The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Pass protection, lack of explosive plays among issues plaguing offense
LEXINGTON — Two more points. That’s all Kentucky football needed last week to topple top-ranked Georgia and send shockwaves reverberating through the college football world. Instead, despite not trailing until 12:20 remained, UK couldn’t fend off a resilient UGA squad, which rallied for a 13-12 victory at Kroger Field.
UK’s defense more than did its part. The Wildcats put the reins on the Bulldogs’ offense, forcing star quarterback Carson Beck into the worst completion percentage (62.5; 15 for 24) in his 17 games as a starter. UGA’s 262 yards were its fewest in a game in nearly five years — and the fewest it had tallied against Kentucky since 1996, when it finished with just 212. And the 13 points the Bulldogs scored were the fewest permitted by the Wildcats to a No. 1ranked team since LSU failed to break into double digits in a 9-0 victory in 1959.
No wonder UK’s offense took last week’s loss to heart.
“It’s obviously extremely hard,” said Bush Hamdan, in his first season as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator. “When you look at their situations, again, we’ve got to analyze it. In this league, (you’ve) got to take care of the ball, got to score touchdowns in the red zone, got to execute on third downs. “So we know what needs to get done.” The past two games, however, the Wildcats haven’t done it.
Since the opener against Southern Miss was called in the third quarter because of lightning, with Kentucky up 31-0, the Wildcats haven’t reached the end zone again.
Eight consecutive touchdown-less quarters, which started with a shocking 31-6 home loss to South Carolina on Sept. 7 and continued with the onepoint setback to Georgia last week.
So, what’s ailing the UK offense?
And how can it start hitting paydirt again once it’s within striking distance of the goal line?
We’ll look at the issues — and point out possible solutions, with help from coaches and players — as UK gears up for its fourth game of the season, set for 12:45 p.m. Saturday in Lexington against nonconference foe Ohio.
Problem 1: Yards, points at premium for Kentucky offense through 3 games
Given that Kentucky was robbed of more than a quarter of game time when the opener was called in the third period, it should come as no surprise the offense ranks near the bottom nationally in points and yards per game. The Wildcats average 16.3 points per game, which is 121st (of 133 FBS teams counted in the NCAA’s official statistics) in the country and last in the 16-team SEC. UK also ranks last in the league in total offense, averaging 261.3 yards per outing, which is 129th nationally. Kentucky has four touchdowns this season, all in the season-opening rout.
Those four TDs are tied with hapless, 0-3 Florida State for the fewest among Power Four conference clubs through three games. (UCLA has only two
touchdowns, but it has played just two games so far in its maiden campaign as a member of the Big Ten.)
Even removing the traditional measures of raw points and yards does UK no favors.
Per TeamRankings.com, the Wildcats are averaging 4.2 yards per play. That puts them in a five-way tie for 115th nationally, alongside Colorado State, Hawaii, N.C. State and Temple. The only two power conference clubs accumulating fewer yards per snap are Stanford (3.7) and Purdue (3.1).
Problem 2: Explosive plays scarcity for UK offense so far
UK’s struggles earning much positive momentum per play extend to gaining yards in bunches.
CFBStats.com is a database that tracks every play a team is involved in during a season. One subset of numbers the site catalogs is “long plays” — which it defines as any play that gains 10 or more yards. It also breaks this down into separate categories of “long rushing plays” and “long passing plays.”
The Wildcats have succeeded in only one area: rushing plays of 10-plus yards. They have 19 through three games, which is tied for 27th nationally. In every other statistical big-play department, Kentucky is among the worst in the FBS.
Here’s the full breakdown:
Long scrimmage plays
● 10-plus yards:
● 20-plus: 7 (T-122)
● 30-plus: 3 (T-114) 33 plays (T-97 nationally)
Long rushing plays
● 10-plus: 19 (T-27 nationally)
● 20-plus: 2 (T-93);
● 30-plus: 0 (T-110);
Long passing plays
● 10-plus: 14 (124th nationally);
●
●
● 20-plus: 5 (T-111) 30-plus: 3 (T-81) 40-plus: 1 (T-84)
Problem 3: Pass protection plight leads to passing game predicament
An offense that has to fight and claw for nearly every yard and point can ill afford to have obstacles upfront. Yet the offensive line is another area of the unit that has had a rough season to this point. The Wildcats’ starting five is giving up 2.67 sacks per game, which is 103rd nationally and 13th among SEC teams. UK is even worse among league clubs in tackles for loss allowed — 6.00 per game, which is ahead of only South Carolina, which has permitted a staggering 10.67 TFLs per contest.
Kentucky’s difficulty protecting starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff has contributed to a lack of pop in the passing game.
In other words, UK’s passing attack hasn’t gotten off the ground this season.
The Wildcats are outside the top 100 nationally in four passing categories: passing offense (109 yards per game; 130th), yards per completion (10.22; 107th), passing efficiency (100.58; 128th) and completion percentage (.508; 127th). Kentucky is last in the conference in passing offense, passing efficiency and completion percentage while slotting in 14th in yards per completion.
For the season, Vandagriff has thrown for 313 yards and three touchdowns — against two interceptions, one of which was a pick six by South Carolina — on 29-for-55 passing (52.8%).
The Wildcats’ receivers have seen their numbers suffer, too.
Dane Key is the only pass catcher with more than 100 receiving yards through three games; he has 119 on a team-best eight receptions. Fellow junior receiver Barion Brown paces the squad in receiving touchdowns (two). And transfer Ja’Mori Maclin had a 46yard reception in the opener — Kentucky’s longest play from scrimmage this season.
