Despite having very few highlights this season, I think we can still point at the win at South Carolina as a big moment in the Mark Stoops era. Yes, South Carolina turned out to be pretty bad. But UK winning a road SEC game for the first time in 5 years marked an improvement in a tenure that hasn't seen many on the field improvements. Not trying to diminish that accomplish, but for me, winning SEC road games in nice but not necessary. Instead, defending your home turf IS A MUST.
Mark Stoops is just 3-9 in his 3 years at Commonwealth Stadium against SEC teams. Those 3 wins are over Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Missouri, none of which finished with a winning record that year. If Mark Stoops want to find immediate improvement next year, how about shooting for 3 out of 4 wins in SEC home games? Next year, UK has Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina at home. Totally doable.
This post is not meant to be a criticism of Mark Stoops. UK's home performance, both in and out of conference, has been steddily declining since the stadium opened in 1973. The 1970's and 1980's saw pretty decent success. In fact, UK had winning home records in each season from 1983-1990. But as the SEC built itself up as the best conference in the country, UK did not follow suit. And the records have shown. A little breakdown of total home record and against particular opponents since 1973 at Commonwealth:
1970's: 24-15-1 (winning seasons: 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979)
1980's: 36-27-3 (winning seasons: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989)
1990's: 32-29 (winning seasons: 1990, 1993, 1996, 1998)
2000's: 32-35 (winning seasons: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008)
2010's: 22-21 (winning seasons: 2010, 2011, 2014)
Vanderbilt: 15-6 ('74, '76, '78, '80, '84, '86, '88, '90, '96, '98, '02, '04, '06, '10, 14)
Mississippi State: 7-8 ('77, '85, '90, '96, '98, '03, '05)
LSU: 7-10 ('74, '76, '89, '93, '95, '99, '07)
Ole Miss: 5-2 ('79, '87, '93, '06, '11)
South Carolina: 4-9 ('92, '98, '10, '14)
Georgia: 4-16 ('88, '90, '96, '06)
Florida: 3-18 ('74, '76, '86)
Tennessee: 3-19 ('77, '81, '11)
Arkansas: 2-1 ('99, '08)
Missouri: 1-1 ('15)
Alabama: 1-6 ('97)
Auburn: 0-7
Indiana: 10-2 ('74, '83, '87, '89, '92, '96, '98, '00, '02, '04)
Louisville: 4-9 ('94, '97, '07, '09)
COMBINED RECORD: 146-127-4 (Win Pct: 52.7%)
COMBINED SEC RECORD: 52-103 (Win Pct: 33.5%)
Despite having very few highlights this season, I think we can still point at the win at South Carolina as a big moment in the Mark Stoops era. Yes, South Carolina turned out to be pretty bad. But UK winning a road SEC game for the first time in 5 years marked an improvement in a tenure that hasn't seen many on the field improvements. Not trying to diminish that accomplish, but for me, winning SEC road games in nice but not necessary. Instead, defending your home turf IS A MUST.
Mark Stoops is just 3-9 in his 3 years at Commonwealth Stadium against SEC teams. Those 3 wins are over Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Missouri, none of which finished with a winning record that year. If Mark Stoops want to find immediate improvement next year, how about shooting for 3 out of 4 wins in SEC home games? Next year, UK has Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina at home. Totally doable.
This post is not meant to be a criticism of Mark Stoops. UK's home performance, both in and out of conference, has been steddily declining since the stadium opened in 1973. The 1970's and 1980's saw pretty decent success. In fact, UK had winning home records in each season from 1983-1990. But as the SEC built itself up as the best conference in the country, UK did not follow suit. And the records have shown. A little breakdown of total home record and against particular opponents since 1973 at Commonwealth:
1970's: 24-15-1 (winning seasons: 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979)
1980's: 36-27-3 (winning seasons: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989)
1990's: 32-29 (winning seasons: 1990, 1993, 1996, 1998)
2000's: 32-35 (winning seasons: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008)
2010's: 22-21 (winning seasons: 2010, 2011, 2014)
Vanderbilt: 15-6 ('74, '76, '78, '80, '84, '86, '88, '90, '96, '98, '02, '04, '06, '10, 14)
Mississippi State: 7-8 ('77, '85, '90, '96, '98, '03, '05)
LSU: 7-10 ('74, '76, '89, '93, '95, '99, '07)
Ole Miss: 5-2 ('79, '87, '93, '06, '11)
South Carolina: 4-9 ('92, '98, '10, '14)
Georgia: 4-16 ('88, '90, '96, '06)
Florida: 3-18 ('74, '76, '86)
Tennessee: 3-19 ('77, '81, '11)
Arkansas: 2-1 ('99, '08)
Missouri: 1-1 ('15)
Alabama: 1-6 ('97)
Auburn: 0-7
Indiana: 10-2 ('74, '83, '87, '89, '92, '96, '98, '00, '02, '04)
Louisville: 4-9 ('94, '97, '07, '09)
COMBINED RECORD: 146-127-4 (Win Pct: 52.7%)
COMBINED SEC RECORD: 52-103 (Win Pct: 33.5%)
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