When it comes to the passing game Craig Yeast's opinion is worth noting for a number of reasons.

He knows a little something about the passing game, as he had 2,899 receiving yards in his UK career. Also, his son, Russ Yeast, is committed to Kentucky as a wide receiver from Fremont (Ohio) Ross coming out of the Class of 2017, and the elder Yeast is coaching him.

The Yeast family did not make the UK-Lafayette season opener but they watched the game.

"I'm an alum," Yeast told Cats Illustrated. "I watch every game that's on T.V. if we're not there."

Compared to the Neal Brown era the play calling on Saturday was very different. Shannon Dawson routinely called vertical pass plays, allowing Patrick Towles to use his big arm to loft the ball up for the Wildcats' deep and talented wide receiving corps to go make plays. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.

Towles threw three touchdown passes after throwing only 14 all of last year. On the flip side, he completed less than 50-percent of his passes.

"One thing I've noticed about Coach Dawson is he's very aggressive," Yeast said. "He's back to the old school style of the Air Raid offense. You take your shots. If you get that zero coverage (strict man to man coverage) on a consistent basis ... It's like, 'Come on. Go get it. Go make a play.' I like that. I like that style."

Yeast caught his share of deep balls for Kentucky. He also took a lot of short passes and turned them into long gains.

While Towles' accuracy on those deep passes was not as consistent as the coaching staff would have liked, Yeast believes there's a reason for the philosophical movement in Lexington right now. It's bigger than one game.

"If you're playing against SEC defenses week in and week out you're going to see a lot of man coverage," he said. "You need guys to go make plays. I think they're going to continue to do that and better. I think the Cats will be just fine."

If Yeast is correct in assuming the Wildcats will see man coverage throughout the season then it could be that the aggressive vertical strategy in the air attack serves a number of purposes. Dawson has a quarterback with the arm to make those throws and receivers that can go get the ball. And by throwing it deep so frequently in the first game, opponents know they have to respect it, even if the accuracy was lacking at times.