Mark Stoops told BBN “Don’t panic.” The stats say maybe you should

Kentucky v South Carolina | Jacob Kupferman/GettyImagesLast year, after a season that tested the patience of Big Blue Nation, a defiant Mark Stoops stood at the podium. He promised he was getting back to work and closed his press conference with a simple, direct message to the fans: “Don’t panic." He said we will have a better football team.

That was then. Through five games of the 2025 season, that promise has failed to materialize. In fact, a statistical deep dive shows the situation hasn’t just stagnated; in many key areas, it has gotten worse.

It may be time to panic.

A look back: The 2024 baseline

To understand where the program is, we have to remember where it was. The 2024 season was a…