By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Coach Mark Stoops expects Kentucky to make significant strides from the first week to the Southeastern Conference opener against Ole Miss on Saturday at Kroger Field.
The Wildcats (1-0) opened with a 24-16 win over Toledo, and Stoops liked the way his squad performed in the trenches, especially on the offensive line. Kentucky rushed for 220 yards and committed just one penalty in the first four quarters of the season. Kentucky also didn’t surrender a sack.
“They were awesome,” Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada said. “The offensive line was great. They have done a great job all off-season, all summer, and we ran the ball really well because of them.”
In his debut, Calzada threw for 85 yards and completed 10 of 23 attempts. Calzada threw five deep passes and failed to connect on any of them, but Stoops said the wide receivers were within reach of those missed passes.
“He put the ball in some places that we need to convert,” he said. “And then there were some that he missed … there’s a lot that he can improve on, but a lot around him as well. We’ll get it fixed. … We know we need to create some explosive plays.”
Despite the struggles in the opener, Stoops is sticking with Calzada, giving him a chance to prove he can lead the Wildcats to more victories.
“We still have a lot of confidence in Zach, and we have confidence in Cutter (Boley) in there,” Stoops said. “It would have been premature to pull the plug (in the first game). I really believe Zach’s going to do very well.”
Kentucky tight end Josh Kattus agreed.
“We ran the ball very well, but we just didn’t connect on some of those deep passes,” he said. “I’ll take credit myself. I had one down the field that would’ve been a great catch if I came down with it. That’s moving the chains, so I think we’re going to be good.
“We’re going to get back after it at practice and the offense has already identified some problems in the locker room. I think we’ll be good. Fans just have to have faith in us. We’re going to punch the clock this next week and be ready to go.”
In addition to the passing game, Stoops would like to see the Wildcats protect the football better than they did against the Rockets. Kentucky had two fumbles, with one lost and one interception. Stoops is confident they will make the necessary improvement.
“Ball security is an issue we’ve got to improve on,” Stoops said. “…I think there are many different reasons why you can make a big jump. I also believe in this team — the way they take coaching, in the way they take criticism, look at and try to get their mistakes corrected. I have no reason to believe that our team won’t handle it that way.”
Ole Miss opened with a 63-7 victory over Georgia State on Saturday. The Rebels will be coming to Lexington looking for revenge after losing to UK last season, a defeat that may well have kept them out of the College Football Playoff.
Gametracker: Ole Miss at Kentucky, 3:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ABC, UK Radio Network.