“We’ve come in here on Mondays and I have to address tackling issues and all those things,” Stoops said. “But what I always say is it’s a team, it’s team defense. Defensively, I felt like we did a lot of good things, but it comes down to team defense and being in good position, guys swarming, feeling off the crowd and playing well. So, we played a good game. I was very proud of the effort and I think the coaches did a great job of putting them in a good position.”
Stoops was asked if he and defensive coordinator Brad White applied more pressure than normal against the Longhorns.
“Not really, but I don’t have the exact numbers and there may have been a few more pressures in there, but the simulated pressure, the mix ups, maybe a touch more in that game, but not drastically,” Stoops said. “The defensive line played better, but the simulators were effective. Brad did a very good job. We went straight man. We did some eyes coverage where we’re bringing pressure on the zone underneath. And we’ve done some simulates where it appears that you’re bringing pressure and you’re only really bringing four. So, we did bring in that game of simulated with different varieties of four, five, and six. So, we mixed it up pretty good, and it was effective.”
Playing that way this week will be difficult, as the Cats face a Tennessee team that plays with an extremely high tempo.
“Tennessee is a bit more conventional with their splits this year but still get wide at times and they do an exceptional job. The quarterback is playing at a super high level and their receivers could really put a lot of pressure on you. I mean they win one-on-ones a lot and they do a great job of mixing it up. With Josh (Heupel) and his offenses, (you) don’t realize how effective they are in a run-game initiative. And this year, they’re rushing for 200 yards a game, throwing for 300. I believe they’re actually throwing it better than they have in some time. And that’s saying a lot, they generally throw it very well, but this year I feel like they’re really taking it to another level with their pass game.”
As far as the Kentucky offense, the Cats seemed to be comfortable running their two-minute offense. Stoops was asked if that might lead to his team pushing the pace this weekend.
“It’s just trying to change the pace, trying to spark the offense,” he said. “We did run a heck of a lot of plays, which was really good. And by the way, you’ve heard me talk about that for a long time too. As we get more plays, people get more touches. Tight ends are touching the ball, the backs touch the ball, and receivers are touching the ball. If we can get more plays, we look at all options. Obviously, this week is a little different with how fast Tennessee plays, but if we could use a change of pace, we will.”
While the end result was not what UK wanted, Stoops definitely took some positives from the game against Texas.