Quarterback Cutter Boley could get his first start this season when Kentucky closes out a three-game homestand against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Boley played most of the second half after starter Zach Calaza left and didn’t return in the Wildcats’ 30-23 loss to No. 17 Ole Miss last Saturday. Boley completed one of three passes, including a 38-yard strike to Hardley Gilmore.
Stoops said Calzada wasn’t scheduled to practice on Monday, allowing Boley to earn more repetitions under center in practice this week. Beau Allen will serve as Boley’s backup until Calzada returns, Stoops said Monday.
“I’m excited to see Cutter,” Stoops said. “I say that about every position, when somebody gets hurt — I never want to see a player get hurt — but when that happens, about every time I've been up here, I’ve said I can't wait to see so-and-so play in fairness. So don't over-bowl that for a quarterback, like everybody does. I'm always excited for the next man up, and I'm excited to see Cutter, and Cutter will absolutely play.”
In his first two games as the team’s starter, Calzada has thrown for 234 yards and has rushed for a touchdown.
“There are things that we all can do better, that he can do better,” Stoops said. “We probably left some plays on the field (in the loss to Ole Miss). He's resilient (and) he's been around. He's a little beat up right now, but he has to get himself healthy and get back out there as soon as he can, and he'll be fine.”
LOOKING BACK
After reviewing the film following the loss to the Rebels, Stoops said there were “two ways of looking at things.”
“There are a lot of good things that we have to build on and a lot of mistakes that we have to get corrected — but we played winning football for much of that game,” he said.
The Wildcats built an early 10-0 lead following a pair of interceptions deep in Ole Miss territory, but the Kentucky coach was disappointed after the second takeaway when the Wildcats settled for a field goal instead of a possible touchdown.
“We’ve got to learn to capitalize, finish it off and play better in critical moments,” Stoops said. “But (we) did a lot of good things.”
Kentucky ran 70 plays compared to 72 for Ole Miss, but the Rebels capitalized on more explosive plays than the Wildcats, leading to the single-digit victory.
“You look at the way we competed, the way we played them — and we played them very well,” Stoops said. “Obviously, when you give up explosive plays, it's going to be difficult. For us, (we gave up) way too many explosive plays … I think, you know, we ran the ball effectively. We ran a lot of plays, which was good to see that you need to do (and) we limited them somewhat. … Credit them with the explosives. We didn't get as many.”
Gametracker: Eastern Michigan at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. CDT, Saturday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network.
Dante Dowdell (2) fights for yardage in Kentucky's 30-23 loss to Ole Miss last Saturday. (Photo by Les Nicholson)
