The approach in practice wasn’t where it needed to be after Florida’s impressive win over Tennessee two weeks ago. Undisciplined penalties and mistakes continued to persist for this offensive line and special teams’ unit.
The Gators (3-1, 1-0) are in a better position than they were through four weeks last season, but the issues need to get cleaned up permanently if this team wants to break the two-game losing streak against the Wildcats (4-0, 1-0). The last time Florida started the season with three wins and a loss was in 2021, where the Gators lost to Kentucky in Gainesville for the first time in 35 years.
“Our players are well aware of the program Kentucky has. They’ve beaten us two years in a row,” Napier said on the importance of this game. “I do think there are challenges that come with going on the road and playing in this league, and certainly Kentucky is one of those.”
In critical moments this offense failed to execute several times in Saturday’s win after going 1 for 9 on third down. The Gators particularly struggled in the red zone, scoring only one touchdown on five trips.
“The red zone issues were, simply put, mental errors and fundamental technique issues,” Napier said on execution in the red zone. “I do think from a design perspective there was one or two plays that we could help the players with, but very technical. I mean, we know exactly where the issues are.”
Kentucky’s defense has continued to dominate this year allowing only seven total red zone touchdowns. Florida’s offense can’t fall apart like they did against Charlotte, or this team will make you pay.
“Kentucky, that’s one of the reasons why they’ve been able to be very consistent as a program and as a team is because they play really good defense. They’ve got an identity. They understand who they are and how they play,” Napier said on Kentucky’s defense. “It’s a veteran group, and I think they’ve added a couple transfers also that have provided depth at certain positions. They’ve got a good group of defensive coaches. Obviously, the head coach is defensive background. They’re systematic in what they do, and they do a really good job, play well at all levels of the defense, in my opinion.”
This offense thrives off big plays downfield as the Gators had 208 yards come from explosive plays against Charlotte.
Getting the ball in the hands of players like Ricky Pearsall and Trevor Etienne will be important if they want to throw this Kentucky defense off-balance.
“I think typically it’s good to — you’ve got to create explosives to win, right? We know that you’ve got to take care of the ball, and you’ve got to get takeaways. You need to win the explosive battle,” Napier said on the keys to victory. “You need to win the rush battle, and you try to make a game changing play every week on special teams. If you just simplified it, those are things that could contribute to that. In our league, rushing the ball consistently can be challenging at times depending on who you’re playing. So, you’re going to have to create some explosives in the throw game.”
Billy Napier has placed emphasis on correcting the communication errors that we’ve seen on special teams throughout the season. Those issues must get cleaned up this week if the Gators want to be consistently successful on special teams.
“It was very similar to another situation we’ve had this year where significant loss of yardage on the play. So, is it the kicker? Is it the punter? The returner is the missing piece there. We’re in a grouping where we can go, say, for a rush we think it’s safe, and then we pull a returner off and it’s rush. So we’re one short,” Napier said on the special teams mistakes. “I think we’ve got to eliminate some of these communication errors, game day operation errors, much like you guys have talked about. But I do think that — I believe it’s an area on our team where we have a chance to continue to improve because the personnel that’s out there playing.”
The Gators will have notable players like right guard Micah Mazzccua and Damieon Geore back on the field this weekend for the entirety of the game. Having those players take full reps and preparing together in practice should help that unit up front this Saturday.
Penalties have been an issue to start the season offensively, and that can’t continue on the road in Kentucky. The last time Florida travelled to Lexington the offensive line had a total of 15 penalties.
“So that’s in the past. I think we’ve resolved that for the most part. Obviously, it’s part of playing on the road in this league. It’s going to be challenging,” Napier said on the penalties up front. “We’ve got to do a good job with the nonverbal count. I think, for the most part when we’ve done that, we’ve done a decent job. I’m hopeful that the things that we’ve done in training camp and the things that we do throughout the week can replicate that for the players.”
The Kentucky Wildcats have had the Gators’ number over the years, and that must change this Saturday if this program wants to see long-term success under Billy Napier. Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary can be vulnerable at times with a high interception rate, and this defense needs to take advantage of that. However, if this offense can’t clean up the lingering issues up front, this weekend’s matchup in Lexington could get ugly very quickly.