QB plan is working, but needs work

By Mark Story / Herald-Leader Sports Columnist

Mark Cornelison | Staff

Kentucky's Randall Cobb ran for a 28 yd gain in the second quarter and scored on the next play from 11 yds out as Kentucky played Louisiana Monroe on Saturday October 24, 2009 in Lexington, Ky. Photo by Mark Cornelison | Staff

FOOTBALL: Tennessee at Kentucky
Where: Commonwealth Stadium
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 28
TV: ESPNU

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Date	Opponent	Time	TV	Result
2009 UK FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
(Home games CAPITALIZED; times are p.m.)
(Click on score for game coverage)
Sept. 5	Miami (Ohio)*	noon	ESPNU	W, 42-0
Sept. 19	LOUISVILLE	noon	ESPNU	W, 31-27
Sept. 26	FLORIDA	6	ESPN2	L, 41-7
Oct. 3	ALABAMA	12:20	SEC Network	L, 38-20
Oct. 10	at South Carolina	12:30	FSN	L, 28-26
Oct. 17	at Auburn	7:30	ESPNU	W, 21-14
Oct. 24	LOUISIANA-MONROE	7	FSN	W, 36-13
Oct. 31	MISSISSIPPI ST.	7	FSN	L, 31-24
Nov. 7	EASTERN KENTUCKY	1 p.m.	WKYT	W, 37-12
Nov. 14	at Vanderbilt	12:21 p.m.	SEC Network	W, 24-13
Nov. 21	at Georgia	7:45	ESPN2	W, 34-27
Nov. 28	TENNESSEE	7	ESPNU	--
* -- at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati
Click here to see results of the 2008-09 season

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There is a football saying older than Knute Rockne: If you have two quarterbacks you are trying to play, you really have no quarterback.

Since the Mike Hartline injury, Kentucky is trying to play not two, but three quarterbacks.

So far, UK's three-headed quarterback platoon has managed to spit in the eye of pigskin convention.

"We've made some mistakes but we're 2-0 in that situation," said Kentucky tri-quarterback Will Fidler. "So you have to say it is going pretty well."

Kentucky beat Louisiana-Monroe by the deceptive score of 36-13 Saturday night before 68,203 chilled fans in Commonwealth Stadium. A Randall Cobb punt return touchdown and a Randall Burden TD off an interception (it was a good night for Randalls) helped Kentucky win decisively in a game in which it was outgained (377-330) by the visitors from the Sun Belt Conference.

As it did in its uplifting road upset of Auburn the week before, UK earned the victory with three different players taking snaps from center.

Unlike the remarkably clean win on the plains, this time UK's ever-rotating quarterback corps of Morgan Newton, Will Fidler and Randall Cobb (from the Wildcat formation) had some ball-security issues.

True freshman Newton, in his second career start, threw a first-quarter interception on a play in which he was crushed while trying to throw.

Relief man Fidler threw his first career touchdown pass but also killed two scoring opportunities with an interception and a lost fumble.

"I am not pleased with (their play)," Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks said. "Our passing game is not where it needs to be and our quarterbacks have to continue to develop. And you can't turn the ball over."

For the game, Fidler finished 8-of-13 for 82 yards with the pick. Newton was 3-of-6 for 17 yards.

Just as it was at Auburn, UK's offense was most dangerous when Cobb took snaps at center. In addition to his punt return TD, he also scored on an 11-yard run. He set that score up with a 28-yard run.

For the first time this season, Kentucky asked Cobb to throw from the Wildcat. He completed 2-of-4 for 46 yards.

"We had talked about wanting to get a few completions out of the Wildcat in order to keep people from bunching up on us, and I think this will help us do that," Brooks said. "There's actually more (passing plays) in that package, but you don't want to give it all away at one time."

For good measure, Cobb, the splendid sophomore from Alcoa, Tenn., led Kentucky with four receptions.

I'm pretty sure he also parked RVs and melted cheese for the nachos before the game.

The more brilliance Cobb shows, the more the calls come to put him exclusively at quarterback. When UK tried that last year in the season's final four regular-season games, it yielded eight and even nine men in the box from opposing defenses and diminishing production from Cobb.

This year, the Kentucky brain trust seems intent on keeping Cobb as a multi-purpose threat and a "Wildcat quarterback" only as a change of pace.

I think they're right, but it does put the onus on the two traditional quarterbacks to justify keeping Cobb at receiver.

Ideally, either Fidler or Newton would seize the QB job and end the three-headed monster.

Both acknowledged that it is difficult to get into a quarterback's rhythm when you are essentially alternating.

After two weeks of the post-Hartline segment of the Kentucky season, Brooks does not sound like he expects that to change.

The UK coach says Newton, a lavishly praised high school recruit from a season ago, is going to take time.

"Everybody assumes because a guy is a highly touted recruit when he comes in, that he can automatically step into college football and be an instant star or an instant savior," Brooks said. "Well, it's really hard; it is really, really hard.

"Morgan continues to do some good things. Some of the things he did tonight were better than what he did last week. But we have to be more efficient with the football. We have to make our reads a little quicker."

Fidler, Brooks said, has consistently been a quarterback who makes some impressive throws in practices (as he did Saturday night) but also one prone to making some head-scratching mistakes.

"I really think what we are going to see is probably a continuation of using both of those guys and mixing in the Wildcat," Brooks said.

Of course, football's conventional wisdom says that cannot work.

Brooks says he has no choice.

"We're just trying to win football games," the UK coach said. "I wish it were easier and somebody would go out there and complete every pass and do all the right things, but it doesn't work that way. We're doing the best we can and trying to utilize our players as best as we can."

Reach Mark Story at (859) 231-3230 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3230, or mstory@herald-leader.com. Your e-mail could appear on the blog Read Mark Story's E-mail at Kentucky.com.