By Joshua Huff

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What stands out during UK’s fifth consecutive loss to Tennessee on Saturday, more so than the anemic overall team defense or the offense’s inability to move the ball, is the inefficiency of the run game.

Of the 63 plays that UK ran, 34 were run plays and 14 of those were by quarterback Patrick Towles.

So what does that mean?

Either head coach Mark Stoops doesn’t have faith in his offensive line or he doesn’t have faith in his running backs’ ability to hit the holes.

The Cats utilized four running backs against the Volunteers. Granted, Stoops did mention that the depth chart prior to the games hold no bearing because the players who step up will play, but UK’s inability to find and settle on either a one three-down back or a tandem has set back the progress of this group of running backs.

The individual statistics on Saturday read like a college team playing a pro team with an all–pro defense:

Mikel Horton – two attempts for 18 yards.

Braylon Heard – six attempts for 17 yards.

Jojo Kemp – five attempts for 12 yards.

Stanley “Boom” Williams – five attempts for 6 yards.

Aside from Williams’ 100-yard game against Georgia two weeks ago, the Cats have struggled to move the ball using this four-man rotation. Kemp, Heard and Williams were bottled up against Missouri and were non-existent against Mississippi State.

Even with those struggles, we can make an argument about how during every one of UK’s five consecutive losses, UK has played from behind early and has had to air the ball out to stay competitive.

However, we can debunk that argument with a counter-claim that during the Cats’ current losing streak, Towles has been the leading rusher in attempts per game in four out of five of those matches (he tied Williams with seven attempts against LSU).

So what gives?

The only logical conclusion has to be the offensive line’s inability to set the blocks to spring open a backfield that has unquestionable talent. Stoops realizes that SEC teams know that they have the talent edge over UK and can win the individual battles, placing UK in the awkward position of having to run the ball despite teams stacking the box.

So to combat that, UK attempts to disguise its run plays by utilizing the quarterback sneak, which worked against weaker nonconference teams and South Carolina, but against talented SEC defenses does nothing but put the starting quarterback at risk of injury.

UK had a scare during the Tennessee game when Towles went out after rolling his ankle. Reese Phillips stepped in and was far from a competent replacement.

The Cats find themselves in a bind heading into their last game of the season against Louisville. They want to have a balanced playbook but without any consistent blockers up front, all UK can hope for is one or two big plays from its backfield.

UK cannot hammer the ball down a defender’s throat, causing Towles to throw the ball more than necessary.

With that said, just remember that UK is a young team. Its line is still a work in progress and with a team not built to start contending until the next few years, the struggle towards relevance will be a grind.