The Kentucky Wildcats are 2-1 and riding a massive wave of national momentum, pulling off a huge upset on the road against a top-10 squad. You’d think head coach Will Stein, only 36 years old, would be letting his guys take a victory lap, right? Nope. Inside the Joe Craft Football Training Facility, Stein is frantically trying to make sure his team stays laser-focused, even with a buy game against South Alabama coming up where they are favored by nearly 3 touchdowns.
Why a Top-10 Win Has Coach Stein Sweating Bullets This Week
Greg McElroy is out here saying these Cats played like bona fide SEC elites. That’s some serious praise, but everyone knows those waves of momentum inevitably crash if you’re not careful. That’s why this Saturday’s buy game against Major Applewhite’s Group of 6 South Alabama squad at Kroger Field has “classic trap game” written all over it, kicking off at 12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Stein sees the danger, and he isn’t playing around. He went looking for advice from someone who has been through college football’s highest highs and learned how to navigate those treacherous waters. On The Triple Option podcast, Stein asked three-time national champion Urban Meyer how you manage a locker room after a huge emotional win. Meyer, in turn, dropped some wisdom he got straight from his own mentor, the legendary Lou Holtz.
Urban Meyer’s Secret Weapon to Avoid the “Drastic Failure”
Meyer shared Holtz’s golden rule: “Lou Holtz would call me every Sunday or Monday after a big win… he would always remind me that’s when you coach them the hardest.” Meyer emphasized how everyone makes the “drastic failure” of just jumping on players when they lose. But the reality is, “everything’s fragile when you lose.” The logic is simple, yet powerful: when everyone in town is patting players on the back, telling them they’re the greatest, the head coach has to be the one demanding even more. Meyer put it bluntly to Stein: “When you’re winning, if you tell them to jump, they’ll say, ‘How high?’ You coach them and hold your staff accountable. Have a Tuesday like you’ve never had before.” Stein is orchestrating exactly that this week, fighting hard against any potential “hangover effect.” He’s publicly reminded his squad that the scoreboard resets to 0-0 on Saturday and pointed out that Applewhite has the roster and coaching chops to make Kentucky pay dearly if they’re still mentally celebrating that College Station victory.
Kentucky proved last week they have the talent and composure to beat anyone in the country. Now, the real test is on Stein. Can he get this team to ignore the outside noise, drop the “rat poison,” and just play football? We’ll find out this Saturday when the Cats take the field.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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