Column: Cats’ quarterback rotation leads to victory

AUBURN, Ala. — The Cats picked up a new dance down south on Saturday.

It’s nothing like you’ve seen so far this year, at least not in Lexington.

Call it the quarterback shuffle.

First, put your best foot in. If that doesn’t get you grooving, try the other.

The great thing about the quarterback shuffle is, if neither foot does the trick, it’s OK. Just make it up as you go along.

It worked for UK. The Cats rode it all the way to their first victory in Auburn since 1961. UK head coach Rich Brooks was still playing at Oregon State back then.

Saturday, Brooks thought freshman Morgan Newton was his team’s best option at quarterback, so he got the nod to start.

“We kind of made an early decision to go with the young guy (Newton),” Brooks said. “(It was) really one of the few times I haven’t been totally honest with the media. Will Fidler has had shoulder problems … He was really unable to throw Wednesday or Thursday.”

Brooks put what he thought was his best foot forward, and it fared well for the Cats, at least in the first half. Newton’s line wasn’t flashy (5-of-13, 39 yards; eight rushes, 15 yards and a touchdown), but he kept the Cats in the game without making any mistakes with his 4-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game, 7-7.

Newton was sacked just once but when the pocket collapsed and he was trapped, taking the sack was smarter than risking something worse.

Still, Brooks felt like his best foot forward wouldn’t groove the Cats toward winning on the road. So in the spirit of the quarterback shuffle, Brooks moved to Fidler.

He said he thought it was the right move at the time because he wasn’t happy with the way the offense was scoring. At the time, UK was down 14-7.

“You know, any time you hear that, it’s tough,” Newton said of the decision to go with Fidler. “With that said, I’m a young guy always looking to learn. That’s what the coaches told me when I walked off the field, ‘Sit back, watch and learn from what’s going on.’ ”

Under center, Fidler didn’t take many chances. He threw just nine passes, completing four. He passed for 36 yards and most importantly, said UK head coach of the offense Joker Phillips, he finished with “no turnovers, no sacks, and no turnovers.”

Fidler accounted for the Cats’ second touchdown of the game, a 2-yard lunge up the middle. The score tied the game at 14. Even still, Fidler’s steady, modest hand wasn’t enough.

So the Cats made it up as they went, and resorted to a familiar move: The Cobb.

That’s when the Cats really got grooving into the quarterback shuffle.

And why not?

“He is the ultimate competitor,” Brooks said of Cobb. “He’s got a heart as big as this stadium.”

Cobb engineered the game-winning drive from the ground up, marked by a 61-yard run right up the middle and, two plays later, punctuated with a 4-yard run around the left end.

Cobb’s touchdown, ultimately the game’s final score, put the Cats ahead 21-14.

It worked so well, Brooks said he’s bringing the quarterback shuffle all the way back to Lexington.

“The good news is, we had three touchdowns scored by two quarterbacks and a quasi-quarterback,” Brooks said.

With Mike Hartline’s status still unsure, it looks like the Cats might dance all season.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.