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Kentucky coach Mark Stoops made a prediction to Tom Leach on his UK Radio Network postgame show that UK fans have to hope is true.
“He will improve,” Stoops said about quarterback Zach Calzada after Saturday’s 24-16 win over Toledo.
In his first game as Kentucky’s quarterback, Calzada was 10-for-23 passing for 85 yards with one interception. Kentucky wide receivers had four catches for a net of 12 yards. Calzada ran 10 times for 14 yards, but in the second quarter, he was tackled in the end zone for a safety.
“I don’t think it was his best effort; I think he’ll tell you that. We have to be better around him. There are a lot of things we can do,” Stoops told Leach.
Calzada scored the game’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run but then threw an interception. He followed that on the next series by getting sacked in the end zone.
“Zach’s gotta hand the football off,” Stoops said. “Bottom line, we had the edges protected. I think he got a little spooked, but we had it protected. You’ve just got to get some tough yards there.”
That’s not the type of mistake expected from a seventh-year quarterback who won the job over redshirt freshman Cutter Boley because of his edge in experience, but that was a rookie mistake that UK cannot afford.
Stoops told Leach he felt the veteran quarterback was “pressing” and never got comfortable.
“I think that led to some incompletions and some of our timing, and things that I’d like to improve on,” Stoops said.
Stoops had made it clear UK would lean on its running game this year — Dante Dowdell ran for 129 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, on 14 rushes, and Seth McGowan gained 78 yards on 18 carries — but did expect the passing game to be better.
“I felt like we were off on some shots down the field. I think we connect on one or two of those that were close. I think you feel a little different, we all feel a little different,” Stoops said. “I think working on that and trying to push the ball down the field. It was off today. We need to improve, and I’m sure we will.”
Sure, we will? Maybe, but Calzada just was not impressive, and that’s a problem.
“He seemed fine to me leading into the game and warming up and all of that. He cares, he wants to play well. He cares about his teammates,” Stoops said. “He will look at this film and there is things he can do better, but that will be the same with everybody who played. Everybody can improve, and hopefully he will make a big jump and settle in and play some ball.”
He’d better do that because his debut did not match what UK’s previous three quarterbacks did in their first UK start.
— Last year, Brock Vandagriff came from Georgia and was 12 of 18 passing for 169 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in a 31-0 win over Southern Mississippi.
— In 2023, North Carolina State transfer Devin Leary was 18 of 31 passing for 241 yards and one score with one interception in a 44-14 win over Ball State.
— Penn State transfer Will Levis completed 18 of 26 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in a 45-10 victory over Louisiana Monroe in 2021.
Was Toledo that much better than the three teams those quarterbacks played? Maybe, but all three looked much more confident and accurate than Calzada did in their first games.
Calzada said it “felt good” to start for Kentucky and also predicted the team would get better. He felt the offensive line play was “awesome” and made no excuses for his play.
“The message to the team was we have got to get better and we will get better. So I am excited to go back to practice with these guys and see what we do next Saturday,” Calzada.
Offensively, it needs to be a lot better against Ole Miss, and the speculation this week about when or if Boley needs to get a chance at quarterback is going to resonate in Big Blue Nation.
29 Responses
Not impressive is being kind.
Another site just reported that Calzada got a "vote of confidence" from the players and coaches.
He made mistakes that a veteran qb shouldn't be doing. I wasnt impressed either.
Agree 100%, but you have to start wondering if it is the players or the coaches. This is not a one time disappointment; this is becoming a regular, every game disappointment. There is only one common denominator because it doesn't matter who is on the team, the outcome is generally the same.
Another poor QB decision by the Stoops' team.
There is a reason a QB has been around 6 years and on 4 teams.
Stoops has never prepared and developed QBs here. I have sadly concluded that it is beyond his capability.
Fire him today and take the bad hits this season to prepare for a real future.
Ditto. Sums it up in a brief comment.
If Cutter is as good as this QB then give it to him and let him get a full year under his belt.
I agree the way Stoops put it the QB competition was neck and neck. So why didn't Cutter play when Calzada was struggling? I would have at least played Cutter for a couple of series. So he stays ready.
Stoops talks a lot to build up the fans and the players, but when the lights come on, he crawls back into his little conservative cubical with all his bad habits and bad decisions.
Ditto! I wondered where he went when the lights came on! That’s a , OldFan!
There are two boogie men in this charade – Calzada and Hamden. Dumb play call and dumber decision. Secondly, I've been preaching about the lack of QB development since Stoops came to KY. The only good news here is that Stoops will have another awful year and KY will be one year closer to being able to buy the guy out of his contract. The really awful news is that we will have to watch it unfold.
If Calzada beat out Boley, that is not saying much for the future. Not impressed with Calzada at all. Way too many passes were high and several of those will get picked against most SEC teams. The UK offensive side of the ball looks like they need a lot more practices to even resemble a team that can move the ball against a decent opponent. Toledo may be good in their conference, but they would struggle to beat out UK and Vandy for last place in the SEC.
Also, Stoops could have put in Boley for the last 2 series and did not do it. I think Stoops hits the portal for another QB at the end of the season and Boley ends up going somewhere else, but that is just par for the course at UK.
I agree.
I've been going to Kentucky games since Stoll Field. Right now, unless they shed Barnhart/Stoops, I'm not sure the Cats will ever see another winning season against SEC competition.
