Despite the outcome, Cutter Boley showed progress against Georgia

Oct 4, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Cutter Boley (8) passes the ball against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After looking lost at times against South Carolina a week ago, Cutter Boley was much more comfortable in the pocket against Georgia.

Both games ended in losses for Kentucky, and the season-long outlook isn’t an inspiring one, but Boley bouncing back from week to week is at least one positive sign we can take out of Saturday’s 35-14 drumming in Athens. The redshirt freshman threw for 124 yards and two interceptions on 10-19 passing last weekend. Those numbers flipped into 225 yards, two touchdowns, and just one interception on 25-41 passing against the Bulldogs.

Now the full-time starter, Boley hasn’t been able to bring any wins back to Lexington, but with seven more games on the schedule, a much-improved performance against a College Football Playoff contender was almost going to be a necessity. He played with far more confidence against Georgia than he did against South Carolina. That’s notable even if Kentucky’s season might already lost.

“I do. I do. I do. I felt like he did,” Head coach Mark Stoops said when asked if Boley showed progress on Saturday. “I thought Cutter grew up some today.“

You could make a real argument that, considering the opponent, this was Boley’s best game as a college player yet. It was just his eighth-ever appearance in a game and just the sixth where he received the majority of the snaps under center. There is clear talent in his arm, but it’s still raw — he needs as many reps as possible moving forward, no matter how the rest of the season plays out.

Boley’s QBR of 76.9 and his completion percentage of 61 against Georgia both marked season-highs. 11 different Wildcats caught a pass from him. Tight end Josh Kattus took a 29-yard reception across the middle of the field to the house. Wide receiver Kendrick Law caught a tight pass near the side of the end zone for Boley’s second passing touchdown.

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Boley wasn’t perfect, still holding onto the ball longer than he needed to at times, but there was clear growth in his performance.

.@cutterBoley ➡️ @Jkattus = 6️⃣

📺 – ABC pic.twitter.com/lo0Qyk9b0r
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) October 4, 2025

That’s a @kendricklaw2 touchdown‼️

📺 – ABC pic.twitter.com/v9eUmhe9ni
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) October 4, 2025

“I was getting the ball to my guys, I was trying to be efficient with all my coaching points, what to do with the ball and where to go with it,” Boley said postgame. “I feel like I did a good job of distributing the ball, but we just gotta take that next step. I feel like we’re just one play away on every drive from completing a drive.”

Boley’s 41 passes were easily a career-high, too. His second-highest outing in that regard was when he went 12-21 against Eastern Michigan back in Week 2. An injury to reliable running back Seth McGowan forced offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan to sling the ball around more than he would like, but Boley didn’t mind having to take on a larger load.

“I really liked the way he called it today,” Boley said of Hamdan.

Stoops has said plenty of times that he wants Boley to be the future face of the program. These are the games that will help him get there, even if the scoreboard might not say the same thing.