A Potential Solution for the Kentucky Red Zone Problem

The Kentucky offense has tons of problems. There are so many that it is hard to narrow it down to just one. Can they be fixed? It might take a long time, but there’s one in particular that is plaguing the program where you can search for viable solutions.

Kentucky has scored 12 touchdowns on 22 red zone possessions. That 54.5% conversion rating ranks No. 102 in the FBS.

Against Auburn on Saturday night, Kentucky got inside the five twice. Bush Hamdan got creative, using motion for a quick out to Fred Farrier that fell incomplete. Kentucky was able to punch it in once, but only after Brock Vandagriff tackled Jamarion Wilcox into the end zone.

On the second trip inside the five, Kentucky did not punch it in. They ran it up the gut to no avail. They even tried a little trickeration with a shovel pass to Khamari Anderson that was promptly blown up at the line of scrimmage.

For the third straight week, Kentucky had the ball on the 2-yard line and left the drive with zero points. It’s infuriating.

Getting 2 yards shouldn’t be this hard.

WATCH: https://t.co/jDcT2DiYGN pic.twitter.com/SF9Ex3FE3c

— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) October 27, 2024

A Not-so-Crazy Solution from a Kentucky Fan

Clearly, Bush Hamdan is willing to get creative to punch the ball into the end zone. There are some crazy ideas out there. You could take a delay of game to back the ball up off the 2-yard line. That didn’t work against Vanderbilt, so let’s scratch that. I also thought, maybe we could extend the hash marks on the 2-yard line at Kroger Field. Instead of being at the 2, they could place the ball on the 1.5 or 2.5-yard line, therefore eliminating the mental block the Cats have on that spot on the field.

That idea is crazy. This idea may sound crazy, but it’s so crazy it just might work.

During Monday night’s call-in show, one Kentucky fan suggested using Deone Walker in goalline situations. If it worked for The Fridge, surely it could work for another dude who’s the size of a fridge.

“Please do not let Deone hear because he’s been bugging us about that,” Vince Marrow said.

Kentucky actually had a plan to use him in short-yardage situations leading into the Music City Bowl during his freshman year, but that situation never arose. Amid the current struggles, Deone is making his case once again.

“Coach put me in at fullback or just let me block. I said, ‘All right, Deone, I’ll see what we can do,'” recalled Marrow.

Kentucky recruited Chip Trayanum from Ohio State to move the pile in short-yardage situations. Without the 230-pound athlete available, why not try giving it to the 345-pound defensive lineman? What’s the worst that could happen, scoring zero points? We’ve seen that plenty of times. They’ve tried just about everything. They might as well give No. 0 a shot to get into the end zone.