Photo | UK Athletics | Jacob Noger

Kentucky’s offense has struggled to find its rhythm this season. The numbers are difficult to ignore: 79th in scoring offense (27.0 points per game), 97th in total yards (347.0), and 120th in passing yards (159.0). When it comes to passing efficiency, only a handful of teams rank worse nationally.

While the run game has shown flashes and the Wildcats have managed to move the ball against weaker opponents, their performance against Power Five competition has remained underwhelming.

A Change Under Center

With transfer QB Zach Calzada sidelined due to injury, head coach Mark Stoops made a significant change at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Cutter Boley took over the offense, showing promise in a win over Eastern Michigan but struggling in his first SEC road start at South Carolina.

Despite the growing pain, Stoops and the coaching staff remain optimistic about Boley’s future. “He is very resilient. He has a strong belief in himself. The players believe in him. He has the talent,” Stoops said. “He’ll continue to work and get better.”

Confidence Amid the Setbacks

Following the South Carolina loss, Boley isn’t dwelling on what went wrong. Instead, he’s focused on how close the Wildcats are to getting things right.

“There are a lot of plays where we had big hits and we had good runs,” Boley said. “There were things open on the back end and there were many things that we were just inches away from getting done, inches away from being a big-time play.” “We’re just so close to putting all of this together.”

Putting It All Together

For Boley, the path forward is through continued effort in practice and attention to detail in film study. “Just continue to work, continue to watch that film and see what we can get better on,” he said. “There are so many plays where we’re just so close to getting big hits, getting big plays in the pass game, especially to the receivers.”

Building Belief

The results haven’t arrived yet, but belief in the locker room remains strong. According to Boley, the team isn’t backing down. “Just these guys’ preparation every single day, their work ethic out here at practice,” he said. “Every guy is coming out here striving to get better every single day.” “I think all these guys on this team really believe that we’re so close, we’re one step away.”

That next step won’t come easy. Kentucky travels to No. 12 Georgia this weekend, another tough SEC test with the Dawgs coming off a loss to Alabama. You’ve got to think Kiby Smart and his team will be looking to take out some frustrations.