The Kentucky football team suffered a tough defeat to Tennessee on Saturday. Following the game, Kentucky head coach Will Stein stressed his team's need to move on quickly.
“We have a great locker room….we have really good people in there,” Stein said, per KSR. “Nobody's negative. Nobody is going to sulk, nobody is going to complain……..it's about responding.”
Tennessee thumped Kentucky Saturday, 34-6. It was a very tough loss for the Wildcats, who have seen a resurgence under Stein as head coach.
Against Tennessee, the Wildcats struggled to protect the football.
“Seven penalties for 50 yards,” Stein said, per the Associated Press. “We had three turnovers. That was the story of the game — the turnovers.”
Kentucky saw a six-game win streak snapped. It was a tough loss, as the team hopes to make the College Football Playoff this year. A third loss would decimate the team's chances.
This is Stein's first season as head coach at Kentucky. He previously worked at Oregon, where he served as offensive coordinator. He helped lead the Ducks to the CFP the last few seasons.
The Wildcats just couldn't overcome turnovers in this game against the Volunteers.
“You can't turn the ball over and expect to win football games,” Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey said. “There were multiple drives where we shot ourselves in the foot.”
Following the win, Tennessee is also 7-2 on the season. The Volunteers kept their hopes alive for earning a CFP bid.
“The defense had an elite performance,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “It was a tremendous effort, especially the red zone defense (Kentucky reached the red zone twice and settled for two field goals).”
Kentucky next plays Florida on Saturday.