Mark Stoops explains why he went for it on 4th down vs. Ole Miss but punted vs. Georgia

The decision was very out of character for Stoops.

Just a few weeks ago, analysts and fans across the country criticized Mark Stoops for being conservative as Kentucky fell short in an upset bid of then No. 1 Georgia.

Down just one point, he made the decision for the Wildcats to punt it on 4th-and-8 in Georgia territory with three minutes to play.

This past Saturday against Ole Miss, the opposite could be said.

Going into the game as 17.5-point underdogs, Kentucky was trailing 13-17 with four minutes left. With the ball at their own 20-yard line, Stoops made the call to go for it on 4th-and-7.

The result was a 63-yard reception by Barion Brown.

The decision caught many off guard, even Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. “I have to credit Stoops. That’s not anything he’s probably ever done in his life. He got out of his character with three and a half minutes left,” Kiffin said. “I commend him for doing that.

“I’m sure the ESPN percentage had us 98 percent winning at that point. Good throw and good play by them.”

ESPN actually had Ole Miss with a 93.4 percent chance of winning.

During an appearance on The Zach Gelb Show, Stoops briefly touched on the difference between the situations Kentucky faced vs. Georgia and Ole Miss.

Simply put, Stoops punted vs. Georgia because Kentucky only needed a field goal to win, thus not requiring as long of a drive, whereas against Ole Miss, Kentucky had to get a touchdown.

Then during his Monday call-in show, Stoops reiterated why he was willing to make the 4th-down gamble down in Oxford.

“We had to score seven anyway. We were down four,” he said.

Simple as that.

This win is one of the biggest of Stoops’ career, and it’s certainly his highest-ranked win. Ole Miss was No. 6 in the latest AP Poll. Since the beginning of the AP Poll in 1936, Kentucky has only defeated four higher-ranked teams.

It was possible because Mark Stoops made the aggressive call.

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