In somewhat of a stunning result, the Kentucky Wildcats abused the Florida Gators on the football field, 33-14. The Gators’ loss to Kentucky means that for the first time since the immediate aftermath of World War II, Kentucky has beaten Florida three times in a row (Kentucky actually beat Florida four in a row from 1948-51).
What, exactly, went wrong? (Hint: most of them are related.)
Kentucky out-physicaled Florida- again
The most concerning thing to me, as both an objective observer and a fan, was that Kentucky was the more physical team. This was a measuring stick contest for Florida in many ways including the physicality test, and they failed it miserably.
This is, of course, despite the fact that the Gators have wildly out recruited Kentucky, including in the trenches, for the past several years- even when Mullen was the head coach. And that continues a pattern of Kentucky controlling the point of attack in this game since Mark Stoops settled into his office in Lexington. Florida’s offensive line could only pave the way for 69 rushing yards; on the other hand, Ray Davis ran for more than four times that on his own.
Just how bad was it? On Kentucky’s last touchdown, from the Florida two yard line, Florida lined up with 13 players- and Ray Davis muscled through it and scored anyway. Sure, Stoops has elevated the level of Kentucky football, but nonetheless, that’s a terrifying combination of facts, and after watching Kentucky win the line of scrimmage and the game for the third straight season, there needs to be some real soul-searching inside those facilities in Gainesville.
Florida knew Kentucky’s offense was one-dimensional- and was abused by it anyway
Kentucky QB Devin Leary has struggled so far this year, which means that even a cursory film session of Kentucky’s offense could have provided Florida’s defensive game plan for them. Load the box, sell out to stop the run, and dare Leary to beat you through the air. If you know what your opponent is going to do, your chances of beating them increase drastically. And indeed, that pregame assumption was correct! Leary struggled through the air, with an ugly stat line of 9/20 for 69 yards that doesn’t even factor in a terrible throw right to Jason Marshall that should have been taken back for a touchdown, but was dropped instead.
The problem is, though, that no amount of film study or knowledge of what’s coming can make up for 60 minutes of getting out-physicaled by a team that is, objectively speaking, less talented. Not only was Florida’s defensive front stymied by Kentucky’s offensive line, Wildcat running back Ray Davis spent three hours of his Saturday demolishing the Gator defense to the tune of 280 yards on the ground- and dragging some Gator defenders along for part of the ride, routinely requiring two or even three defenders to bring him to the ground or force him out of bounds.
That, to me, is a mortifying sign. You know exactly what your opponent is going to do before they do it, they do it as expected, and they still rip you apart with that game plan you knew was coming.
Florida lost by 19 points- and it should have been worse
The most horrifying thing about Florida’s 33-14 loss to Kentucky is that the final score doesn’t even capture the extent of the Wildcats’ dominance. The Wildcats raced out to a 30-7 lead early in the third quarter before hitting the snooze button and calling it a day. So yes, 33-14 is bad; it could easily have been much, much worse.
A dropped touchdown pass on Kentucky’s first drive cost the Wildcats four points, as they settled for a field goal. Midway through the third quarter, Dane Key had some separation and was open on a third and nine near the midfield stripe, but simply dropped the ball, killing the drive. And having battered down the Gator defense for the better part of three hours, Kentucky showed Florida some mercy on their last drive, driving inside the Florida 10 with 2:10 to go and then shutting down the operation and running out the clock when they were perfectly capable of tacking on seven or at least three more points.
So remember to always be grateful, for things could always be worse!
Napier needs an instant-impact offensive coordinator in order to survive at Florida
The Florida Gators’ offense wasn’t merely ineffective today. That would be too easy to say and write, and it’s too generous of a summarization for what we saw today. The mandatory pre-snap motion before every play, the utter indifference to the situation of being down multiple scores late in the game and refusing to show any urgency or tempo, and the complete lack of a downfield passing threat from the Florida offense teamed up with the Gators’ incompetence at the point of attack and in the tackling to hand the Gators a shockingly lopsided loss today. But Florida’s offensive line and tackling issues haven’t been an issue in every single game Napier has coached.
On the other hand, the in-game coaching malpractice continues a pattern that’s been present throughout Napier’s tenure. Sitting one game shy of the one-and-a-half-year mark for Napier’s tenure at Florida, we’re past the point of respectfully disagreeing or seeing the other side’s point: it’s no longer sane or logical to act like Napier can survive at Florida without hiring an offensive coordinator, as various forms of mismanagement have consistently hurt Florida throughout his time here. Not only can a new, fresh, offensive mind modernize the unit with something fit for the 21st century, but it will also remove a good deal of the overwhelming quantity of responsibilities that sit on Napier’s plate each Saturday- the sum of which is clearly too much for him.
Obviously, that’s more of a 2024 issue than something that can be fixed soon, as Napier’s refusal to make this move before this season means we’re stuck with what we’ve got for Year 2 of his tenure, but it puts that much more pressure on Napier to not only be willing to fire himself as the play-caller, but then to get the hire right. Napier won’t be fired after 2023 regardless, but a third straight year of self-destructive issues in 2024 because it first took Napier two years of missteps to realize that a move was needed and then his offensive coordinator hire doesn’t provide an immediate positive change in operations is not going to bode well for his chances to return in 2025.
Chronic road issues continue for Florida under Napier
Playing on your home field certainly does give your team an advantage. Feeding off the energy from your home crowd can motivate your players to give 101% focus and concentration on a play rather than 100%, and that 1% can make all the difference. That goes for pre-snap penalties as much as it goes for attacking the right hip when attempting to tackle the ball carrier, and everything in between.
But there’s no explanation for the absolute Jekyll & Hyde routine the Gator program has put on so far at home vs. away from Gainesville. Most disturbingly, the problems seem to be getting worse. The Florida Gators failed to properly count to eleven in both of its first two road games- lining up with eight players on play against Utah and thirteen once today against Kentucky- and those two teams play in front of less than 60,000 fans. And then there was the fact that Florida handed both Utah and Kentucky free first downs on fourth down plays in which the home team was punting with two of the dumbest penalties in recent memory.
If Florida as a collective program can’t think or count properly in front of 55,000 opposing fans, what’s going to happen when the Florida Gators go to Death Valley to play LSU? Can the Gators’ brain malfunctions possibly become any more jaw-dropping than they already are? I sure hope not, but I’m not exactly hoarding any data that argues the contrary, either.
