Will Levis had just hung 303 passing yards and three touchdowns on Miami (Ohio). The Penn State transfer had just run his record as Kentucky’s starting quarterback to 11-3 with a 37-13 vanquishing of the plucky RedHawks.
Yet asked to evaluate his performance in the Wildcats’ 2022 season opener Saturday night, Levis was blunt. “I’ve never felt more disappointed in a 300-yard, three-touchdown performance in my life,” Levis said.
No. 20 Kentucky began a season of high expectations with its 17th straight victory over a non-conference opponent. The Cats won in front of an energetic Kroger Field crowd of 61,139 that was the largest to see a UK home opener since 2015. The victory moved Mark Stoops (60-53 since 2013) into a tie with the iconic Paul “Bear” Bryant (60-23-5 from 1946 through 1953) for the most victories ever recorded by a Kentucky coach.
Yet as the Wildcats prepare to go on the road next Saturday to open SEC play at Florida, Stoops issued a warning. “We have a lot to do between week one and week two,” the UK head coach said. “Going on the road next week, we better play better.”
The Cats will need a better performance from Levis to have any shot to tame the Gators in “The Swamp.”
For its quarterback to have any chance to shine at Florida, Kentucky will need a much stouter showing from its reconstructed offensive line than it got against Miami.
The knock on Levis during his time as primarily a situational running QB at Penn State was that, while his arm was strong, he lacked consistent accuracy and touch as a passer.
While leading Kentucky to a 10-3 mark in 2021, Levis showed improvement as the season went along in both areas. However, even in completing 21 of 32 passes against Miami, Levis had several errant throws when big plays could have been had with more accurate passes.
“From a decision-making standpoint, I thought I was really good,” Levis said. “But I just feel like there were some accuracy issues here and there.”
On Kentucky’s opening drive, Levis had Tayvion Robinson open for what would have been a 6-yard touchdown pass but threw the ball behind him.
The UK QB tried to go to Robinson on a slant on UK’s second drive, but the throw came in low and forced the Kentucky receiver to have to attempt a diving catch — which was ultimately ruled a non-catch by the instant-replay officials.
Most costly of all, Levis had tight end Keaton Upshaw open for a sure touchdown on a fourth-and-goal play from the Miami 2-yard line later on the second drive. However, Levis underthrew Upshaw and was picked off by ex-Manual High School standout Eli Blakey.
With Kentucky star running back Christopher Rodriguez sidelined for publicly undisclosed reasons and with the Wildcats breaking in four new starters on their offensive line, the punishing rushing attack that UK backers have become accustomed to watching was nowhere in sight Saturday night. Miami held the Cats to 50 yards rushing.
If Kentucky can’t count on moving the chains as regularly as in the recent past with the run, that puts a greater premium on Levis being able to consistently hit receivers in stride with accurate throws.
“I feel like there were two or three throws that, if (Levis) could have them back, we’d all feel completely better about his performance,” new Kentucky offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello said. “Those are good things. They will motivate him.”
One thing that can’t be questioned is the toughness of Levis. In the first game since Iowa sacked Levis six times in the VRBO Citrus Bowl, the quarterback was sacked four times by Miami. The undersized RedHawks defensive front stacked the box and ran a series of twists and stunts that periodically seemed to befuddle UK’s mostly new offensive line.
Even though Florida had no sacks in its 29-26 upset of No. 7 Utah on Saturday, one frets that an offensive front that has trouble blocking Miami (Ohio) pass rushers could be in for a long, hot night in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Said Stoops of the under-construction “New Big Blue Wall”: “We need to do a better job of handling movement and being more physical and tougher, both in the run game and pass protection.”
In evaluating Kentucky’s offensive performance against Miami and what it might mean for the visit to Florida, Scangarello said the Wildcats offensive brain trust did not show all that much of its hand.
“I am not going to lie, I wanted to be smart with what we put on tape,” Scangarello said.
Levis said Scangarello spent some part of his first summer as UK offensive coordinator just preparing for Florida. “I know Coach has been thinking about Florida for awhile,” Levis said. “He was talking about game-plan stuff for them, like, two months ago.”
The stakes for Kentucky in Gainesville are large. UK’s 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2021 were each ignited by a victory over Florida early in the schedule.
For Kentucky to have a realistic opportunity for a third win over the Gators in five seasons, the formula seems clear: UK will need more accurate passing from its quarterback and better protection of its QB when he tries to throw.
