NORMAN — Aggression has been key to Kentucky’s turnaround under first-year head coach Will Stein.
The No. 15 Wildcats took the game into their own hands, successfully converting two-point conversions against both South Carolina and LSU to notch victories in overtime, but Stein’s belief in his offense goes deeper than that.
Kentucky has gone for it on fourth down 13 times, which is tied for the sixth-most in the country, and it has moved the chains on eight of those attempts.
“You better be ready, four-down territory in a good part of the field,” OU coach Brent Venables said on Tuesday.
Opponents have converted on 5-of-7 fourth-down attempts this year against the Sooners, but Venables’ unit typically plays good situational football.
And excelling in those moments could be key in OU knocking off the Wildcats on Saturday night.
The Oklahoma offense has endured its share of struggles this year, but stopping Kentucky on fourth down could set Ben Arbuckle and the offense up with premium field position, which could spark that side of the ball.
Knowing that Stein will look for any opportunity to get aggressive and roll the dice will be in the back of Venables’ mind all night as he calls his defense.
“That affects everything,” Venables said. “How you're looking at third downs. Just anticipating how they're looking at the third downs.
“… So we've got to be ready, and our players have to be able to also have some level of anticipation so they can play fast and be on the right side of it from the detail standpoint in those critical situations. That's how they've won, by taking that approach. And not only just having the approach, but also being good, being able to execute in those moments too.”
The approach Kentucky will take isn’t anything new.
As analytical thinking has taken over football, from the NFL level down through college football, teams navigate unique situations with more frequency.
Stein was allowed to coach on the edge by Dan Lanning as the offensive coordinator at Oregon, an approach that he’s taken with him to the SEC.
“Every defense isn't alike. Every philosophy and DNA is not alike,” Venables said. “And so knowing yourself is really important. Because they're gonna — what's their lens as they look at us? And so I think that's important as well. But you're seeing more and more people with an aggressive mindset, and certainly the last several years in college football.”
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