Liam Coen: "I just keep going back to the belief of this team"
“Believe it and it will happen.” It’s not quite exactly what Liam Coen said last night, but he decided to become Michael Strahan for a second when describing the 2021 ‘Cats.
“I just keep going back to the belief, the belief of this team,” Coen, Kentucky’s first-year offensive coordinator, said after walking out with a win in his first game against Florida. “Our defense is stacked, they just did such a great job tonight. I would’ve loved to contribute more, but I’m really happy to be a part of it.”
It’s good that Coen has the awareness to praise the defense immediately after the game–they won the game for Kentucky once again. I wouldn’t even put much blame on the offensive coordinator anyway, he really didn’t call a bad game.
Field position football still works
I don’t think it’s very controversial to say that football in the NFL and the NCAA are vastly different. For a large portion of college games and programs in the modern era, it’s simply about who can get to 50 points first.
Offenses usually focus on how often they can try to score through big plays, regardless of how the other phases of the game are going. The NFL is very much still a game about field position and clock management. So maybe poaching an NFL coach over the offseason was exactly what they needed, regardless of if the numbers aren’t meeting expectations yet.
It sure wasn’t a flawless performance either though against Florida. Coen had some questionable decisions that could’ve easily been avoided. Play-calling wasn’t perfect, specifically looking back at that ugly bootleg call in the second half. But that being said, it’s still a major upgrade to what people in Lexington have come to expect.
Coen still was able to get Wan’Dale Robinson out in space multiple times to where he could let his star receiver make plays. He did commit to the run at certain points of the game when it was working and killing the clock, even if he did take Rodriguez out maybe a tad too much. He schemed up a game that played off of his defense and won the game, which is all that really matters.
Where does the belief go?
This is uncharted waters for the BBN. 5-0 and arguably the third-best team in the SEC. They have no idea how to react. No wonder State Street turned into the Burning Man festival with every couch on campus. People around Lexington have a taste of what it can be like to be good in the SEC, and we’re starting to learn that it’s insatiable.
The city and the school are all in now, there’s no more doubt there. The team has just been waiting for them to join in. This team really believes that they can win against whoever they go up against, which may be true outside of Georgia (and Georgia shouldn’t count). That alone is massive for this team to be able to succeed. Tonight was a major hurdle in the perception of the program. If Coen and the rest of ‘Cats can keep it up against a now 3-2 LSU next weekend, the legitimacy of the football team only grows.
This is a coaching staff that knows how to prepare for and win close games. I wouldn’t worry if the offense ever really fully explodes this season, they don’t need it to. They have an elite defense that will keep them in almost any game, Liam Coen and the offense just need to find a way to do enough.
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