Stuffed Short: Bush Hamdan Explains Kentucky Goal Line Decisions

For longtime Kentucky football fans, the loss to Texas felt like deja vu all over again.

In 1987, Kentucky only needed five yards to take down Tennessee. Mark Higgs got stuffed twice as he tried to leap over the goal line. It happened against the other UT on Saturday. Kentucky had four plays to get three yards in overtime. Dante Dowdell was stuffed twice as he tried to leap into the end zone.

After the game, I asked Mark Stoops if Dowdell’s leap was a part of the play-call. Negatory. Offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan confirmed that it was not the case.

“We’re in a situation to put the pads down. We got really close there at the end, so he’s got the ability to go over the top, whatever he thinks to get that yard,” said the Kentucky offensive coordinator.

It was the second time Texas stuffed a Kentucky run on fourth down inside the red zone. The first drive of the day was promising, but ultimately ended without any points on the scoreboard.

“It’s disappointing, from a standpoint of something where last year it hurt us a bunch and we had cleaned up. We’re a yard away. Gotta go make those plays,” said Hamdan.

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“Those are situations where, as a coordinator, you think about what was right, what wasn’t right, and at some point, defensively, it’s a stout defense and they take things away, so that’s something I’ll certainly reflect on.”

Not every play in that final sequence was a run up the middle. On second down, Kentucky faked the inside dive and rolled out Cutter Boley to his right. His targets were covered. He could have tried to dive for the pylon, but ultimately cut inside to run behind his blockers and was stuffed at the 2-yard line. Did Hamdan consider going outside on third or fourth down?

“I think we were just in a situation where when you’re a yard or a yard and a half away, you gotta make those decisions with what you’re going to live with,” he said. “We felt we were going to rely on being downhill with the backs and our O-line, and that was a decision we made.”

A year ago, Dowdell was the most effective short-yardage back in college football. Kentucky recruited him from Nebraska via the transfer portal to fix their problems in the red zone. Against Texas, Dowdell and the Kentucky offense got hooked.