Fair or not, Kentucky football needs more from Will Levis after fumbles at Ole Miss

As the ESPN broadcast caught an image of one of the fingers on Will Levis’s non-throwing hand pointing the wrong direction following a second-quarter sack, it was easy to imagine worst-case scenarios for Kentucky football.

Widely projected as a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Levis is essential to Kentucky’s chances of posting a special season. Concerns about quarterback depth only reinforce his importance to the Wildcats.

Big Blue Nation might have breathed a sigh of relief when Levis was able to return to the game after popping his finger back into place, but by the end of a 22-19 loss at Ole Miss they also realized UK’s star quarterback is not superhuman after all.

“We certainly had our opportunities,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said. “… Two opportunities late in the red zone there, but we came away with zero. So that’s the difference in the game.”

Levis completed 18 of 24 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. If not for a series of special teams blunders, Kentucky might have been in control of the game in the second half and playing so well after the gnarly finger injury would have been the latest addition to the quarterback’s growing hype.

But those early errors forced Kentucky to play catch-up throughout the afternoon.

Twice in the fourth quarter Levis led Kentucky on productive drives that appeared to put his team in a position to either tie the game with a field goal or take a late lead with a touchdown.

And twice Levis was left lying on the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium turf staring in shock as an Ole Miss defender recovered his fumble.

“This is what Coach Stoops always talks about, teams beating themselves and not the other team beating them,” Levis said. “That’s what we felt happened. They’re a really good football team and they played really well, but I felt like we were the better team toward the end there. But we shot ourselves in the foot when it mattered. I need to be a better game manager at the end there.”

Trailing by three with 10:14 remaining in the game, Kentucky started a drive at its own 5-yard line.

A 17-yard run from running back JuTahn McClain immediately gave Levis some breathing room. A third-down holding penalty against Ole Miss two plays later kept the drive alive.

Levis hit running back Chris Rodriguez for a 17-yard gain on a screen pass. He found tight end Brenden Bates for a 4-yard gain on second down, then showed off his NFL arm talent with a bullet to tight end Jordan Dingle for a 14-yard completion and third-down conversion.

Another impressive pass to wide receiver Dane Key for a 14-yard gain on second-and-16 set up a third-and-2 attempt. Levis faked the handoff to Rodriguez to keep himself and run left. He appeared to gain enough yardage for the first down but lost the ball at the Ole Miss 18-yard line on a hard hit as he powered forward to ensure he had converted.

With just 2:55 left on the clock, Ole Miss needed just one first down to ice the win. Kentucky’s defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out to give Levis and company one more chance with 1:49 remaining.

This time a 51-yard catch-and-run from wide receiver Barion Brown propelled Kentucky into the red zone. Kentucky rushed to the line of scrimmage with the clock winding down.

On the next play, Levis appeared to hit Key for an acrobatic go-ahead touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone, but Kentucky was flagged for an illegal motion resulting from a receiver not getting into a set position before Levis snapped the ball.

“We had plenty of time,” offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello said. “Shouldn’t have been rushing in any way, shape or form, and we have to make sure we’re set. It’s on us as a quarterback and us as an offense to make sure we’re set.

“I don’t want to put it on anyone until I see the film, but yes, it’s our job and there’s no reason to rush in that situation.”

The penalty gave Kentucky a first-and-goal at the 12-yard line with 58 seconds remaining. Even with no timeouts remaining, there was plenty of time left to score the go-ahead touchdown or settle for a short field goal attempt to tie the game.

Instead, Levis faced pressure from both sides as he dropped back to pass on the next play. Ole Miss defender Jared Ivey beat backup right tackle David Wohlabaugh, who was only in on the play because starter Jeremy Flax had been sidelined by a cramp earlier in the drive, and hit Levis as he prepared to throw.

The ball popped out again. Defensive end Tavius Robinson recovered. Kentucky’s losing streak in road games against SEC West teams hit 15 games.

Levis completed 6 of 8 passes for 115 yards on Kentucky’s final two drives, but the fumbles will be the lasting impression of his performance in Oxford. Levis also was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone on the play where his finger was dislocated, resulting in a safety.

“I thought at times he played exceptionally well,” Stoops said. “Protection was pretty good. With this structure there were times he was maybe looking, holding the ball a little bit. You watch tape and it’ll be easy once you watch the tape to say, ‘Hey, you could have went with the ball here now or there,’ but for him there’s a lot of moving pieces, a lot going on.

“He’s playing very good football. We get our guys set, he throws a dime and wins the game, everybody’s saying, ‘Wow, pretty impressive to lead us back on two drives late in the game there.’”

The return of Rodriguez from a four-game suspension reduces some of the pressure on Levis with a reinvigorated rushing attack, but Kentucky needs Levis to be exceptional more than “at times.”

The Wildcats’ offensive line issues are not going away. No magic reinforcement is coming to that position. There is some hope that more experience from the position will lead to better results as the season progresses, but Kentucky cannot wait for those strides.

Fair or not, Levis has to do more to help makeup for the pass protection shortcomings. That means making quicker decisions in predictable passing situations.

On the list of issues Kentucky must fix to remain a factor in the SEC East race and hunt for a New Year’s Six bowl game, Levis’ play is far down the list. He is Kentucky’s best player. Without him, the Wildcats would not even be in a position to dream about the division race.

But as Uncle Ben said, with great power comes great responsibility.

Levis has six turnovers through four games. There is no scenario where Kentucky beats Georgia and Tennessee without their star quarterback taking better care of the football.

“It’s going to come down to a two-minute drive at the end to win it,” Scangarello said. “There’s a lot of emotions going on at the end and you’re thinking, ‘Hey, we’ve got this opportunity,’ and you’ve got to compose yourself and execute.”

Rarely in Kentucky football history could the Wildcats have made as many mistakes as they did Saturday in Oxford and had a chance to beat a ranked opponent on the road. But that fact does not make the loss easier to handle.

If anything, it makes it more frustrating. Kentucky has bigger goals this season, and Saturday was a missed opportunity to take a significant step toward achieving them.

UK still controls its own destiny in the SEC East race,but only if its best player carries them there.

Kentucky avoided the possible season-crushing disaster that could have been a significant injury to Levis. But that good fortune alone is not enough to ensure the program’s best quarterback in decades will lead his team to new heights.

Next game

South Carolina at Kentucky

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: SEC Network

Records: South Carolina 3-2 (0-2 SEC), Kentucky 4-1 (1-1)

This story was originally published October 1, 2022 at 6:14 PM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription