Here’s how you send 2020 down the drain and give 2021 a fresh start.
Your football team plays an AP Top 25 team in a bowl game Saturday afternoon. Your defense intercepts three passes. Despite being without three full-time coaches, one your former offensive coordinator, your offense rushes for 281 yards. Your team is penalized 10 times for 103 yards but still earns the trophy.
And then …
Your basketball team opens up conference play on the road Saturday night. Your former in-state prep star, who had played 20 minutes in the previous seven games, scores 23 points. You cheer wildly as he makes seven three-point shots. Your team, down five at the half, rallies to push the game into overtime, and then another overtime, before snapping a six-game losing streak.
Football’s Gator Bowl: Kentucky 23, North Carolina State 21.
SEC basketball opener: Kentucky 78, Mississippi State 73.
A blue-letter day for the Big Blue Nation, indeed.
“Very proud of our football team,” UK football coach Mark Stoops said.
“These kids deserved to have something good to happen, and it did,” UK basketball coach John Calipari said.
Stoops stuck around to watch all 60 minutes in Jacksonville. For the most part, he liked what he saw. MVP A.J. Rose rushed for a career-high 148 yards. Brandin Echols, Yusuf Corker and Jamin Davis all intercepted No. 24-ranked N.C. State passes. Davis made 13 tackles. Most of the penalties were breakdowns in discipline, but the goal was to finish an emotional season on a high note. Mission accomplished.
Now on to 2021. New offensive coordinator Liam Coen will be the story of spring practice. The Los Angeles’ Rams 35-year-old assistant quarterbacks coach brings an NFL influence. No. 1 wide receiver Josh Ali, a senior, announced Saturday he’ll stick around and take advantage of the NCAA’s invitation for an extra season. Tight end Justin Rigg did the same. That’s good news.
After all, in keeping with the season, the Cats threw for just 99 yards Saturday. Asked about the passing game, Stoops said, “We’re going to say goodbye to 2020 today. It’s on to the future. I really greatly appreciate the win, but also very excited about the future of Kentucky football. We’ll address that when I get back in January. I need a few days off.”
John Calipari didn’t make it to the final buzzer in Starkville. The Kentucky coach got tossed with 9:04 left in regulation. By the time Mississippi State finished shooting technical free throws, UK trailed 55-46. The came Dontaie’s Inferno. Left on the bench all but one minute of the previous three games — much to the fans’ chagrin — Dontaie Allen couldn’t miss Saturday. The former Pendleton County star even banked in a two-pointer from the top of the key to put UK up 73-70 with 3:23 left in the second overtime.
Asked if the fans were right about Allen, Calipari couldn’t suppress a smile. He knew what was coming.
Said Allen, “I was just waiting for my opportunity, and I feel like I capitalized on it.”
Make that quote an early nominee for the biggest understatement of 2021. Future candidates have ground to make up.
Where do the Cats go from here? Well, back to Rupp Arena for the first time since Dec. 12. Vanderbilt is in town Tuesday night for a 7 o’clock start on the SEC Network. The Commodores have struggled. A 91-72 home loss to Florida last Wednesday dropped the ‘Dores to 4-3. After losing six straight, the Cats should win their second straight.
Was Allen a one-game wonder? Time will tell. Chances are Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland did not include UK’s redshirt freshman in his defensive game plan. Future opponents will be more prepared. But Allen’s ability to hit a perimeter shot Saturday — “Dontaie is a shooter,” said teammate Olivier Sarr — filled a desperate need for a struggling offense.
“He changes our team,” Calipari said Saturday. “This was a big-time win, now.”
Make that two big-time wins on a big-time Saturday for Big Blue.
Bye-bye 2020. Hello 2021.