Problem 4: A football fan’s favorite pastime — second-guessing playcalling. Kentucky supporters had plenty to choose from in loss to Georgia
Two sequences during last week’s game had UK fans scratching their heads.
The first came just before halftime. After running back Demie SumoKarngbaye picked up 8 yards on third and 1, Kentucky had first and 10 at Georgia’s 14-yard line with nine seconds remaining before intermission. Instead of taking one — if not possibly two — shots at the end zone, UK coach Mark Stoops elected to let the clock run to five seconds before calling timeout. Alex Raynor promptly walked on the field and knocked in a 32-yard field goal to give the hosts a 6-3 lead at the break.
Stoops defended the decision after the game.
“I wanted points,” he said. “And we did take some chances. We just didn’t (capitalize). I mean, we couldn’t. That was going to be hard sledding (against UGA’s defense). We would take complete momentum away from us if we get a strip sack or a fumble or don’t go in with the lead. Thought our offense did a hell of a job of possessing it and driving and giving us a chance.
“It’s not like we were just giving up on that. That’s some hard sledding, man.”
Hamdan also agreed with the call, given the circumstances.
“That first half, the way our defense was playing, I think all those decisions are the right decisions, they really are,” he said. “I think the other part of that, too, is based off the coverage you might get in those situations: ball (is) on the 15-yard line with only a play or two, it’s hard to not go and take those points in a game like this against the No. 1 team in the country. So I think we did what we had to do in certain situations to take those points. Obviously, we’ve got to turn three (points) into seven here pretty quickly.”
The second call Stoops made that frustrated some segments of the fan base was not rolling the dice on fourth and 8 late in the final period, with Georgia leading 13-12. The Wildcats accepted a delay-of-game penalty to give punter Wilson Berry more room on fourth and 13. The Bulldogs took over at their 15 with 2:58 to play. They bled 2:49 off the clock. By the time UK regained possession, it had just nine seconds — and no timeouts — with which to work. Georgia sealed the victory three plays later.
Stoops never wavered in the aftermath.
“I know people are gonna question the fourth down. I don’t, I don’t,’ he said. “You know I’ve been honest with you for 12 years. If I say I made a mistake … I’ll tell you. I don’t regret punting that ball.
“I felt like if we went for it there and don’t make it, then our offense, if we stop them, has to go the length of the field — and that was going to be tough against that defense in a predictable pass situation. It’s not our strength.”
He reiterated that take during his weekly news conference Monday.
“I don’t take offense to the criticism of not going for it or whatever,” he said. “Again, I told the coaches on the headset on first down, I had every intention of going for it. Wish we would have gained some yards and had a manageable third down, manageable fourth down, but you’ve got to realize, in that same zone, on the plus-48, we had two sack fumbles, one sack, and then the next one went back from the plus (territory).
“Think about if we get three (points) there. Think about if coach Stoops goes conservative and we just run it three plays in a row and kick the field goal there, right?”
Problem solving: So, what are solutions for Kentucky offense?
In a sense, all of these issues are interrelated. Listen to Hamdan.
“That explosive-play piece is going to be critical,” he said. “And, for us, there’s no secrets of what we’ve got to do: As a whole unit, it starts up front, quarterbacks giving them a chance, guys making plays for us to get that done.”
The explosive plays will lead to more yardage. More points. It begins with the offensive line (and other blockers) giving Vandagriff enough time to find Brown, Key, Maclin and the rest of the team’s pass catchers. And in a perfect world for Hamdan and his unit, gaining yards by the bushel will ensure they are in third-and-long situations less and less — heading off future touch-and-go fourth-down decisions such as last week.
“It’s a lot like NFL football,” Stoops said. “You watch NFL football, they make hay on first and second down. You give those beasts time to bear down on you in predictable (passing downs), nobody’s comfortable — especially with the situation we’re in right now.”
But it’s not as if said situation is hopeless.
For all the problems plaguing the passing game, the rushing attack has been a bright spot.
Kentucky is averaging more than 152 rushing yards per outing — a figure that undoubtedly would be higher if it had been able to pad its stats in the second half of the abbreviated Southern Miss game. Most impressively, UK ran for 170 yards against the vaunted Georgia defense. UGA’s first two opponents, Clemson and Tennessee Tech, combined for 116 rushing yards versus Kirby Smart’s club.
“This offense, it’s always going to start with being able to run the football,” Hamdan said. “At times, I think defenses have played pretty soft on the back end with us and not allowed us to stretch the field as much. … But having that run game has been impressive.”
Impressive though it may be, it means little if points aren’t put on the board, touchdowns more so than field goals. That’s why the stretch of eight quarters without a TD is so vexing for players.
“The plays are there, and you come up an inch short,” starting center Eli Cox said. “Eleven guys have to be on exactly the right spot every single play for those big plays to happen, especially against a good defense. We were just one thing short. Whatever the play was, we had opportunities and the plays were there. We’ve just got to go make them.”
For what it’s worth, Hamdan said he hasn’t noticed his group hang its heads after two straight games without crossing the goal line.
“We’ve just got to keep working,” he said. “This is not a final product in Week 2 or Week 3. It’s a constant state of improvement. That’s the message for them, for myself, for everybody. And we’ve got to keep taking the next step.”
Until that comes to pass, and the offense begins playing up to its potential in all facets, self-belief must carry the day — “knowing what we have” and “who we are,” as Maclin put it.
“That’s plain and simple. Just keeping it cool, man, keeping it just at that,” he said. “I feel like it’s all just preparation throughout the week: preparing, trusting the coaches.
“That’s where the confidence comes from.”