At this point, it should have been expected. Kentucky has gotten to 3-6 in large part because of massive struggles on special teams. But All-America punter Max Duffy had been largely exempt from the woes that had stung the rest of the group.

Kentucky held a surprising 10-7 lead over Florida late in the 1st half Saturday. The ‘Cats were pinned back, but Duffy prepared to boom a kick to move them out of trouble. The play call was for Duffy to kick the ball left. He knocked a line-drive kick, and Kentucky coverage men swarmed left, where Gators returner Xzavier Henderson prepared to field the ball. The only problem was that the kick had gone right, and actual returner Kadarius Toney caught it in a 1-on-1 situation with the only Kentucky defender who hadn’t bit on Florida’s fake. He blew past the flat-footed Wildcat and scored on a 50-yard punt return that effectively ended Kentucky’s shot at victory.

It was a perfect failure. Duffy’s surprisingly awful kick, Kentucky’s faked-out defenders — it all was a perfect storm, another brick in the wall of special teams failure. To review some of the problems that have plagued UK:

  1. Duffy went with an ill-conceived fake punt in the 2nd half of the opener against Auburn, which was stuffed deep at UK’s end of the field.
  2. Kicker Matt Ruffolo shanked an extra point in overtime that effectively lost Kentucky’s home matchup with Ole Miss.
  3. Kentucky’s shutout against Mississippi State was lost when long snapper Cade Degraw sailed a snap about 5 feet over Duffy in punt formation for a safety.
  4. Degraw sailed a snap over backup holder Colin Goodfellow, which turned the tide in a previously competitive UK-Alabama game.
  5. On Florida’s opening drive against Kentucky, the Gators successfully converted a fake punt and eventually scored a touchdown on the drive.
  6. Kentucky lost Duffy for 2 games and kicker Ruffolo for 1, apparently due to COVID-related issues.
  7. Kentucky’s return game has been MIA, as the Wildcats favor using walk-on Zach Johnson on kick returns, and senior receiver Josh Ali mostly fair-catches punts (only 5 returns in 9 games).

Unfortunately for Mark Stoops and his staff, the issues in special teams were somewhat forseeable. Former head coach Dean Hood had coached special teams at Kentucky from 2017-19, but he left before this season for another head coaching position at FCS’ Murray State. Kentucky’s special teams coach in 2020 … well, it’s nobody.

Before the season, Stoops talked of parceling out the various special teams assignments. For instance, offensive line coach John Schlarman — who died on Nov. 12 — would be charged with helping with the field-goal unit. A quality control assistant, Louie Matsakis, was mentioned as helping with the kickers. Offensive coordinator Eddie Gran (who is already under fire in that role) was named as helping with kickoff returns.

It’s not exactly a secret that Kentucky’s success in recent years has largely come on defense. The UK offense has largely been 3 yards and a cloud of dust, plus a healthy dose of the UK defense. But for better or worse, this 2020 season feels like one in which the staff just decided that special teams would take care of itself.

Not so fast. Again, Gran’s offense is certainly under fire and seems likely to have at least systemic changes (if not coaching changes) during the offseason. But Gran at least has the responsibility of developing a cohesive offensive strategy and overseeing the personnel. Nobody even knows whom to blame for the massive special teams meltdowns that have tainted this season.

This has been a crazy season. COVID-19 has impacted everything from players available to the reps that can be utilized to work on special teams. But even within those limitations, there are still things that can be learned. For instance, in 2021, Kentucky needs to have a special teams coach. Had the lesson been absorbed a year sooner, 2020 might have looked a little different.