Kentucky football: Trick or Treat? Unmasking the Wildcats’ sweet successes and scary slips

It’s that time of year when everyone dresses up as their favorite superhero, anime character, or monster and heads out for a night of trick-or-treating. Kentucky football fans, however, have already experienced their share of both tricks and treats this season. In this article, we’ll dive into the three biggest of each, breaking down the players, coaches, and moments that have had fans both thrilled and haunted.

Tricks

1. Bush Hamdan

New offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan came from Boise State with plans for a dynamic pro-style offense. While Boise's OC, he led a top-35 scoring offense with 32 points per game and a balanced run/pass offense. Yet, that has not materialized at Kentucky. The Wildcats are at the bottom in second-half scoring and lower 3rd in almost all national categories (fewer points per game than Scangarello's one-and-done year). The offense's tempo has not picked up as promised, and the play-calling has been questionable at best.

2. SEC home struggles continue

Kentucky’s 0-4 record in SEC home games has left fans leaving disappointed all year (2-11 in the last 13). Add in that Georgia was a 1-point game, we were tied with Auburn at the half, and South Carolina was only up 4 at halftime. In fact, Kentucky has as many wins in 2 years at Kroger field as Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Kroger Field gets loud but rarely has anything to cheer for this year.

3. Quarterback Production

Brock Vandagriff was supposed to be the answer at quarterback for Liam Coen. Coen bolted to the NFL, leaving Vandagriff, who chose to stay, and it has not gone well under Bush Hamdan for him. Brock is a former 5-star recruit who developed at Georgia for 3 years before transferring to Kentucky, where he has 2 years left to play. One has to wonder if he will come back next year.

Currently, Brock has thrown 6 TDs and 5 INTs on 100 of 175 (57.1%) and 1236 yards. He was benched for Rutgers transfer Gavin Wimsatt in the secon half of the Auburn game, who has done very little in limited opportunities. This week the staff has been non-commital on who will start Saturday.

Treats

4. Jamarion Wilcox

What a quote from Stoops. If Wilcox would just tie his shoes, he’d see more carries. When I first heard that, I thought he could not have said it. But watch above; he really did.

Jamarion has been a standout in a running back room originally expected to be led by Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum, who’s been sidelined with injuries. Chip has only appeared in a few series and is now out again alongside Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. When Wilcox does play, he’s averaged an impressive 6.4 yards per carry on 39 carries this season. Maybe someone should get him some Velcro shoes?

5. Defensive improvements in key areas

Kentucky’s defense has shown flashes of greatness (Georgia and Ole Miss games), particularly against the run. The defensive line has been effective at limiting opponent rushing yards until the last two games, where Auburn and Florida have dominated the line. Overall, the only stat you would like to see be better is yards per play, where Kentucky gives up over 5 per play. The defense, for the most part, has kept the game close.

6. Fan support remains strong

The fan base has continued to show up at Kroger Field every Saturday night. You can hear the fans loudly cheering on the Wildcats even though they haven't seen a SEC win at home this year. One has to wonder how much longer they can keep showing up and showing out when the performance on the field is so poor.

Happy Halloween!