Kentucky coach Joker PhillipsOTHER PICKSFlorida St. 31, Va. Tech 10Miami 20, Virginia 17N. Carolina 24, Ga. Tech 22N.C. State 19, Wake Forest 16Clemson 45, Maryland 7Notre Dame 38, Boston Coll. 10Kansas State 20, TCU 19Oregon 49, California 17Louisville 27, Syracuse 20Oklahoma 38, Baylor 27Oregon State 27, Stanford 24Nebraska 24, Penn State 19UCLA 31, Washington St. 22Southern Cal 35, Arizona St. 29Texas 27, Iowa State 14Michigan 24, Northwestern 21Texas Tech 38, Kansas 19
When Kentucky football coach Joker Phillips held a team meeting Sunday after being fired, he felt there should be a clean break and that someone else should guide the Wildcats next week against Samford and Nov. 24 at Tennessee.
His players disagreed.
“I didn’t think I should,” Phillips said Wednesday. “I didn’t want to be a distraction with Senior Night coming up, and I wanted this thing to be about them. That’s what I told the seniors.”
Yet the seniors approached Phillips after the meeting, asking him to remain. He also began receiving texts from other players with the same request, so he changed his mind.