Blue White Illustrated

| D oes every bowl game give out a runner-up trophy? No matter how well-intentioned, it seems like a strange thing to do – which is why the trophy that Kentucky received after losing to Northwestern last year in the Music City Bowl is apparently stashed in a desk somewhere in the Wildcats' foot- ball complex. The game broke a lot of hearts at Ken- tucky, where the Wildcats had been showing signs of progress under fifth- year coach Mark Stoops, a former Florida State defensive coordinator and the brother of ex-Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. When Kentucky scored a touch- down with 37 seconds left to pull within a point of Northwestern, Stoops elected to try a two-point conversion rather than play for overtime. The gamble didn't pay off, as Stephen Johnson's pass was tapped away in the end zone. Northwestern held on, 24-23, and Kentucky went down to postseason defeat for the second consec- utive year, having previously lost to Geor- gia Tech, 33-18, in the TaxSlayer Bowl. Given the difficulties posed by the level of competition in the Southeastern Con- ference, qualifying for bowls in consecu- tive seasons might seem like a triumph in itself. Of the 10 coaches who preceded Stoops in Lexington, only three – Rich Brooks, Hal Mumme and Jerry Claiborne – accomplished that feat. But the Wild- cats haven't been in a just-happy-to-be- here kind of mood lately. "It's bothered me," Stoops said earlier this month. "You're in these bowl games and you put in that amount of work, and then you exit that field and one team is up there accepting a trophy in a celebration and the other team is going to the locker room. I can promise you, there are no runner-up trophies going in our trophy case. Unbeknownst to me, they gave us one a year ago, and I think it's in [football chief of staff ] Dan Berezowitz's bottom drawer. It'll stay there, so we have to go win one." They'll get that chance with their up- coming matchup against Penn State in the Citrus Bowl. Stoops' sixth season has been yet another step in the right direction, as the Wildcats have won nine games, their most regular-season victories since 1977. They've got standouts on both sides of the ball, with defensive end Josh Allen having emerged as perhaps the best defensive player in the country, running back Benny Snell Jr. having rushed for 1,305 yards and offensive guard Bunchy Stallings joining those two players on the first-team All- SEC squad. But none of the players on the current team have won a bowl game at Kentucky, and they would like to fix that hole in their resume. "Our players are very aware and proud of the things they've done," Stoops said. "We're [also] very aware of the things we haven't done. They respect and appreci- ate the good things they've done. They've invested a lot, and they work ex- tremely hard, and they have [worked hard] for a long time. To win 10 – it is significant. Our players know that. I don't have to address it every day. They understand what's at stake. Playing on New Year's Day, playing Penn State, winning 10 – you put it all together, and it's important." In its football history, which dates back to 1892, Kentucky has only twice won 10 or more games. That makes the Citrus Bowl a very big deal for the Wildcats. But even though Lexington is regarded by sports fans mostly as a hoops mecca, it's not hard to imagine an alternate reality in which the school developed into a foot- ball power. The first of those 10-win seasons was actually an 11-win season. It took place in 1950, and the Wildcats were dominant in all but one game, a 7-0 loss to Tennessee. Kentucky gave up only 62 points during the regular season and went on to stifle top-ranked Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, 13-7. Because the rating system was even wonkier then than it is now, the Wildcats finished seventh in the final Associated Press poll. (In a computer-assisted re- ranking conducted by USA Today stats guru Jeff Sagarin in the 1990s, they came out No. 1.) That season turned out to be the start of something big, but not for the Wild- cats. Their coach that year was an ambi- tious up-and-comer named Bear Bryant. He had taken over the program in The steadily improving Wildcats hope to continue their upswing in Orlando KENTUCKY REIGN P E N N S T A T E V S . K E N T U C K Y

• Cover