Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley will make his third start of the season against No. 12 Georgia on Saturday and believes the Wildcats' offense is “just so close to putting all of this together.”
In a 35-13 loss at South Carolina last Saturday, Boley said the Wildcats showed signs of an offensive breakthrough against the Gamecocks. Kentucky scored a touchdown and added a field goal on its first two possessions but managed just three points in the final three quarters.
“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. I think that in itself — not even just a few plays, a lot of plays — is just kinda building some confidence that we do have what we need, and we can get done everything we still wanna get done.”
Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan likes the way Boley has remained confident despite a pair of interceptions and a fumble in the loss at South Carolina that resulted in a 21-point outburst for the hosts in the second quarter.
“He’s got to take the positives and learn from the negatives,” Hamdan said. “We talked a couple of nights ago, and I told him it wasn’t perfect, but I thought he competed; he showed toughness. I don’t think he’s scared at all, and that’s what I’ve learned in two years here. You'd better be confident in that position.”
As for the entire offense, Hamdan would like to see more balance, especially within the passing game moving forward.
“We’ve worked to not be as one-dimensional, and that’s continuing to be the focus,” Hamdan said. “We want to run the ball, but we’ve got to be balanced, we’ve got to create some things on the outside, score points. And frankly, we can’t be in passing situations and expect to be the drop-back team. We’ve got to get the formula of what’s going to give us the best chance to win this game this week. We’ve got to throw and catch better, that’s pretty obvious.”
Unlike last season, Hamdan likes the way the offensive line has improved during the first five games. Kentucky has held its own against opposing defenses this season.
“I think we’ve improved at the offensive line position, as long as we avoid obvious passing situations,” Hamdan said. “From a run game standpoint, I think we can be a physical, downhill running attack. We’ve got to find ways to just find easy, cheap yards in the pass game. That’s what we’re looking to do, get the ball out of his hands and really pick our spots to try to throw downfield.”
Hamdan admitted the Wildcats need to put together a winning formula.
“We’ve got to play a different way to win football games,” Hamdan said. “We’ve got to put ourselves in position to take risks when we need to, take risks and be smart when we need to, and it’s figuring out that balance.”
KEEPING IN TOUCH
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has kept tabs with former Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, who was fired following last week’s loss to Notre Dame.
“We’ve texted back and forth," Smart said Wednesday. “He knows that’s the nature of this business. He understands it. He’s very appreciative of the career he’s had, the work he’s done. He was glad I reached out, but we all know that’s part of it.”
Pittman’s successor, former Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, is on a nine-game trial as the Razorbacks attempt to recover from a 2-3 start, a stack of setbacks that includes a 41-35 loss to Ole Miss.
"What we're working on is things that we have in the system that we can make our base," Petrino said. "Get players to understand it better. Get players to play faster. Get all 11 guys on the same field to do their job on every single play and have it all work together."
GAMETRACKER: Kentucky at Georgia, 11 a.m. CDT, Saturday. TV/Radio: ABC, UK Radio Network on 94.7 The Mix and WiLLiE 102. Coverage: www.kentuckytoday.com
Cutter Boley will make his third start of the season Saturday at No. 12 Georgia. (UK Athletics Photo)
