There’s plenty of good news for Kentucky football. The Wildcats move into October ranked 7th in the nation, the highest spot they’ve held since 1977. QB Will Levis is among the nation’s top performers at his position, and he has a talented group of pass catchers. Kentucky’s defense has been fairly stout, keeping opponents uncomfortable for much of the 1st month of the season.

The bad news? That would start with the offensive line.

In recent years, Kentucky’s offensive line, dubbed the Big Blue Wall, was one of the nation’s best. Putting several players into the NFL (5 draft picks in the last 3 drafts), the offensive line helped Kentucky ride a tenacious ground attack and an opportunistic defense into the top echelons of the sport. In the past 3 seasons, Kentucky averaged 5-plus yards per carry and didn’t allow more than 25 sacks in a season.

This year — admittedly while missing running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., who returns next week — UK is 123rd in rushing yardage (81.5 per game), 125th in yards per carry (2.4) and 129th in sacks allowed (16). The Big Blue Wall has been more like a Big Blue Sieve. Can UK fix it in a hurry? And how did it get here?

Some changes in the group were inevitable. In 2020, veteran offensive line coach John Schlarman was dying from cancer as the season progressed. When Schlarman passed away midseason, Kentucky replaced him with former South Carolina assistant Eric Wolford. Wolford was in Lexington for 1 season, and he left town in such a hurry when Nick Saban called that many veterans of the Kentucky football scene still bear more than a touch of ill will for the not-particularly-popular Wolford. Kentucky hired Zach Yenser from the San Francisco 49ers for the 2022 campaign. Still, going through 3 position coaches in 3 seasons has been a concern.

Kentucky hoped that LSU transfer Dare Rosenthal, who was a plug-and-play starter last season, would stick around for a super senior season. Rosenthal didn’t, entering the NFL Draft, where he went unselected. There was some flirtation with transfer portal guys, like Vandy transfer Tyler Steen, who Wolford instead recruited for Alabama. But at the end of the day, Kentucky had to open the season replacing both of its starting tackles.

JUCO tackle Jeremy Flax, who played sparingly in 2021, was handed 1 starting job. Redshirt freshman David Wohlabaugh Jr. got the opening start at the other tackle spot. The results were shaky enough that Kentucky moved guard Kenneth Horsey to tackle in Wohlabaugh’s spot. That has left the Wildcats mostly playing converted guard Eli Cox at center, Auburn transfer Tashawn Manning at guard and redshirt freshman Jager Burton at the other guard spot.

In the long-term, 5-star recruit Kiyaunta Goodwin will likely step in at a tackle spot. But Goodwin, who played at 3 different high schools and finished his high school career against less-than-impressive competition in Indiana, is still very raw. Cox had been outstanding in the interior line at guard in 2021, but he has had some struggles after moving to center. Kentucky has shuffled in a few other reserves, but it hasn’t found a solid starting 5.

Getting Rodriguez back should help the offensive line. Unlike the speedsters who have played in his absence, Rodriguez is a physical back, the kind of guy who falls forward for the extra yard or 2 and drives the pile for an extra yard or 2. Kentucky has some outstanding tight ends and has utilized them occasionally as super-sized pass targets. But pass protection might be better served by keeping those guys in to help pick up pass rushers.

Mark Stoops wasn’t betraying much concern after the Northen Illinois win.

“I think they did some good things,” Stoops said of his offensive line on a night when UK rushed for 2.9 yards per carry and Levis was sacked 5 times. Stoops noted that the offense was “pretty explosive,” but admitted, “We’ve got to do a better job of finishing.”

Later in his comments, Stoops was perhaps a little more candid.

“I think we want to be a little more consistent in the run game,” Stoops admitted, before chuckling as he commented, “Everybody appreciates the run game now. Five years ago, y’all didn’t appreciate s—.”

Indeed, Kentucky has moved on to a big-play passing game and might be advancing beyond the Stoops bluepring of three yards, a cloud of dust, and a defensive stand. That said, that ability to transition might be keyed by an improved performance from the offensive line. Another special Kentucky season could well depend on repairing a couple of significant cracks in that Big Blue Wall.