Sunday Headlines: Ole Miss Aftermath Edition

The Kentucky Football team lost in its SEC opener yesterday, falling to Ole Miss by a score of 30-23.

The Wildcats did some good things yesterday. Ty Bryant had two big interceptions in the first half on back-to-back possessions that gave Kentucky the ball inside the Ole Miss 35-yard line. The Wildcats also held about a four-and-a-half-minute advantage when it comes to time of possession. Those are two things the Wildcats needed to do to pull off an upset against a top-20 team.

But the Kentucky passing

game was ineffective for most of the game, and the Wildcats seemed disorganized on offense, particularly in the first half. How often do you see a team burn all three of its timeouts because they can’t seem to figure out what exactly they’re supposed to be doing offensively?

Couple that with last week’s performance, and I think it’s safe to say there are major concerns about Kentucky’s offense, particularly the passing game.

Where does the blame fall? Probably in a lot of directions. I think there are valid questions and concerns about play-calling by offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan and Mark Stoops.

It also seems like Zach Calzada is just not comfortable within the offense and is really struggling to find any kind of rhythm on the field. We got our first look at Cutter Boley this season after Calzada left with an injury late in the game, and Mark Stoops said afterward that the coaching staff is going to reevaluate the quarterback position.

One could make the argument that this might be the best time to make a switch at quarterback. If the coaching staff decides they want to give Boley an opportunity, he would have the chance to get his feet wet next week against Eastern Michigan before going into a bye week. One could also argue that playing Eastern Michigan followed by a bye week could give Calzada an opportunity to gain some confidence and iron out some things before heading into the thick of the SEC schedule.

We could use a lot more of this space to go into the issues of the Kentucky offense, but if you watched the first two games of the season, you know what they are. To sum it up, Mark Stoops and Co. have a lot to figure out, and they need to figure it out soon, or it’s not going to be pretty.

Kentucky should get back on track against Eastern Michigan next week. The Eagles fell to FCS Long Island at home yesterday by a score of 28-23 and were outgained offensively 479-311. However, following the bye week, the Cats have back-to-back road trips to South Carolina and Georgia, followed by home games against Texas and Tennessee. Things could go south for the Wildcats really fast if things don’t get figured out.