Bush Hamdan saw many positive aspects in the opening victory

Kentucky's 31-0 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday ended with 9:56 left in the third quarter. Despite playing just over half of the scheduled 60 minutes, the UK offense was able to run 42 plays in the game.

On Tuesday, British offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan evaluated his unit's performance in the season opener against the Golden Eagles.

“I'm definitely proud of the guys, both for the long break and their ability to stay focused. I felt like they played better as the game went on. I think there were a lot of positives. Obviously there's still a lot to improve on.”

Kentucky ran 24 times for 148 yards (6.2 yards per run) and completed 12 of 18 passes for 169 yards. The Cats scored three touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. Hamdan knows it all starts with the offensive line, and he was pleased with this group.

“I thought they did a good job. They played extremely hard,” Hamdan said. “I was very pleased with their ability to run the ball when we needed to. Of course, on the explosive plays, it always starts with those guys up front. Their ability to hold down the protection gave us the opportunity to throw the ball down the field and that was impressive.”

Quarterback Brock Vandagriff completed all 169 yards and had 35 yards on five carries. Hamdan was impressed with his playmaker.

“Tough football. He plays physical,” Hamdan said. “He has to lie down and protect himself because we're going to need that guy. I think we've got a good player there. The toughness, the resilience, especially not when things were going well, but how he reacted when things weren't going well. We're delighted with his game. I think he's a really reliable player. He's never too high, never too low, he knows exactly who he is.”

The wide receivers were able to support Vandagriff in the passing game. This group was expected to play a key role for the Cats, and that was definitely the case in the first game.

“(I was) impressed,” Hamdan said. “I think these guys have really different skill sets that complement each other. I think that's so important about a great wide receiver room, you have vertical threats, you have guys that are great in space, you have guys that can stretch the field, you have a guy like Dane Key that can make those difficult catches. The big groups have that about them.”

The running game was a question mark going into the opener, with expected starter Chip Trayanum out with an injury. However, the defenses responded against Southern Miss, which didn't entirely surprise Hamdan.

“There's been some tension in this group for a long time,” Hamdan said. “It's natural that there's no leading returning starter or big name in this room. We're bringing this group, it's a committee and I'm excited for these guys and to see them play on Saturday. I was proud of Jason (Patterson), I was proud of Demie (Sumo-Karngbaye) for what he did, Jamarion Wilcox was there and did some good things.”