Mark Stoops has been fired as head football coach after 13 seasons at the helm of the Kentucky football program. The Wildcats football program was 82-80 overall during that time. Here is a look at the Kentucky Wildcats football program since 2008 (the first year that in which I have data for the model) and only covers the last two seasons with Rich Brooks (2008-2009), Joker Phillips (2010-2012) and Mark Stoops (2013-2025). After the figure below is a more detailed look at the Kentucky Wildcats football program during head coach Stoops' tenure based on the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model using data provided by www.cfbstats.com. (The vertical school color bars represent seasons where head coaches changed).
Mark Stoops [2013-2025]
2013
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 2-10 making them bowl ineligible. The Wildcats played
against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Kentucky's SOS was between one and two standard deviations lower than the "league" SOS. Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #124 ranked Miami (OH) by a
score of (41-7) and their worst regular season loss was to #91 ranked Tennessee by a
score of (14-27). Kentucky was the #103 ranked team overall, with the #106 ranked
offense and the #84 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 5-7 making them bowl ineligible. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Kentucky's SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the "league" SOS. Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #79 ranked South Carolina by a
score of (45-38) and their worst regular season loss was to #63 ranked Tennessee by a
score of (16-50). Kentucky was the #86 ranked team overall, with the #96 ranked
offense and the #59 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2015
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 5-7 making them bowl ineligible. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #65 ranked Missouri by a
score of (21-13) and their worst regular season loss was to #89 ranked Vanderbilt by a
score of (17-21). Kentucky was the #82 ranked team overall, with the #87 ranked
offense and the #56 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2016
The Wildcats were 7-5 at the end of the regular season and bowl eligible where they were defeated by #44 ranked Georgia Tech by a score of (18-33) to finish the season at 7-6 overall. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win was against #68 ranked Missouri by a score of (35-21) and their worst regular
season loss was to #52 ranked Southern Mississippi by a
score of (35-44). Kentucky was the #88 ranked team overall, with the #46 ranked
offense and the #108 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2017
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 7-5 making them bowl eligible, where they were defeated by #32 ranked Northwestern by a score of (23-24) to finish at 7-6 overall.
The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #31 ranked Southern Mississippi by a
score of (24-17) and their worst regular season loss was to #93 ranked Florida by a
score of (27-28). Kentucky was the #99 ranked team overall, with the #91 ranked
offense and the #90 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2018
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 9-3 making them bowl eligible, where they defeated #22 ranked Penn State by a score of (27-24) to finish the
season overall at 10-3. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #5 ranked Mississippi State by a
score of (28-7) and their worst regular season loss was to #78 ranked Tennessee by a
score of (7-24). Kentucky was the #32 ranked team overall, with the #74 ranked
offense and the #12 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2019
The Wildcats finished the regular season at 7-5, making them bowl eligible,
where they defeated #39 ranked Virginia Tech by a score of (37-30) to finish 8-5 overall. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win was against #30 ranked Missouri by a score of (29-7) and their worst regular
season loss was to #77 ranked South Carolina by a
score of (7-24). Kentucky was the #29 ranked team overall, with the #40 ranked
offense and the #29 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2020
The Wildcats finished
the COVID-19 shortened regular season at 4-6 and defeated #37 ranked North Carolina State in their post-season bowl game to finish 5-6 overall. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #84 ranked Tennessee by a
score of (34-7) and their worst regular season loss was to #78 ranked Missouri by a
score of (10-20). Kentucky was the #65 ranked team overall, with the #53 ranked
offense and the #75 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2021
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 9-3 making them bowl eligible, where they defeated #54 ranked Iowa by a score of (20-17) to finish the
season at 10-3 overall. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #42 ranked Florida by a
score of (20-13) and their worst regular season loss was to #45 ranked Mississippi State by a
score of (17-31). Kentucky was the #49 ranked team overall, with the #40 ranked
offense and the #59 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2022
The Wildcats were 7-5 at the end of the regular season and bowl eligible, where they were defeated by #34 ranked Iowa by a score of (0-21) to finish at 7-6 overall. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win was against #50 ranked Mississippi State by a score of (27-17) and their worst regular
season loss was to #127 ranked Vanderbilt by a
score of (21-24). Kentucky was the #66 ranked team overall, with the #91 ranked
offense and the #31 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2023
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 7-5 making them bowl eligible, but were defeated
by #22 ranked Clemson by a score of (35-38) to finish at 7-6 overall. The Wildcats played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #30 ranked Louisville by a
score of (38-31) and their worst regular season loss was to #82 ranked South Carolina by a
score of (14-17). Kentucky was the #56 ranked team overall, with the #56 ranked
offense and the #57 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2024
The Wildcats finished
the regular season at 4-8 and bowl ineligible. The Wildcats played
against a “much tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Kentucky's SOS was more than two standard deviations lower than the "league" average SOS. Kentucky's
best regular season win
was against #4 ranked Mississippi by a
score of (20-17) and their worst regular season loss was to #70 ranked Vanderbilt by a
score of (13-20). Kentucky was the #98 ranked team overall, with the #122 ranked
offense and the #45 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2025
The Wildcats finish the regular season at 5-7 making them bowl ineligible. The Wildcats played
against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS). At the time of Stoops firing, Kentucky's
best win was against #9 ranked Toledo and their worst loss was to currently ranked #84 South Carolina by a
score of (13-35). Kentucky was the #95 ranked team overall, with the #101 ranked
offense and the #77 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2025 FBS Head Coach Changes