Kentucky needs balance despite early pass-heavy approach

Kentucky has been a ground-and-pound offense in the Mark Stoops era. After pivoting away from the Air Raid in 2016, the Wildcats have produced six individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons with Benny Snell Jr., Lynn Bowden Jr., and Chris Rodriguez each earning All-SEC honors while running behind an offensive line with multiple pros. But offenses must play to their personnel in college football.

In 2023, Kentucky does not have the same offensive roster that they had for most of the Stoops era.

The preconceived notion in the offseason was that Kentucky would be more pass-happy in 2023 with Devin Leary at quarterback. However, I’m not sure anyone expected the Wildcats to be this pass-heavy.

Kentucky has a current pass play percentage of 59.8 percent when including sacks. That rate would’ve ranked inside the top 10 nationally last season. The heavy passing game is most evident in the first half where Kentucky’s pass play percentage reaches over 65 percent. Add in the slow starts and the time to reassess how to start games might be a question that the Wildcats need to ask.

On Monday, Stoops told KSR that his offense is looking for balance.

“We’re always searching for balance. There was some situations in that game where things were blocked well. We had a couple missed runs that we haven’t had. Some missed runs for good intentions — maybe trying to create too much — missing the hole. Those lead to some bad things including two holding penalties that were blocked,” Stoops said. “Then there were some others that we are trying to establish the run and run the ball, but we get to second-and-nine or second-and-eight. So non-successful runs put us in a bad spot play-calling wise.”

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Through eight quarters of football, three Kentucky tailbacks have combined for only 38 total rushing attempts. The trio has produced six rushes of 10-plus yards and is averaging 5.6 yards per rush, but Ray Davis, JuTahn McClain, and Ramon Jefferson have not gotten many swings at the plate. Someone will want to blame this on lack of snaps with only 112 plays through two games but the bigger takeaway is that we’re seeing an identity shift as Kentucky is leaning into its star power at quarterback and wide receiver while the offensive line goes through a rebuild.

Balance is needed in this pro-style scheme. Kentucky must commit to finding a more consistent rushing attack. Situationally, there are things the offense can do better. Getting off to a faster start would be a step in the right direction. The Wildcats have also been unable to overcome some in-game adversity whether that be penalties, drops, or missed throws. However, this is still an offense that wants to be balanced. A stronger commitment to the run game could be coming in Week 3.

“We want the balance,” Stoops said. “We gotta continue to work the run game.”