At least that is the opinion of [URL=”http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1174250″]Ricky Lumpkin[/URL]. The senior defensive lineman didn’t hold anything back when describing the Wildcats performance in the BBVA Compass Bowl. “You prepare for a month and you know what to expect and then you go out there and look like poop,” he said. “Like you couldn’t stop nothing when we knew what they were going to do. We were sitting out there on defense calling out when they were going to run the ball, yet we still couldn’t stop it.”[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
The Wildcats ended the season with another loss on Saturday. This time, the loss came to Big East member Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass bowl. A loss that ended the first year of Operation: Win with a disappointing 6-7 finish.
It wasn’t the year, or the game that Coach Phillips had visioned.
“The reason why it hurts is because of what I thought we did in the month-long preparation,” Phillips said. “Sometimes you get a sense, but I never had a sense that we would play the way we did. I thought we had a really good month of preparation.”
And Morgan Newton? Well, I don’t think he did what he needed to do to get the fan support behind the Wildcats for the 2011 season.
“I’m a 19-year-old kid and I guess I was a little hard-headed about that,” Newton said in response to offensive Coach Sanders warnings about ball security. Newton needed a big game, but turned the bowl over leading to a Panthers score.
There is much work to be done. On the field and off, for both the players and the coaching staff. Big Blue Nation will be behind the Wildcats no matter what. The question is, how much of Big Blue Nation?