The fan base is lartharic and is OK with winning three or four conference games. And that's what makes us a. lol. FOOTBALL SCHOOL!
I don't think we'll win any conference games.
Toledo is a playoff contender. That's what everyone is forgetting here. We didn't play Louisiana Monroe. It was the first game in a new offense. I do have to say I would have put Cutter Boley in for a couple of possessions when we were stalling. For this reason the backup QB is never ready in case of a injury. I don't see Zach Calzada being the starter in week 5 if he takes as many hits as he did against Toledo. It's almost like Brock V. 2.0. he started out looking great. Calzada had back to back completions. What killed me is they didn't hike the football fast enough on the review from the 38 yard pass to Hester. It's like after that review Calzada didnt look the same and threw a int the next possession. This is when he should have been taken out. Boley should have gotten a series to see what he could do against a Toledo defense. We might need Boley vs Mississippi. What happens if Calzada starts out slow against Ole Miss are we just going to get annihilated? Or are we going to turn to our future QB early? I would have started Calzada the first quarter. Boley the second quarter and whoever played better would get the start in the second half. Stoops has to do a better job of playing whoever has the hot hand since he says there's not alot of separation between Calzada and Boley. Calzada looked better in 2021 than he does in 2025? Make that make sense? You also can't evaluate a player 100% by practice. Pavia for Vanderbilt looked terrible in practice all the way up until they played the game then he took over. Some guys perform better when the lights come on. I would have definitely gave Boley some playing time. We might need him going forward.
Toledo would not be a playoff contender if they were in any one of the Power 4 Conferences.
Toledo is NOT a playoff team. It is weaker than UK, and UK is at the bottom of the SEC.
Calzada looked nowhere near being ready to lead anything in this game. He was not comfortable and showed no confidence or leadership at all during the game. He looked much more like a first game freshman than a 6 yr starter. I think he was also handcuffed by the ineptitude of Hamdan's conservative play calling. We will know much more about his ability and future a week from now.
The schedule only gets tougher from here. Stoops has been talking the talk, now it's time for him to walk the walk.
I meant to add that we really didn't win the game…Toledo lost it.
Yes, the game probably is more of a positive takeaway for Toledo than us. A few writers were suggesting our control of the game was never in doubt…WRONG. Take away that 79 yd run by us and a few less critical PENS from them, they walk away with the W.
👍
The Transfer Portal is the answer!
The AD, HC & OC need to enter the transfer portal.
We want Sumrall!!!!!!!!
If we are looking for bright spots at least we didn't look as bad as Alabama did on national TV.
Observations:
Play calling had zero creativity. A guy like me should never be able to predict plays but it’s easy with Bush. Run up the middle!! Again and again and again. Both backs were around 4 yds a carry…pathetic against a defense where every one of UK’s linemen well out weighed them.
Almost screwed up the TD because of a stupid substitution that allowed Toledo to sub in their goal line defense.
Where are the simple, short to intermediate throws that get a QB in rhythm and playmakers in space?! If I’m Law or Maclin, after running motion and routes all day and never getting the ball, I am wondering WTF was I thinking! Too much more of this and they won’t RUN the routes any more! What will be the point!
Stoops looked baaaaaaad on the sideline. Aside from being paler and fatter than usual his face and body language were embarrassing. That is not how a confident leader of men is supposed to look. It’s the feeling I get when I see a fat soccer coach.
Calzada was terrible but so was Bush. Hard to know who is more to blame.
Can you even imagine how this would have gone if they played a top team in week one? This team couldn’t get ready for Toledo?!?! Penalty on the FIRST snap of the game!! Fumble after the best play of the game! Get a 4th down goal line stop and then give up a safety! What?! Throw a stupid interception. All happened barely into the 2nd quarter! Only UK can do this. The offense needs a confident LEADER like the defense has in Brad White.
This coach is toast.
Return to a bowl game, 6 win minimum, is clearly a very long shot this year. Assuming UK can win its 3 non-P4 non-conference opponents, it must win 3 more games.
Vanderbilt on the road is the most likely 4th win, but the Cats will go to Nashville about a 1 TD underdog.
There are 6 additional games against teams that will be 12 to 20 point favorites depending on the opponent and venue. Between Vanderbilt and these 6, UK will need 3 wins to go bowling.
Impossible, no, but very unlikely based on Saturday's lackluster (typical of stoops even in his good years) opening game.
In my opinion, anything less than returning to a bowl THIS YEAR is unacceptable for this loser coach.
The probility of beating Vanderbilt will be about 40% and for any of the other 6 "winnable" games, the probability of winning will be in the 20% to 35% range.
The likelihood of winning 3 of these 7 is about 1in 20.
Stoops is toast.
Stoops was a very good defensive Coordinator at but he just has not kept up with the times as a HC. He has just one version of football: play just well enough on offense to score a field goal and run out the clock using defense. Probably why Shannon Dawson was fired. He wanted to score quickly and ask the defense to do its job.
They got the win, good for them, but if that is any indication of the UK offense involving the passing game, they are in big trouble. Boley should have been trotted out on the field in the second half IMO. At least just to give him a shot and game experience. Stoops will probably play Calzada the whole way against Ole Miss and talk about Boley being the future after the game. I like the tailbacks and the OL. I hate to say it this early, but that operation Saturday from the offense was concerning to say the least.