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When was the last time Kentucky's offense was consistently good? The answer is worse than you think

One single season in the last decade stands as a massive, flashing outlier, and it proves just how bad things have truly been.
ByDrew Holbrook|
UK assistant head coach offense Eddie Gran hugs his daughter Lucy after the University of Kentucky football game against the University of Arkansas at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, October 12, 2019. Kentucky Football Arkansas
UK assistant head coach offense Eddie Gran hugs his daughter Lucy after the University of Kentucky football game against the University of Arkansas at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, October 12, 2019. Kentucky Football Arkansas | Mike Weaver/Special to Courier Journal, Louisville Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The frustration with Kentucky’s offense in 2025 is palpable. Averaging just 332 yards per game, the Wildcats rank a dismal 94th in the nation. But anyone who thinks this is a new development simply hasn't been paying attention. This offensive ineptitude is a chronic sickness, with only two years of relief in recent memory.

Let's look at the hard data. When was the last time this offense even hit the 2025 national median of 400 total yards against a Power Five opponent? You have to go all the way back to October 28th, 2023, in a loss to Tennessee.

It has been 15 games since that happened. Before that? October 15th, 2022. Kentucky’s offense has managed to produce a good number of yards against a quality opponent less than once per season since 2022.

The Liam Coen, Eddie Gran exception

A look at the year-by-year total offense numbers reveals a stark and damning pattern. The offense has been consistently mediocre, hovering in the 300-400 yard range, with one massive, flashing exception.

The 2021 season under Liam Coen was the only time in the last nine years, aside from Eddie Gran's very first season, that the offense showed any real firepower or consistency. It stands as a monument to what is possible, and a glaring indictment of every other season around it. 2019 was another blip, but that was Lynn Bowden's Paul Hornung year where he was a Wildcat QB.

While the Wildcats should easily surpass 400 yards today against a weak Eastern Michigan team, fans know the truth. This isn't a one-year slump or a problem with a single coordinator. This is a systemic, decade-long failure to produce a competitive offense. For all the talk about getting better offensively, there's very few Mark Stoops teams that do it. That's why Kentucky hasn't been consistently good from year to year the last decade.

Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time, he spends time with his family, and watching Premier League soccer. Micah 7:7. #UpTheAlbion

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