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What started out so promising and looked to reverse some troubling trends once again ended in disaster for Kentucky.
The Wildcats scored on their first two possessions against South Carolina before imploding and falling 35-13 to the Gamecocks. It was another dismal performance for coach Mark Stoops’ team after a bye week, it was a fourth straight loss to South Carolina and it was UK’s 14th loss in the last 16 Southeastern Conference games.
It was also another difficult game for a Kentucky quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Cutter Boley made his first SEC start and had a fumble returned for a score and a pass picked off and returned for a touchdown on consecutive plays in the second quarter to turn a 10-7 lead into a 21-10 deficit.
Boley was sacked six times, hit four more times and hurried a lot more times as UK’s offensive line could not hold up against South Carolina’s pressure.
“It just fell apart for Kentucky after those first two drives (resulted in 10 points),” UK Radio Network analyst Jeff Piecoro said. “Those turnovers for touchdowns are just not things you can have happen and not many teams can come back from that, especially one that does not have the firepower in a big play offense.
“They have got to find receivers who can get open. When he (Boley) had time, he couldn’t find anyone (open to throw to). When he didn’t have time, he got crunched.”
Boley finished the game 10 of 19 passing for 124 yards and two interceptions. He fumbled three times (UK recovered two) and also threw another interception in the disastrous second quarter.
Kentucky’s only points in the final three quarters came on a 42-yard Jacob Kauwe field goal after the Cats got a short field when South Carolina coach Shane Beamer surprisingly elected to try a fake punt from his own 29-yard line with a 28-10 lead.
“He (Boley) has a strong belief in himself. He is a very confident young man,” Stoops said. “When these guys get their reps, they are only going to get better. He has a lot of ability. The slant (pass) got tipped (and returned for a touchdown) was only a yard from being a completion. We just have to execute.
“We just can’t turn the ball over in a game on the road and think we can win. That is frustrating.”
Senior running back Seth McGowan topped the 100-yard mark for the second straight game with 112 yards and one touchdown, but the offense was far too one-dimensional to make a comeback after the second-quarter debacle when South Carolina went to a five-man defensive front and often had eight players in box daring Boley to try and have time to pass before he was hit.
“We had to get off to a good start and we did that,” Stoops said. “I was not happy with the first defensive series (when South Carolina drove 75 yards in 12 plays at UK’s opening touchdown) and that took a little wind out of our sails.”
What took a lot more wind out, though, were the turnovers.
“You cannot give up a defensive score and we gave up two. That is not where you can live. It just got away from us there which is really unfortunate,” the UK coach said. “We had to be precise and execute in critical moments and we are not doing that on either side of the ball. Our margin for error is not very big and we have to be better.”
However, despite the final score and what the game looked like, Stoops insisted the Cats (2–2, 0-2 SEC) are better than what others might think.
“We are a better football team. They are good guys, they care. We just have to be better,” Stoops said. “The mentality is there, the physicality is there, we are able to run the ball and we are playing good defense in spurts.
“We may have to take more chances. There are situations where players can do better and coaches can do better. The players have to take their part. We have to be detailed and execute in critical moments. That is on all of us. That is not coach speak. That is the truth
“I really have a lot of confidence in these guys and having the unity we are looking for. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us and give us anything, We just have to go do our part.”
And do it a lot better than the Cats did at South Carolina.
7 Responses
I try to hang on with Stoops, but after this disappointing showing its been common theme getting beat by S. Carolina every year.
Stoops is becoming a Calipari-like broken record, just regurgitating the same excuses from his rolodex. Also, Eddie Gran would HAVE to be better than Hamdan. My goodness this offense has no creativity at all. If you can be destroyed just by throwing a 5 man front, they will lose every other SEC game this season.
Stoops: “we are a better football team”
Boley was
sacked six times,
hit four more times and
hurried a lot more times
UK’s offensive line could not hold up against South Carolina’s pressure.
Just trying to see where the “better football
Team” can be seen
Just curious if the 4th season of decline has anything to do with the HC, OC & OL coach.
And who would expect the OL to breakdown worse than they did a lot of games last seqson?
Did the SEC scheduled the bye week for UK just yo give SC the advantage, knowing there is a setback during that extra week?
So many questions about this team that is
“a better football team”
How can anyone say that about any team? Teams are what they do on the field in real games.
This UK team entered this game with the worst efficiency of all the SEC. That is what this team is. This team solidified that bottom-dwelling position last night. BTW, USC was the second-lowest efficient team in the SEC. Last night may bump them up a spot, but they won't get much of a bump by beating this UK team.
Sagarin has had UK in the 45-50 range. I have believed that sagarin has UK overrated, and that UK is really in the 50-60 range.
UK will now finish 3-9, with 4-8 a remote possibility. UK will finish dead last in the conference.
Either UK must commit to be competitive in the conference, or UK should admit that it does not want to compete on that size stage in athletics and join the OVC, or MAC.
Let's face it BBN. We have inferior players, coaches, and the downward spiral will not reverse until we have almost a complete coaching turnover. I used to be a big fan of Brad White, but he has produced too many inconsistent games the last couple of years. Hamdan continues to be a total disaster and he saves his best for national embarrassment. Stoops has morphed into less than average coach. The man always looks out of touch with players and coaches during the game and only shows real emotion when disagrees with a call. It is obvious Stoops does not have control of anyone inside or outside the locker room.
I personally like Boley. One of UK's offensive problems over the last many years has been failure to recruit, develop, and retain QB talent and to have a QB, Stoops has relied on a revolving door at the transfer portal.
Long term, UK needs to move away from the QB revolving door. Stick with Boley. Let him learn the old fashioned way, by doing.
The problems with this program are not, and cannot be defined by Boley.
The problem must be addressed at the top of the food chain, and that is Barnhart, then Stoops.
One thing about the fumble recovery for the USC TD that struck me is the defensive pressure that reached Boley was due to O Line failures, and when the ball came free, one of those linemen stood next to Boley, watching the ball roll in front of his eyes. Then when this lineman decided it might be a good idea to fall on the ball, he fell about 2 to 4 feet to the right of the ball. He missed the ball completely, allowing a USC player to step by the UK player, pick up the ball from the ground, and run to the endzone.
This turnover and USC TD was not on Boley. Who was that line man, and why couldn't he jump on the ball instead of flopping to the ground next to the ball?