If it was in fact Coach Rich Brooks last game as head coach at Kentucky, it was a sad note to exit on. Kentucky just didn't make enough big plays to overcome the Tigers of Clemson, thus ending Kentucky's streak of Bowl wins at 3, with a 21-13 loss in Nashville. As much as we love our Cats, at the end of the day, we have to admit that Clemson was simply the better team tonight. They made the big plays on both sides of the ball, and Kentucky didn't have an answer. Kentucky just doesn't have enough weapons to withstand a more talented team that has a month to prepare for them.If Brooks decides to officially hand the reigns to Joker Phillips, we must take a moment to say "Thank you." I have to admit, I was a harsh critic of Barnhart's decision to hire him, and again when he decided to stick by him after a rough start. I was a typical fan with unrealistic expectations. I wanted UK to hire some young coach with an exciting brand of football that would turn around the program overnight. In short, I wanted the impossible. What Rich Brooks did, however, was rebuild the Kentucky program from the ground up without even a hint of NCAA rule breaking. He's a class act, and a tremendous coach, and Big Blue Nation should be thankful to have had him as our coach for the past several seasons.
Of course, if the rumors are wrong, and Brooks decides to come back for another season, that's fine too. Given what he has done for our program, he deserves to go out on his own terms whenever he's ready to do so.
In closing, lets just say congratulations to Kentucky for another solid season.
CJ Spiller not being in NY for the Heisman ceremony was a complete and utter FAIL. The kid is lightening in a bottle.
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest, I'm proud of the effort the Cats displayed. While they didn't come out on top, they showed grit and determination that will serve them very well as they enter in to spring practice and summer workouts.
The development of Newton at QB has been amazing... for a true freshman to play as well as he did, against such top-notch competition tells me that the SEC better watch out for this kid. Clemson has no less than 2 future first-day picks on their DL, and he was unphased...
I didn't have much hope for a victory going into the contest vs. the Tigers, and eventhough I was correct, I'm still proud of the team.
Yes, we should be proud of the effort that Cats put forth. We were in the game until the end and had our chances. Maybe next year.
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