Eddie Gran Admits Being "Too Stubborn" in the Wildcat

A season ago Benny Snell helped carry Kentucky to seven wins out of the Wildcat formation.  Today in Hattiesburg, the Cats couldn't do anything right in the Wildcat. The first four plays out of the formation led to disaster.  A high snap over Snell's head stalled the drive.  Snell saved another from sailing over his head.  There was a false start, a timeout to save a delay of game penalty and a fumble inside the five.  Still, Eddie Gran kept going back to the well that was successful last season. "I probably got a little bit too stubborn.  I probably could've opened it up a little bit," the offensive coordinator said after the game.  "Part of me wishes probably when I go back, I wish I would've opened it up a little bit.  But at the same time, we gotta be tough, we gotta run the ball." The problems started on the offensive line.  After Bunchy Stallings got banged up, they were forced into a rotation that simply didn't work. "It was very frustrating.  When Bunchy got dinged up a little bit and we kind of started moving guys, I just never felt continuity.  There just wasn't anything that was working and I promise you I tried a lot." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S66T1BHOkMY The second part of the run game problem falls on the ball carrier.  In his first game as the featured running back, Snell got a little too overzealous.  He was not patient enough to wait for the holes to open. "I just gotta be slower, slow it down.  "I was just trying to go, hit the hole and go because I was trying to get out of there," Snell said.  "I learned that I was so excited and so happy about the good I can do, the good as an offense we can do, I didn't really think about when everything hits the fan or when they load the box in preparing for me." Snell is confident the Cats can "put it all together," just like his head coach. "I'm not worried, I know we'll get better.  We'll get some things fixed and we'll go from there," said Mark Stoops. Even though Stoops was displeased with their production on the ground -- just 78 yards total -- it's tough finding the right balance between run balance.  And frankly, it doesn't bother him nearly as much after a win. "We gotta do whatever we have to do to win football games.  Last year we threw the ball for 400 yards in the first half and lost.  Isn't that what it's all about?  We want to be really good in all areas, but the bottom line is winning games." Still, Stoops' offensive coordinator is dissatisfied with how his offense performed in week one.  This week he's tasked to put the pieces together to create continuity and consistency on offense. "We just didn't execute very well.  We weren't very good on third down, not even close to where we need to be.  We got a lot to work on and after the first game, I hope that saying 'You get better from the first game to the second game,' we'll see that contribute next week." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6WCRHcelRw w