The Will Stein era got off to a wonderful start, as the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Youngstown State Penguins in Lexington on Saturday afternoon by a score of 45-13.
The Cats set the tone from the jump
. Kenny Minchey and Co. took the ball 75 yards downfield for a touchdown on the opening drive in just 7 plays and just over three minutes into the game. They never looked back from there. There were no nerves or simple mistakes.Kentucky scored on its first three drives, forced a fumble on the return
after punting on the fourth drive, and scored again on its fifth drive. Youngstown State scored just before the half, but Kentucky held a 28-7 lead going into the locker room.
After the break, it wasn’t quite as impressive as the first half, but the Cats got the job done. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t last year’s home opener level disappointing, but I expected a little more after the hot start.
Next up, Stein will face his first big test as Kentucky’s new head coach. The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming to town, and Lexington will be rocking. BBN is expecting Stein’s first big upset.
It’s Stein Time
A new era of Kentucky football has begun. I don’t think there’s any better way to explain it than to compare what happened in this game to what’s happened over the last few seasons.
First, the Cats scored 28 points in the first half, just the second time this has happened since 2021. Second, Kentucky threw for 85 yards in the season opener last season. Minchey threw for 95 yards in the first quarter alone. Third, UK doubled its average explosive plays from a year ago. And finally, this was the most points scored in a head coaching debut in program history.
The new-look Cats are just that—simply unrecognizable to what we’ve become accustomed to during the Mark Stoops era. They run a tempo offense. They throw the ball a lot, but they also use quick passes at the line of scrimmage over and over again as an extension of the run game. The tight ends were the highlights of the offensive scheme.
There were no sloppy mistakes or stupid penalties. The team was ready to go as soon as the whistle blew. Consider your biggest critiques of Stoops over his tenure at UK, and this group looked the exact opposite of what we’ve seen.
Stein is going to hit some bumps in the road. This matchup was against an FCS squad after all. However, it couldn’t have gone any better. I’m impressed all around and excited for the future. The Cats may not have the same high floor as they did under Stoops, but the ceiling is roof.
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Minchey is as advertised
It’s just one game, but Minchey showed a lot of promise in his first career start. The Notre Dame transfer had high expectations coming into the season, but most UK fans were (rightfully) somewhat hesitant after seeing the volatility that can accompany transfer quarterbacks—see Zach Calzada, Brock Vandagriff, Devin Leary, and Joey Gatewood.
Minchey has a much tougher test next week, but he passed his first one with flying colors. I think what stood out the most to me was his accuracy. Stein has pointed to accuracy as one of the most important traits that he looks for in quarterbacks, and that appears to be Minchey’s calling card.
All offseason, Minchey’s teammates have talked up his poise and ability to place the ball exactly where he wants it to go. That was the case in this one as well.
This new offense features a lot of short passes, especially around the line of scrimmage, but he also did a really good job pushing it down the field. He looked to really like hitting players running down the seam. He also never looked panicked or rushed and wasn’t afraid to check it down.
I like what I see.
Willie Rodriguez poised for monster season
Willie Rodriguez has been hyped up all offseason, and he showed exactly why in the season opener. Talent has never been the question for Rodriguez, but the ability to showcase that talent was hindered under the previous coaching staff.
The junior tight end couldn’t have hoped for a better hire than Stein to really show what he brings to the table. Tight ends are used heavily in Stein’s offenses, and this game was no different. Rodriguez caught more than three passes just once last season. He had four in the first half alone, and he and Mikkel Skinner both scored touchdowns.
The Cats have had some talented tight ends come through the program, but it never felt like the coaching staff knew how to utilize the mismatches and get them the ball. That won’t be a problem anymore. Rodriguez is arguably the best player on this offense, and this game was just the start.
Defense is a work in progress
It’s not all sunshine and roses around here! This was overall a good start to the Stein era, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how disappointing the defense was.
It’s no secret that Stein is the polar opposite as a head coach compared to Stoops. Stein is all offense, and Stoops was all defense. This game looked almost like a completely different sport than what we’ve watched for more than a decade.
However, that doesn’t mean that everything’s better. I think it’s fair to say that most people, even the most optimistic around BBN, were skeptical of what a Stein defense would look like. Well, its first showing wasn’t great.
This is a havoc defense that flourishes when getting sacks, tackles for loss, and forcing turnovers. Kentucky didn’t have any of that in this game. There was no push upfront whatsoever. Both starting corners were out, so I can give some grace there, but that doesn’t make up for the poor play along the defensive front.
I’ll also note that there wasn’t much creativity with twists, blitz packages, etc., so I’m hopeful that this was just a case of Bateman not wanting to show Alabama too much. I haven’t lost all hope, but the question mark surrounding that side of the ball will remain until they show us otherwise.
All in all, a great start to the Stein era. Go CATS!
