By Chris Duncan
The Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. - At the start of the season, most Kentucky fans would've been thrilled with four wins in the Wildcats' first six games.

But the luster of a 4-0 start has been tarnished by two straight losses, and Coach Guy Morriss is back to answering questions about his team's inability to win close games.

The Wildcats (4-2, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) visit Arkansas (3-2, 1-2) this week following a 16-12 loss to South Carolina last Saturday. They've led in the second half of their last seven SEC games, and lost six of them.

"The boat's unloading really quick," Morriss said at his weekly news conference on Monday. "Being close isn't good enough."

Morriss blamed much of the latest loss on three sacks, three turnovers, seven penalties and other mental mistakes by his team.

"We don't have that margin of error against the competition that we play. We've got some things we've got to get corrected," he said. "Even through the not-so-good things we did, we were still in a position to win the game."

The Wildcats drove inside the South Carolina 10-yard line with under three minutes left, but mistakes emerged again:

On first down, Morriss said quarterback Jared Lorenzen missed a wide-open Aaron Boone in the end zone, opting to pass to Glenn Holt in the back of the end zone. Holt made the catch, but came down out of bounds.

On second down, Artose Pinner ran up the middle, but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

On third down, Lorenzen overshot an open Tommy Cook in the end zone.

On fourth down, Lorenzen was looking for Boone, but Boone slipped and fell as the ball sailed over his head.

The Wildcats got the ball back with 33 seconds left, but a desperation pass into the end zone was batted down as time expired.

"Even on the 'Hail Mary,' we didn't get our people in the right spots, where they were supposed to be," Morriss said. "It's just a matter of getting people to do what they're supposed to do."

Morriss said that improvement must start with the offensive line and Lorenzen, who went 22-of-37 for 194 yards.

The Cats didn't have a play from scrimmage longer than 30 yards against the Gamecocks.

"It was a hit and miss deal all night long," Morriss said. "When our quarterback was on, our protection was not good. Or we had good protection, and (Lorenzen) got a little jittery back there.

"We've got a combination of that that makes it appear we are not getting the ball down the field. That's not the case," Morriss said. "If you go back and look at the tape, we've got receivers down the field, wide open. We just can't get the ball to them."

The line was also flagged for three holding penalties against South Carolina. Kentucky's seven penalties was its second-lowest total of the season, but the Wildcats still lead the SEC with 53 penalties for 428 yards.

"It's mental. I don't think being behind or being ahead has anything to do with it. It's a lack of concentration," Morriss said.

"Those are killers," he said. "We've got to do something to make the players understand that. And then, we can line up and be competitive and win a bunch of games."

As for Lorenzen, Morriss said he wouldn't rule out using backup Shane Boyd for a series or two against the Razorbacks. Boyd has played in two games this season, rushing five times for 80 yards and completing his only pass.

"We're hashing that around. We have not finished evaluating Arkansas, so we will try to decide what's the best plan and the best personnel to beat Arkansas," Morriss said. "If that's part of the formula, we'll script it in there."

But Morriss emphasized he hasn't lost confidence in Lorenzen, who is still leads the SEC with 15 touchdown passes and remains second in the league in passing efficiency.

"We've got a good passing game," Morriss said. "We know how to throw the ball, we've just got to get everybody doing their jobs at the same time."