The worst news about the 2020 Kentucky Wildcats football season is not that Mark Stoops' troops are off to a disappointing 2-3 start.
What is really grim is that UK has gone 2-3 against the more manageable part of its 10-game, all-SEC schedule.
Among UK's five remaining contests are meetings with No. 4 Georgia on Halloween at Kroger Field as well as back-to-back November road trips for games against No. 2 Alabama and No. 10 Florida.
The dispiriting 20-10 defeat at Missouri on Saturday joins the 42-41 overtime loss to Mississippi in the season's second week as setbacks in contests Kentucky was favored to win.
So, now, UK's only path to even a 5-5 season consists of winning home games versus winless Vanderbilt and South Carolina (no sure thing) and upsetting one of the three top-10 teams mentioned two paragraphs above.
Given that reality, how Stoops and his offensive brain trust of Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw decide to handle UK's quarterback situation moving forward will be fascinating.
For the second time in three games, Kentucky senior starting quarterback Terry Wilson turned in a clunker at Missouri.
After completing only eight of 20 passes for 73 yards two weeks ago in UK's 24-2 win over Mississippi State, Wilson fared even worse at Mizzou, hitting on three of nine throws for 35 yards.
Seeking an offensive spark, Kentucky inserted Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood for three offensive series — two in the first half and UK's final one of the game — in place of Wilson.
Gatewood directed the first-half drive that ended with Matt Ruffolo's 50-yard field goal. But he did not exactly burn it up through the air, either. The redshirt sophomore finished 1-of-4 passing for 12 yards.
Asked immediately after the loss at Missouri what Kentucky's plan was going into next week's game with Georgia, Stoops said, "I'm not sure."
What UK should do at QB is a complicated question.
Wilson has an unusually admirable resume for a Kentucky quarterback. UK is 14-6 in games he's started, 7-6 vs. SEC foes. He has road wins at Florida (2018) and Tennessee (2020) plus a Citrus Bowl victory over Penn State (2018) on his ledger.
After a torn patellar tendon ended his 2019 after two games, Wilson underwent a grueling rehab regimen to make it back to his team for his senior season.
So far in 2020, however, his game performances have bounced up and down like a seesaw.
The Oklahoma City product played reasonably well at Auburn (24-of-37 passing for 234 yards) in the season opener but committed two costly turnovers.
Wilson produced, arguably, his best game at Kentucky (14-of-18 passing for 151 yards; rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns) the next week vs. Ole Miss.
The slog against Mississippi State followed, but Wilson then bounced back with a sharp performance in the second half of UK's 34-7 pummeling of Tennessee.
Before a shocked Neyland Stadium crowd, he led the Wildcats on scoring drives on their first three possessions after intermission.
That positive momentum, alas, gave way to Saturday's futility at Mizzou.
With a veteran team that entered 2020 in pursuit of UK's fifth straight winning season, the idea of benching a senior quarterback with a legacy as meaningful as Wilson's seems unfair.
You also have to ask if it would really be in the long-term developmental interests of Gatewood or true freshman Beau Allen, the former Lexington Catholic QB, to be thrown in against a schedule with three top-10 teams remaining.
On the other hand, with a winning season now looking like the longest of long shots for Kentucky, there is a rationale for using the remaining games to get experience for the QB(s) apt to be leading the UK attack in 2021.
Based on the reputation he brought from Auburn, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Gatewood is a gifted runner who possesses a strong arm — albeit one known for inconsistent accuracy on throws.
The 6-2, 200-pound Allen was a polished pocket passer in high school and might be the best long-term bet to add a consistent down-field throwing dimension to what is now a run-oriented Kentucky attack.
Two other things to keep in mind.
The Georgia defense is the best in the Southeastern Conference.
After facing the Bulldogs, UK will then have an open week before playing Vandy.
So if Kentucky were to decide it needs to give its remaining 2020 QB game reps to its younger signal callers, the responsible way to go about that would seem to be to use the week off to get the new QB(s) ready, then make the switch against struggling Vanderbilt.
My guesses are Wilson will be the Kentucky starter next week vs. Georgia and, if he does not play well, that the UK offensive brain trust will reevaluate the QB position during the open week.
What I do know is that, for Kentucky in 2020, changing starting quarterbacks is a complex task.
