we’ve put ourselves in a position to do just that.”