After a football game filled with offensive disorganization, baffling decisions, and missed opportunities, fans and media look to the post-game press conference for answers. They look for accountability, clarity, and a plan forward. Unfortunately for Big Blue Nation, what they got from offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan on Saturday was a masterclass in deflection and explanations that only made the on-field product look worse.
The on-field performance was bad enough, but the reasoning provided afterward
was arguably more concerning.
The 3rd-and-9 fiasco and its bizarre justification
The most egregious play call of the game came late in the fourth quarter. Facing a critical 3rd-and-9 near the Ole Miss 30-yard line, Kentucky had a chance to move the chains and set up a potential game-tying score. Instead of a high-percentage pass, Hamdan called a fake toss into a quarterback draw up the middle for Cutter Boley. The play was dead on arrival and gained minimal yardage.
When asked about the logic behind the crazy call, Hamdan’s explanation was a head-scratcher.
“Uh, I just knew that we were in a four-down situation there, and so uh, you know, a lot of times when you know you’re going for it on fourth down, you treat third down as second down,” he explained.
While the theory of treating third down as second in four-down territory is sound, it in no way justifies the specific play call. A “second down” play should still be designed to gain positive, significant yardage.
A low-probability QB draw that gets stuffed at the line doesn’t fit that logic. The explanation addresses the game situation, but it completely fails to justify the terrible decision within that situation, making the call seem even more random and ill-conceived.
And that is a common theme through Bush Hamdan, who time and time again leaves BBN and now college football analysts asking: What are you doing?
The official slogan: “We got to take a look at it.”
If one phrase defined Hamdan’s press conference, it was his constant refrain that he needed to “take a look at it.”
- When asked about the organizational chaos that burned timeouts: “It’s something we got to take a look at and go from there.”
- When asked what’s holding the passing game back: “We got to take a look at it.”
- When asked about the constant subbing issues: “You know, we’ll have to take a look at it again.”
This is year two of the Bush Hamdan era. He handpicked his quarterback and spent an entire offseason installing his system. For the man in charge to repeatedly suggest he needs to go back to the film to understand fundamental issues like getting personnel on the field or why his passing game isn’t working is deeply troubling.
At this stage, the coordinator should have answers, not just more questions. And he himself says he has no answers.
“No quick Fixes” for a problem he created
Perhaps the most revealing comment came when Hamdan was asked about the struggling passing game. “You know, if it was just a quick, easy fix, I think, you know, we’d be able to pinpoint what that is,” he said.
For fans, this is infuriating. It comes across as an abdication of responsibility. It is the offensive coordinator’s job to have fixes, quick or not. Combined with Mark Stoops’s comments that “throws were there” but the QB didn’t make them, it creates a circular firing squad where no one takes ultimate ownership.
The on-field product was chaotic. But the interview afterward was perhaps more alarming. It painted a picture of a coordinator who not only made questionable calls in the heat of the moment but lacked clear, confident answers for why those calls were made and why his offense is failing.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time, he spends time with his family, and watching Premier League soccer. Psalm 121:7-8. #UpTheAlbion
