Mark Stoops will start the New Year by becoming the first person to coach Kentucky in five straight postseason bowl games. He’ll close one chapter of his Kentucky tenure at the place where the success started, Jacksonville.
It wasn’t that long ago that we were selling, “Make Kentucky Bowl Eligible Again” hats. After an awful, albeit expected first season in Lexington, the Wildcats limped to consecutive five-win seasons in 2014 and 2015. The BBN was sold on hope, but time was running out. Then Benny Snell came to town, Stephen Johnson made big plays and Austin MacGinnis kicked his way into history.