Kentucky must finish drives with points but Mark Stoops only gets involved in play-calling when asked

Kentucky’s offense ranks No. 87 overall in points per drive (1.94) entering Week 9. Finishing drives has been an issue. Over the last two weeks, Kentucky has created 10 scoring opportunities (first-and-10 inside the opponents’ 40) in 19 non-kneel possessions. Bush Hamdan‘s offense has only scored 20 points in those 10 possessions.

The Wildcats have scored one offensive touchdown or less in three SEC games. Hamdan’s offense has yet to score more than 20 points in an SEC game this season. One of this team’s biggest problems is the inability to finish drives in the paint.

“We have to finish plays. Finish drives. I think once again as I mentioned, it’s not quite as magnified with the opportunities that we’ve had if we get them in the endzone. There’s no excuse for not getting in on third-and-short and fourth-and-short,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops told reporters on Monday. “We gotta get the ball in the endzone.”

“We’re close, and we gotta finish drives a little bit better, and we’ll have an opportunity to score more.”

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Kentucky created more than a few scoring opportunities against Vanderbilt and Florida. That’s not even counting the flea-flicker touchdown pass from Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown. However, the offense is just not finishing drives.

Throughout his tenure in Lexington, there has been a narrative created that Stoops handcuffs his offensive coordinators and has a heavy hand in the play-calling operation. The 12th-year head coach again opened up on that subject during Monday’s press conference. Stoops has no issue with criticism but he does offer an opinion when presented with a question.

“Criticism is fair. I don’t get involved in play-calling, but they did ask me on the three when we had a first-and-goal on the three, and I absolutely said pound it. Pound the rock. And we did. And we scored,” Mark Stoops explained. “Let’s not be cute now. We can be physical. We can run it in here. I told them they had four downs because it was first-and-goal. So I said ‘let’s not outthink this’.”

“On the others I didn’t say a word. Call what you want to call. I thought he (Hamdan) made a great call on the fourth-and-two. When we were discussing it, I told him to go for it, and I said ‘what are you going to do?’. He said ‘I’m going to throw it’. I said ‘do it’.”

Kentucky’s offense is back in the lab at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility this week looking for ways to improve before Auburn rolls into town this weekend. The offense could use more explosive plays, but the scoring chances are getting created. The Wildcats need to finish.

Mark Stoops will be in the background to provide a suggestion when needed.