There was a time when Kentucky’s offense was a passing attack. That was a long time ago. Now, the Wildcats may be going back to their old ways.

There’s no question that Mark Stoops has done an admirable job since being hired as Kentucky’s head coach in 2013. The Wildcats may not be championship contenders but they are respectable. That hasn’t always been the case.

However, there has always been one criticism about Stoops that seemed to ring more true than any other. Stoops, a defensive-minded coach, ran a mostly ground-based attack. The concept was rooted in logic. Play ball control, defend well and keep games close, especially against more talented teams. That philosophy seems to changing.

In a 45-10 pounding of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis completed 18-of-26 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Levis’ performance was rated the third-best at quarterback in the nation on Saturday by Pro Football Focus.

Is this the first step to a massive shift in Stoops’ offense? Somewhat, but don’t expect Kentucky to get too pass happy. However, it’s clear the offense has needed to improve in the passing game for years. That’s why Kentucky replaced former offensive coordinator Eddie Gran with Liam Coen.

“We haven’t had balance. Any time you’re one dimensional any which way, it’s not good whether you can only throw it or run it, you’ve got to have balance,” Stoops said during his post-game press conference. “Again, I’ve been a defense coach, you all know that, but from a defensive perspective the more pressure you put on with personnel groupings and everything that he’s doing, it’s putting pressure on you. I like where we’re at. We’re getting better. We’re improving. I know we improved in the pass game today (Saturday) right? That’s fair to say.”

Coen coached for smaller schools like Maine, UMass, Brown and Rhode Island before landing a position with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. He’s now in charge of ramping up Kentucky’s offense.

Passing the football didn’t used to be a problem in Lexington. Former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme, with Tim Couch as his quarterback, was known for a short passing game that many high school teams in The Commonwealth tried to replicate. Now, those high school coaches have something else to aspire to — balance.