Mark Stoops threw his hands out by his side in a display of frustration and then strolled over to a member of the officiating crew and barked a few words as the game stopped for an injury timeout with Kentucky defensive lineman Courtney Miggins lying on the field in pain.
Play resumed in last season’s TaxSlayer Bowl with a similar scene on the next snap. This time, the Kentucky coach elevated his intensity as another defensive lineman, Alvonte Bell, lay on the grass clutching his leg. Stoops yelled toward Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson and became more animated as he pleaded with officials.
“He’s incensed and quite irate about something,” ESPN play-by-play announcer Mark Jones observed.
Georgia Tech’s flexbone offense can be a frustrating and sometimes dangerous scheme to play against.
And, as Kentucky’s 33-18 bowl loss to the Yellow Jackets showed, having extra time to prepare for the flexbone brings no guarantee of success.