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Can Patrick Towles possibly top his performance in his first career start?
By Ethan Levine
Published:
Patrick Towles did not look like a first-time starting quarterback when he debuted for the Kentucky Wildcats last week against UT Martin. Towles threw for 377 yards in a little more than three quarters of action, throwing for one touchdown and running 23 yards for another in a 59-14 victory.
The Wildcats welcome the Ohio Bobcats to Commonwealth Stadium this weekend, with many UK fans wondering how can Towles top his performance against the Skyhawks last week?
It will certainly be a difficult task for Towles to outdo himself this weekend against Ohio. In addition to his stellar numbers, he showed great command of the UK offense, completing passes to 10 different receivers throughout the game without committing a single turnover. He was deliberate with his progressions, quick with his throws, and appeared on-time and in-sync with his receivers on combination routes in UK’s Air Raid offense.
Ohio will bring a much tougher defense to Lexington than the Skyhawks did a week ago, and the biggest key for Towles in topping last week’s performance will be extending the Cats’ pass attack down the field.
The Bobcats allowed Kent State quarterback Colin Reardon to complete 30-of-41 passes, but the Golden Flashes averaged just 6.4 yards per reception in a 17-14 loss. Ohio held Kent State to 14 points without forcing a turnover, primarily by keeping the Flashes’ passing game in front of the defense without allowing many yards after the catch.
Towles did not get many chances to air the ball out thanks to the success of the UK run game and the overwhelming lead the Cats maintained throughout most of the contest. He completed a beautiful 44-yard pass to Javess Blue on Kentucky’s first offensive possession to set up a Jojo Kemp rushing touchdown, but many of his other long pass plays actually involved short throws with long runs after the catch.
UK’s athletic wide receivers can still attack Ohio on underneath routes or screen passes with the threat of yards after the catch, but offensive coordinator Neal Brown may give his quarterback more opportunities to throw the ball down the field early in this week’s game.
Kentucky’s coaching staff is still evaluating its young talent this early in the season, and if Towles can show his coaches, and the rest of the SEC, he can be deadly with the deep ball, it could entirely change how opposing defenses approach the Cats the rest of the season.
Head coach Mark Stoops was asked in his weekly press conference Monday how much of the playbook he withheld during UK’s blowout victory, and Stoops noted he was unable to try as many shots down the field as he would have liked.
“You don’t want to be disrespectful.” Stoops said of coaching with a big lead. “That’s the only thing that hurt us a little bit. You wanted to let (Towles) go out there, and that was the plan. … Patrick needs the experience, too. He needed to go play.”
If UK let’s Towles air the ball out further down the field against the Bobcats, and if Towles is able to extend the field with a few nice throws, it could be another step in his development as an SEC quarterback and an area of improvement from last week’s strong performance.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
