Mark Stoops and UK football owe a big debt of gratitude to one set of Kentucky fans

Quick hitters from the heartbreak hotel:

21. A Mark Stoops regret. On Monday, at his weekly news conference that followed Kentucky football ’s 13-12 loss to then-No. 1 Georgia last week, the UK coach lamented that the Wildcats were unable to give what had been an energetic Kroger Field crowd an upset for the ages.

20. “Put us in a position to win.” Stoops praised the UK backers at last Saturday’s game for making “an impact (that) put us in a position to win. I wish we could’ve done it for them, we were very close.”

19. A rocking student section. Energy generated by a Kentucky student section that was on its feet and waving white towels from the game’s kickoff all but forced the rest of the Kroger Field crowd to raise their intensity.

18. Consistently better than basketball. Prior to Georgia, the students “brought it” against Southern Mississippi and South Carolina, too. In recent years, the student sections at Kentucky football have consistently been better than they are for UK men’s basketball in Rupp Arena.

17. My quarter-season UK football MVP. All respect to Zion Childress, Demi Sumo-Karngbaye and Alex Raynor, but I am awarding my most valuable player designation for the first 25 percent of the 2024 Kentucky football season to the UK student cheering section.

16. A UK offensive milestone. The Kentucky offense may have gone its first two SEC games without scoring a touchdown, but the UK attack did cross a statistical threshold while losing to Georgia.

15. The play count. The Wildcats ran 73 plays in the loss. That was the first time a Kentucky offense had run more than 70 plays since Oct. 15, 2022, when UK got off 74 plays while beating Mississippi State 27-17.

14. A big TV number. Kentucky’s almost upset of Georgia drew a 3.5 rating on ABC. An average of 6.6 million viewers were tuned in, making Cats-Dawgs the most-watched college football game of Week 3 and the fifth-most watched of the 2024 season to date.

13. BVG vs. his old team. A transfer from Georgia, Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff spent Saturday night going against the team he was a part of for the prior three seasons. “It wasn’t too weird,” Vandagriff said afterward.

12. One uncomfortable reunion. In Athens, Vandagriff roomed with Georgia outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss. “Had my roommate of, like, three years, Chaz, breathing down my back a few times,” Vandagriff said. “That was a little intimidating.”

11. A hug with Kirby Smart. Vandagriff and his former Georgia head coach shared a moment after the game. “He was just telling me he’s proud of my ‘fight,’” Vandagriff said of Smart.

10. Stoops vs. the MAC. With Ohio coming to Kroger Field on Saturday for a 12:45 p.m. kickoff, Mark Stoops will seek to stay perfect (presently 10-0) vs. Mid-American Conference teams.

9. “MAC-tion” in Lexington. In touting the quality of coach Tim Albin’s Bobcats (2-1), Stoops alluded to notable upsets scored by MAC teams this year — Northern Illinois beat Notre Dame 16-14, Toledo routed Mississippi State 41-17.

8. “Not a joke.” Says Stoops: “You can tell by looking at the MAC and the very big victories that they’ve had this year, they’re not a joke.”

7. The MAC vs. power teams. The wins by NIU in South Bend and Toledo in Starkville are the only scored by Mid-American Conference teams this season vs. major opponents. In total, the MAC is 2-14 in such games.

6. Caden Veltkamp. When 3-0 Toledo visits Western Kentucky on Saturday for a 7 p.m. (EDT) kickoff, one of the best “quarterback stories” in college football will play out with WKU’s Veltkamp, the former South Warren High School star.

5. Said no to a move to tight end. At the end of his redshirt freshman season in 2023, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Veltkamp entered the transfer portal after he was informed he would be moved from QB to TE if he stayed at Western.

4. One last game. Veltkamp opted to remain with WKU for the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl in Charlotte against Old Dominion. With normal starter Austin Reed opting out, WKU coach Tyson Helton started his nephew, Turner Helton, at QB. The coach pulled his nephew, however, after he committed two early turnovers.

3. A bowl hero. Veltkamp entered and threw for 383 yards and five touchdowns while leading Western to a 38-35 overtime win. In reaction, WKU shelved the plan to make Veltkamp a tight end and the QB took his name out of the portal. Yet Western still installed former LSU, Auburn and Texas State QB TJ Finley as its starter in 2024.

2. Veltkamp does it again. Last week, with Western playing at archrival Middle Tennessee State, Finley left the game with an injury. In came Veltkamp — who threw for 398 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-21 Hilltoppers’ victory.

1. At last, a start. With Finley sidelined, Veltkamp will finally get the chance to start Saturday. Week 4 in college football will have few more compelling storylines than how Caden Veltkamp fares.

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