Kentucky football offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello might be reminding his players of the story of the tortoise and the hare in the buildup to a matchup with No. 3 Tennessee this week.
Casting Tennessee as the proverbial hare, focused only on speed, and Kentucky as the tortoise, with a slow and steady wins the race motto, might be an oversimplification, but it would be difficult to find two teams with a wider variance in approach to offensive tempo.
Kentucky ranks sixth nationally in time of possession per game (34 minutes, 24 seconds per game) but 115th in total plays. Tennessee ranks 121st in time of possession (26 minutes, 45 seconds) but 42nd in total plays, sixth among teams that have played just seven games.
Scangarello’s Kentucky offense is averaging one play every 32.2 seconds. Tennessee averages one play every 21.1 seconds.
“Everyone has their own identity, and for them, their identity is to play fast,” Scangarello said. “And for other teams it works very successfully.
“We’re not going to score 50 points a game. We’re not going to do it that way.”
Given Tennessee’s undefeated record and eye-popping offensive statistics, it would be understandable to wonder if the Volunteers had the better strategy.
In the second year playing for head coach Josh Heupel, whose offensive roots include ties to Art Briles’ veer-and-shoot and Hal Mumme’s “Air Raid,” Tennessee leads the country in points per game (50.1) and yards per game (571.7). The Volunteers have been held under 40 points just twice this season and have scored at least 34 in every game.
Two weeks ago, Tennessee snapped a 15-game losing streak to Alabama by scoring 52 points against Nick Saban’s powerhouse squad.
“They’re going to get some explosive (plays),” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said. “You’ve got to try and limit that as best as you can. … You can’t just sit back and give them everything in front of you either, like you can against some other teams, because they go so fast and they could rip off chunks. Anything underneath they could catch and run. Even the run game is explosive, so it’s a double-edged sword there.”
Meanwhile, Kentucky ranks 82d nationally in points per game (26.4) and 83rd in yards per game (373.7). The Wildcats have scored in the 30s three times and have only topped Tennessee’s lowest point total once, in a 37-13 season-opening win over Miami (Ohio).
Scangarello’s offense is a true pro-style scheme.
He came to Lexington from the San Francisco 49ers and was tasked with building on the scheme Liam Coen brought to Kentucky a year ago before returning to the NFL as offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
“I do believe we are in a system and a culture where the pace of the game plays to our favor when we can churn out drives,” Scangarello said. “We’re going to snap it, huddle and snap it with 10 or less on the clock most of the time. We can get out of the huddle fast. We can do those things, but we’re running the ball, we’re trying to grind it out the last couple of weeks.”
Even before Stoops brought Coen to Kentucky to install a version of the NFL offense built by Rams Coach Sean McVay and 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan, he was a believer in the value of controlling the clock.
Under Stoops’ leadership, Kentucky’s run-heavy offenses found success demoralizing opponents with long drives. Meanwhile, the effect of defensive personnel limitations was mitigated by limiting the opponents’ number of possessions.
The limitations of that offense were made clear in a 2020 season that included an All-SEC schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stoops fired offensive coordinator Eddie Gran and looked to the NFL to restore offensive balance to his system. Kentucky made good on that goal with Will Levis at quarterback and New York Giants second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson at wide receiver a year ago.
Now, Kentucky is built around Levis, who is projected as a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. A trio of play-making receivers has helped boost the passing attack to the point there were questions about UK’s ability to successfully run the ball behind a rebuilt offensive line earlier this season.
The return of star running back Chris Rodriguez, the SEC’s top returning rusher, from a four-game suspension has eased those concerns. Kentucky’s Oct. 15 win over Mississippi State marked just the second time Rodriguez and Levis have played together this season and offered the blueprint of what Kentucky’s offense can look like with its 478 yards split evenly between rushing and passing.
“We have to be efficient,” Scangarello said. “Points per possession are so important. … Although time of possession doesn’t win you games, it does help when we can be efficient. It helps when Will can keep us on the field on third downs.”
Kentucky’s defense deserves its own credit for standout performances against Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, who were each held to at least 14 points below their season average against the Wildcats, but an offensive strategy that limits opponents’ possessions plays a role in those numbers, too.
Tennessee can score so quickly, as evidenced by its nation-leading 21 plays of at least 40 yards this season, that limiting the Volunteers’ possessions might still not be enough Saturday.
But if Kentucky pulls off the upset, a new version of the tortoise and the hare fable might be to credit.
“You’ve got to be able to get quality stops, and moving the ball is important, yes,” Stoops said. “Third-down efficiency is important. The last game we played we converted a couple fourth downs early that I just felt like we needed to continue the drive.
“… I don’t think it’s ultimately what’s going to decide the game, but possessing the football and with a team like ours, with huddling and going slow, it does limit the opportunities. You’ve got to be efficient and I think efficient on the racks that you have, the sets that you have.”
Saturday
No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee
When: 7 p.m.
Records: Kentucky 5-2 (2-2 SEC), Tennessee 7-0 (3-0)
Series: Tennessee leads 82-26-9
Last meeting: Tennessee won 45-42 on Nov. 6, 2021, in Lexington
