Kentucky Football | The goals of the Eastern SEC are still at hand

"We will regroup, we will come back," said offensive coordinator Eddie Gran after the 20-14 defeat. "We will find a way to improve during the week off. Coaches, players, this is a strong group. It's a great football team. I would have liked to do a better job. It's my job, the next two weeks, to find out and not put him back in this position. "

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To be clear, all of Kentucky's goals remain ahead of him despite defeat.

Georgia, undefeated, to travel to Kroger Field on November 3, Mark Stoops's team still controls his own fate in the SEC East race thanks to the possibility of winning the tiebreaker with a win at that match.

Dreams of reaching the university football game were probably premature even before the defeat, but this possibility has not yet been eliminated.

And even if Kentucky does not reach these two ambitious goals, the chance to win at least nine games for the first time since 1984 is no small feat.

"We just have to go back to work," linebacker Kash Daniel said. "We do not blame anyone. We win as a team, we lose as a team. This shows how much this organization has grown, because if it had been in previous years, we would have been singled out and fooled into every nook and cranny. … We will all be in good health (during the leave) and come back and end the season in force. That, I can promise you.

To finish in force, Kentucky will have to tackle the problems that appeared in the second half of a win over South Carolina and throughout the defeat against Texas A & M.

Suddenly, an offensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage failed to grow and be subject to penalties. A racing game that seemed impossible to slow down soon stagnated.

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Kentucky has scored seven points in its last 17 outings.

"We were fighting ourselves," said running back Benny Snell.

Kentucky's starting week comes at a good time to assess the many good points of the first half while giving coaches more time to tackle the drought that suddenly triggered the offensive.

It still seems too early to beat Terry Wilson considering the 5-1 record, but the British quarterback has not been able to fill his pass gaps with long wins on the court at Texas A & M. He will have to do better to go ahead.

Expect British coaches to spend time this week determining if there are other sources of help for Wilson on the list.

Perhaps it's time to see if underused receivers such as freshmen Allen Dailey and Akeem Hayes or Iowa basketball transfer, Ahmad Wagner, are willing to contribute to larger roles. Finding the way for the offensive line to rediscover the shape that has so much paved Kentucky's success will be crucial.

The good news is that the Texas A & M game offers more proof that Kentucky's defense is legitimate.

While the Aggies totaled 390 yards, the fact that the United Kingdom was even able to reach overtime given the fact that the offense did not play at all on Texas A & M's side during the regulation period testified defensive prowess.

"They have so intensified the task," said Snell. "From where we were previously as a team until now, I've never been so proud of the defense."

Kentucky's only defense should make the Wildcats a big favorite in their next game against Vanderbilt. If the offense can solve some of its problems during the break week, Kentucky could still be favored in five of its six games in the second half.

The Stoops team lost its prefect record on Saturday, but its potential remains unchanged.

"We just have to keep doing what we do," said Darius West, senior security official. "It does not make me feel that the team is different. We are always strong. We have to go back to work. Our plan is to win the East. "

It's time to go back to work then.

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