This is not your father’s Kentucky. This is not Eastern Michigan. Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is an excellent coach from a great coaching bloodline. His brother played a huge part in the Gators’ first national championship. They both learned from a father who was a football coach. They grew up in football and coaching. The Wildcat team that marches out onto Florida Field Saturday will be well coached and more talented than most Kentucky teams the Gators have whipped up on for three decades. Even then, there have been some close calls over that stretch. The Chris Doering catch. The Jared Lorenzo years. Kentucky has had its chances to pull the upset.
This Kentucky team is 2-0 and full of confidence. They run the ball well. They have given up a total of 17 points in their first two games. Yes, those first two opponents were much like Florida’s first opponent, but Kentucky did what they were supposed to do against those teams. Now, just like these Gators, they get a chance to show what they can do against an SEC foe.
On offense, Patrick Towles is a talented and versatile quarterback somewhat similar to Jeff Driskel in many ways. He has a strong arm and although he does not possess blazing speed his can make big plays with his legs. The Gators will play man coverage a lot which will provide Towles with opportunities to pull the ball down and run. Florida’s linebackers must not lose track of him. The Wildcats have depth at running back and will rotate in multiple backs with the vocal Jojo Kemp, Stanley Williams and Mikel Horton. Wide receivers Javess Blue and Ryan Timmons are capable playmakers. Timmons has 13 catches for 170 yards through two games.
Defensively, AJ Stamps is an excellent safety who could probably start for most SEC teams. Defensive end Alvin Dupree must be accounted for on every play. Even though the level of competition has not been high in their first two games, it is clear that this year’s Wildcat team can play a little defense. There is more SEC caliber talent in this squad than Gator fans are accustomed to seeing in this game.
Can Kentucky pull of the upset Saturday? Anything is possible, but I think the Gators are up to this task. The real difference maker in this game should be the Florida defense. If the Gators can smother the Kentucky offense early in the game this accomplishes several things. It will chip away at the Wildcats’ new found confidence. It will wear down the Kentucky defense that while talented lacks the depth to handle being on the field a lot in the first half. Perhaps most importantly, shutting down Wildcat drives quickly will provide Andre Debose with opportunities to give the Gator offense good field position with his punt returns. If Florida can start on offense with a short field Kurt Roper can attack aggressively early and often. The Gators do not want to let Mark Stoops’ team stay in this game into the fourth quarter and start believing that they can end the streak. Florida needs to wear down the Kentucky defense early and then unleash the running backs on them early in the third quarter to demoralize them. It is important to put Kentucky away early in the second half. You want the Wildcat players to go into the fourth quarter just wanting to get this thing over with and get back to Lexington.
The atmosphere in the Swamp should be electric. It will be the first game I attend this season. Gator fans need to be loud and energetic. Florida needs to return the Swamp to the top of the list of most difficult venues for road teams. It is up to the fans to make it next to impossible for the sophomore Wildcat quarterback to hear and think at the line of scrimmage. A few false starts or delay of game penalties wouldn’t hurt either. This is a must win game for the Gators. I really don’t like that term but it absolutely applies here. The schedule gets much more difficult after Saturday. With one easy win lost to weather, the Gators can ill afford to squander opportunities against teams NOT in the top ten of the current polls. There is almost no pressure on Kentucky in this game. They are not expected to win. For Kentucky this is an opportunity for a signature win on the way to relevance. For Florida there are only two possible results Saturday. One is to win the game which will generate minimal fanfare because most will just assume the Gators SHOULD have won the game. The other is to succumb to the upset bid by the Wildcats and have everyone thinking that last year was the norm and not the injury fueled aberration that most believe it to have been.
The Wildcats have not beaten the Gators since 1986, but that means next to nothing when the game kicks off Saturday night. It comes down to one game on one Saturday at that point. Stoops now has his team believing in themselves. They will take the field in the Swamp ready to play. If Florida is going to continue its domination of Kentucky Will Muschamp wants to see his Gators looking like they are having fun and flexing their muscle like last Saturday. If that happens, the streak will continue and sometime next week some writer for Alabama will be sitting in front of his computer trying to explain why Florida cannot come to Tuscaloosa and pull off an upset.
I had to look at the byline a second time, I thought I was reading a transcript from Vince Dooley. I was particularly amused about the “this is not your father’s Kentucky” part. You have me really worried now, I just hope poor little Florida has a chance against mighty Kentucky. You’ve got me worried, Vince…ha ha.