Mark Stoops demonstrates selective memory: "Being competitive isn't the problem; consistency is."

In his weekly press conference, Mark Stoops had a lot to say about the season and the state of the football program. While talking about the final games against Texas this Saturday and Louisville the following, he mentioned how the problem with Kentucky has been consistency more than being competitive in games.

His exact quote was, "For us, the challenge has always been consistency. It's not been competitiveness. We've been competitive against some of the best teams in the country. We just have to be more consistent. That's what we are striving to do—to give them our best shot and play our best ball."

He's not wrong, but he is wrong, too. Kentucky has been competitive against some of the best teams in the country: #9 Ole Miss, whom they beat 20-17, and #8 Georgia, whom they lost to 13-12. They were absolutely in those games and could have won both of them.

However, he's wrong that not every game has been competitive. Kentucky was whooped by South Carolina in the second game of the season 31-6. More consistency wasn't helping in that one; the Gamecocks slammed them to the ground. Or what about Florida, which also pummelled them 48-20? You could even make a case that Auburn beat them in a game that lost its competitive edge as it went on.

If we leave it at two games that stayed competitive and two games that were nowhere near competitive, this is a classic case of selective memory. Cheers for optimism; sure, you've got to love that in a coach. But it's also something he needs to acknowledge.

The point could be made, and here, let's make it now. That consistency is the problem if you talk about the fluctuation from week to week. Kentucky fans have often said since the early parts of the season, "Which Kentucky team are we going to see today? Is it the team that got slammed by South Carolina or the team that nearly beat Georgia?" If we are talking about consistency from game to game, he's spot on; this team has been completely inconsistent, leading to them being completely uncompetitive at times.