Offensive youth movement stands out in Kentucky's blowout win

The Murray State Racers football program is not in the midst of a good run. This FCS program is now 3-19 over the last two seasons and has struggled mightily to create stops this season. Under new head coach Jody Wright, this Missouri Valley program has allowed 50-plus points six times this season.

Kentucky could not become the seventh team to join the fiftyburger club, but they were awfully close in the six-touchdown win on Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field.

Wildcat Win 😺 pic.twitter.com/HWMQ1D1dUs

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 16, 2024

Kentucky’s defense allowed only two field goals in 11 possessions and held Murray State to a very inefficient success rate (27.8%), but Saturday was mostly about the offense. Despite not having Brock Vandagriff available for practice for most of the week, Kentucky scored 48 points in 10 non-kneel possessions. That number would’ve been higher if not for two red zone field goals. We got to see what the future for this group could look like in Week 12.

Live from the Kroger Field press box, we’re recapping what we learned about Bush Hamdan‘s offense in Kentucky’s fourth win of the season.

Jamarion Wilcox looks like a dude

We had to wait until the second quarter for Jamarion Wilcox to get a touch, but the redshirt freshman made them count when they arrived. Kentucky rolled up 297 non-sack rushing yards on 7.6 yards per rush in the blowout win. Most of that damage came from Wilcox.

Get loose, @JamarionWilcox1 💨

📺 – @SECNetwork+ pic.twitter.com/saorZCp55u

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 16, 2024

Kentucky went eight games to begin the season without a 100-yard rusher in a single game. Wilcox has ended that with consecutive 100-yard games after rushing for 123 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown on a 69.2 success rate with six explosive runs. That number would’ve been close to 200 yards if a penalty didn’t take away a 73-yard run in the second quarter.

The former high three-star recruit in the 2023 high school cycle is now up to 474 rushing yards on 6.9 yards per rush this season with a 23.2 percent explosive rate. Kentucky has found a star player, and Wilcox should get a higher touch volume down the stretch.

Brock Vandagriff looks rusty after missing practice this week

Kentucky starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff missed plenty of practice time this week following an apparent head injury and was not cleared until late in the week. The redshirt junior showed some rust in his 10th start of the season.

In six possessions in the first half, Vandagriff led Kentucky to 24 points with a 52-yard touchdown pass on the game’s first possession, but both go throws to begin the game were off target, and one ended in an interception. The other should’ve been an interception. Things then got rocky in the third drive when Kentucky was forced into a quick punt.

Vandagriff settled down after that to complete 12-of-19 throws for 183 yards. The quarterback was productive in a two-minute touchdown drive that ended in another contested catch score for North Texas transfer Ja’Mori Maclin.

.@BrockVandagriff ➡️ @routerunner9 in the back of the endzone for the TOUCHDOWN.

📺 – @SECNetwork+ pic.twitter.com/jHZNUDvoBN

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 16, 2024

Kentucky seems committed to the former five-star recruit, but this coaching staff has shown that the quarterback situation is fluid. Could we see a rotation next week against Texas? That might be on the table after Kentucky spilt the reps against Murray State.

Cutter Boley leads four consecutive scoring drives

We had to wait until the second half to see true freshman Cutter Boley in his first extended action of the season. The blue-chip recruit out of Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy helped Kentucky score 24 points in four non-kneel possessions in the second half and did it playing with starters and backups.

The 6-foot-5 quarterback completed 10-of-14 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns while showing off his wheels on a 30-yard zone read keeper to help create a red zone possession in the third quarter. The young quarterback threw completions to seven receivers and helped create five explosive plays. Boley posted 8.7 yards per dropback on a 53.3 percent passing success rate.

We must acknowledge the inferior competition on the other side, but Boley made decisive reads and showed off his talented arm. It’s easy to see the potential, and it’s fair to assume that the young quarterback earned more snaps.

What will Mark Stoops and Bush Hamdan decide to do at quarterback against Texas and Louisville? It’s unclear at the moment, but the Brock Vandagriff/Gavin Wimsatt rotation may have just turned into the Brock Vandagriff/Cutter Boley rotation.

Same mistakes remain the same mistakes

Kentucky created six red zone possessions in the win against Murray State. The Wildcats got into the low red zone multiple times but had to settle for two field goals. Before one of those field goal attempts, a false start on third-and-goal at the two ultimately led to a field goal.

We shouldn’t be too critical of an offense that scored 48 points in 10 possessions, but the inability to finish drives remains an issue for this team. So do the penalties. A Marques Cox hold took away a 73-yard run by Jamarion Wilcox that turned a red zone possession into a three-out. The Jager Burton false start turned a potential seven points into three points. There were also two additional holding penalties that the Kentucky offense had to overcome.

In a matchup where the offense should’ve dominated at the point of attack, Murray State recorded six tackles for loss and four sacks. Kentucky’s offensive line continues to struggle, and those havoc plays can torpedo a drive at any point.

The Wildcats showed off some of the young skill position talent in the program during the victory. However, the self-inflicted mistakes, inefficiency in the low red zone, and failure to win the line of scrimmage battle remain massive issues for the offense that will likely be magnified in matchups against Texas and Louisville.

Kentucky took a step in the right direction on Saturday afternoon, but there are still issues to get straightened out.