Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Florida football game at Gainesville, Florida.
1. Kentucky’s defense picked a bad night to have a bad night
Kentucky entered The Swamp with a nationally ranked defense that was allowing just 14.5 points, 162.2 passing yards and 251.5 total yards per game. It departed having been completely swamped.
Led by a true freshman quarterback making his second collegiate start, Florida scored 48 points, passed for 279 yards and ended up with 476 total yards, all three season highs by an opponent against Brad White’s defense.
Billy Napier’s Gators hit big play after big play. They ended up with nine plays of more than 20-plus yards. Coming into the game, UK had allowed just two pass completions of 40-plus yards. Florida completed four, including a 40-yard strike from the aforementioned freshman, DJ Lagway, to Eugene Wilson for 40 yards on the Gators’ first possession.
By night’s end, Lagway ended up 7-for-14 passing for 259 yards. That averages out to 18.5 yards per attempt and a ridiculous 37 yards per completion. Florida receiver Elijhah Badger caught three of those passes for 148 yards.
After the Cats’ 20-13 loss to Vanderbilt last week, White dismissed any suggestions that his defense played well. If he was unhappy last week, you can imagine how he felt about the way his unit played Saturday night.
2. Kentucky made some puzzling play calls on offense
Despite the Cats’ problems on defense, Kentucky had cut Florida’s lead to seven points when the Cats took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in 12 plays for a Gavin Wimsatt 1-yard touchdown. With 8:34 left in the third quarter, Kentucky trailed 27-20.
Alas, coordinator Bush Hamdan’s offense did not score again the rest of the night. Kentucky twice failed to convert on fourth-down situations, threw a pick six, then once again failed on another fourth down. And some of the play calls on those important downs were head-scratchers.
After UK safety Kristian Story returned an interception 63 yards to the Florida 11-yard line in the second quarter, the Cats failed to capitalize. On third-and-1 from the 2-yard line and fourth-and-1 from the 2-yard line, UK’s Demie Sumo-Karngbaye was stopped for no gain on runs up the middle.
On a third-and-5 at the Florida 23 in the fourth quarter, a jet sweep by Barion Brown out of the wildcat formation netted no gain. On fourth-and-5, quarterback Brock Vandagriff threw behind the line of scrimmage to Anthony Brown-Stephens for a 1-yard gain.
Next series, on a fourth-and-11 from the Florida 41, Vandagriff again threw to Brown-Stephens. This time, the high throw fell incomplete.
In the end, this was another night in which the Kentucky offense failed to produce explosive plays. The Cats had just three plays of 20-plus yards on the night. One came on a flea-flicker when Vandagriff hit Barion Brown for a 45-yard score. Other than a 99-yard kickoff return by Brown for a touchdown, that was the offensive highlight of the night.
Kentucky Wildcats defensive back Alex Afari Jr. (3) pursues Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 19, 2024 against the Kentucky Wildcats. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]
Kentucky defensive back Alex Afari Jr. (3) pursues Florida quarterback DJ Lagway (2) during Saturday’s game. Doug Engle USA TODAY NETWORK
3. This season is officially beyond the brink
After last Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt, I wrote that Kentucky’s string of eight consecutive bowl appearances was in danger of coming to an end. In fact, I predicted that it would come to an end.
I feel even more confident in that prediction now that the Cats have fallen to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the SEC. Coming off a bitter 21-17 loss at Missouri on Saturday, Auburn visits Kroger Field on Saturday. Playing at home, Kentucky is the likely favorite. And the Cats will be favored against Murray State on Nov. 16. But that’s it.
Stoops’ squad must travel to Tennessee on Nov. 2. The Vols knocked off Alabama 24-17 on Saturday in Knoxville. On Nov. 23, the Cats travel to Austin to face Texas. The Longhorns lost to Georgia at home on Saturday, but Steve Sarkisian’s squad will be a heavy favorite over the Cats. And Louisville gave Miami all it could handle on Saturday before losing 52-45. The Cards visit Kroger Field on Nov. 30.
Kentucky is capable of winning three more games to reach bowl eligibility. But I don’t see it happening. Especially after the Florida fiasco.
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