What we learned from Cutter Boley's first start of the season

Kentucky football welcomed the Eastern Michigan Eagles to Kroger Field on Saturday in a game that, after not looking good against Toledo and collapsing against Ole Miss with an offense that never could find a consistent rhythm, fans were looking for a blowout win. That was basically the case in this one, as the defense struggled in the first half, but tightened up in the second half with a 48-23 win.

As far as the offense goes, the Wildcats played a very crisp game of football with Cutter Boley at the helm. Fans were excited to see what he could do, and he certainly provided some very promising plays. Kentucky's offense was stagnant through the first two games, with Zach Calzada not able to get his offense into a rhythm, over-throwing receivers, with the overall operation not helping him either.

This week against Eastern Michigan, Kentucky brought in a promising quarterback who is like a veteran in his sophomore season by being under a Bush Hamdan offense in almost two years and learning the system while sitting and watching the offense and gameplan, while also taking quality reps in practice, and let's not forget coming into to the ruckus environment that is Texas last season. Now, after making his start against the Eagles, he looked much more comfortable in year two in the Hamdan offensive system. Boley was impressive and very smooth.

Boley seemed to really have a knack for those explosive plays, something Kentucky really struggled with achieving through the first two weeks. The Lexington-native connected on a number of huge plays, including a 36-yard pass to Ja'Mori Maclin, a 34-yard completion to Josh Kattus, a 33-yard connection to Fred Farrier, a 32-yard one to Hardley Gilmore, and a 25-yard pass to Willie Rodriguez. He connected with the tight ends a lot on Saturday, also something that hasn't been the case even in recent years. Boley threw for 240 yards, completing 12-21 passes. The run game was on point too, combining for 252 yards and four touchdown's, three of which were Seth McGowan.

The sophomore quarterback really found a connection with his tight end's on Saturday, as the positioned combined for 98 receiving yards. That is a connection that should be valuable for the Kentucky offense to try and take advantage of moving forward. The big talking point moving forward has to be if Boley will continue as the starter, not just given Calzada's status, but how well the offense flowed on Saturday.

With South Carolina coming up for the Wildcats on the road after a bye week, Stoops and the staff will have some time and analyze to make a big decision once Calzada is healthy. Boley will have a big test in Columbia if he does end up starting for a second-straight game.