Mark Stoops believes Zach Calzada will improve: 'I don't think it was his best effort'

zach-calzada-kentucky-toledo-opener-mark-stoops-safety-cutter-boley — Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada - Photo by Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky outlasted Toledo 24-16 to open the 2025 season, but it wasn’t pretty. The Rockets had 329 yards of total offense to the Cats’ 305. In his first game as Kentucky’s quarterback, Zach Calzada was 10-23 for 85 yards, one interception, and one rushing touchdown. In the second quarter, he was also tackled in the end zone for a safety.

It was a rough debut for Calzada, who actually started the game well, throwing some impressive passes on Kentucky’s opening drive, including a 32-yard bomb to JJ Hester, which was ruled incomplete upon review. He scored the first touchdown of the game, turning a pick by JQ Hardaway into points by punching it into the end zone on a quarterback sneak; however, Calzada turned the ball over on the next drive. When the defense got a fourth-down stop near the goal line, he made the biggest error of all, taking a sack in the end zone for a safety. It was far from the only mistake Kentucky made today, but Mark Stoops mentioned it more than once after the game.

“Zach’s gotta hand the football off,” Mark Stoops said in his postgame press conference. “Bottom line, we had the edges protected. I think he got a little spooked, but we had it protected. You’ve just got to get some tough yards there.”

Stoops said he didn’t notice anything off with Calzada before the game, but said the quarterback was “pressing” at times, due in part to Toledo’s defensive line.

“They did have some pressure, you know, I don’t think Zach was real comfortable. I think that led to some incompletions and some of our timing, and things that I’d like to improve on.”

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Calzada’s tough day only made the calls for his backup, redshirt freshman Cutter Boley, louder. As fall camp came to a close, Stoops heaped praise on Boley, whom he has said repeatedly is the future of the program; however, Stoops did not indicate a change, saying that he believes Calzada, now in his seventh season, will bounce back.

“He cares, he wants to play well. He cares about his teammates, and I think he’ll look at this film and there are things he could do better, but that’ll be the same with everybody who played. Everybody can improve, and hopefully he’ll make a big jump and just settle in and play some ball.”

“He will improve,” Stoops added in his conversation with Tom Leach. “I don’t think it was his best effort; I think he’ll tell you that. We have to be better around him. There are a lot of things we can do.”