Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mark Stoops isn't buying national narrative about Tennessee ahead of Kentucky's game against Vols

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated 10/24/23

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops isn't falling for the national narrative that's surrounded the Tennessee Vols this season.

That narrative, of course, is that Tennessee can't create explosive pass plays like they did last season.

While it's true that Tennessee hasn't created as many of those plays in 2023 as they did in 2022, Stoops isn't buying that it's something the Wildcats won't have to worry about when the Vols visit Lexington on Saturday night.

“I think it’s very similar in a lot of ways," said Stoops on Monday when asked about the Vols' offense this season compared to last season. "This past week, you saw Joe really throwing some good deep passes and some very accurate (throws) and maybe one drop in a critical moment and they had some nice plays. They’re the same in that they can still really be explosive at any moment.”

Squirrel White WOW what a catch! @BarstoolTenn pic.twitter.com/maICsynN5U
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 21, 2023

Stoops' Wildcats were burned badly last season by Tennessee's ability to create explosive plays. And just because the Vols haven't been as efficient in that area this season (so far), doesn't mean that Stoops is going to assume that Kentucky won't have to be on guard against those explosive plays this weekend.

To prevent against explosive plays against the Vols on Saturday, Stoops is stressing to his players to not have "mental breakdowns".

"As far as us getting our cleats in the ground, getting calls, communicating, lined up, getting set, I think that was a piece of it a year ago where we’re (not) playing certain downs very well [and] certain plays very well," said Stoops. "And the tempo stresses some kids mentally and you just can’t have that. You can’t have any mental breakdowns. That’s for sure. They put enough stress on you and make enough tough one-on-one catches that you can’t have your own mental breakdowns.”

Tennessee's had trouble winning on the road under Heupel. But they managed to get a win at Kentucky two years ago during Heupel's first season with the Vols. They'll need to get another win at Kentucky on Saturday to get their 2023 season back on track. And creating explosive plays in the pass game will certainly need to be part of Tennessee's game plan to get that win.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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