Gators have plenty to prove in trying to extend win streak vs. Kentucky

Published Sep. 12, 2014 7:48 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida-Kentucky game has a different twist this year.

Sure, the Gators own the Wildcats and are after their 28th consecutive victory against Kentucky.

However, for the first time during Florida's dominant streak, the Gators are out to prove themselves perhaps as much as the Wildcats.

Both teams finished with losing records a year ago and neither has won an SEC game in a long time. Florida dropped its last five conference games a season ago and Kentucky has lost 16 consecutive SEC games.

Florida head coach Will Muschamp called Kentucky "much, much improved in all areas" under second-year head coach Mark Stoops, who like Muschamp, climbed his way through the coaching ranks as a defensive coordinator.

Muschamp said the Wildcats are more talented, faster and deeper than the Kentucky teams he has faced in recent years.

Meanwhile, Stoops hasn't lost a bit of respect for Florida despite its struggles in 2013.

"The typical Florida team: physical, with a bunch of athletes out there," Stoops said. "They're going to have a good year, I know that."

Can the Gators build off last week's impressive season-opening win with a trip to No. 2-ranked Alabama looming? Or is this Kentucky team as improved as some think it is?

We'll find out those answers on Saturday night at The Swamp. For now, let's take a look at the matchup in The Opening Kickoff:

FIVE STORYLINES

-- The Gators displayed their newfound fireworks on offense against Eastern Michigan, racking up 655 yards of total offense in coordinator Kurt Roper's debut. Florida scored 65 points, its highest output since Nov. 22, 2008. What will the Gators do for an encore?

-- The Gators played nine true freshmen and 12 redshirt freshmen in their victory over Eastern Michigan. Three of those newcomers -- running back Brandon Powell, defensive back Duke Dawson and quarterback Treon Harris -- accounted for four touchdowns. Expect several rookies on the roster to see the field Saturday, too.

-- While Florida's 2014 opener was a smashing success, the injury bug did make an appearance, a trend the Gators want to end. Tight end Jake McGee is out for the season with a broken leg, offensive lineman D.J. Humphries is expected to miss two games with an ankle injury, and freshman cornerback J.C. Jackson will miss the season due to a shoulder injury. The good news is that safety Marcus Maye is probable after missing the opener with a hamstring injury.

-- Florida native Jojo Kemp made headlines this week when he told reporters that a couple of his high school teammates -- former Gators Mike Gillislee and Pop Saunders -- went to Florida. Kemp played at Deland High. What earned Kemp headlines was this quote: "It's going to be fun walking out with a victory and rubbing it in their faces."

-- Florida's defense forced five turnovers and the offense didn't turn the ball over once, usually a sure recipe for a win. In four seasons under Muschamp, the Gators have a plus-30 turnover margin in his 23 wins, a negative-24 margin in 16 losses.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

-- Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel completed a career-high 31 passes on 45 attempts last week. He looked comfortable in the no-huddle, up-tempo offense and threw for 248 yards. He gets to test the new offense on an SEC opponent for the first time Saturday.

-- The running back trio of Kelvin Taylor, Matt Jones and Mack Brown is one of the Gators' strengths. They proved it against Eastern Michigan. The three combined for 193 yards on just 22 carries against Eastern Michigan and each had a run of 30 yards or more. Look for Driskel to hand off to them plenty against the Wildcats.

-- Kentucky defensive linemen Bud Dupree and Za'Darius Smith have the Gators' attention. Dupree and Smith can rush the quarterback and with UF's offensive line retooled, protecting Driskel will be a top priority. "The first thing you do when you turn on the film is: 'Can they rush the passer?' And these guys can," Roper said.

-- Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles worked in the offseason to speed up his throwing motion, and in his first two starts, the change in technique has worked. Towles has completed 61.7 percent of his passed with no interceptions. A young Gators secondary led by Vernon Hargreaves III will be out to change that.

-- Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Roderick Johnson is slated to make his first career start for the Gators. With Humphries out, right tackle Chaz Green will move to the left side and Johnson will start on the right side. Johnson played well in his UF debut last week.

TALKING POINTS

GatorZone.com senior writers Scott Carter and Chris Harry preview the Florida-Kentucky matchup:

THE QUOTE FILE

-- "There's a lot of similar looks and things we see now more often in practice than we ever saw before, and we see it more often in our conference. That's really what our conference has gone to now." -- Gators defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin on preparing for Towles, a dual-threat quarterback

-- "With the season we had last year and after watching myself and how we played, no extra motivation is needed." -- UF linebacker Michael Taylor on whether Kemp's comments fired up Gators

-- "I was furious. I was outraged and I talked to [Kemp] about it. He was trying to make light of some friends that he has on [Florida's] program, but like I told him, 'You think they're going to hear all that? They're going to hear the last five seconds of what you said.' It's not how we talk." -- Stoops on Kemp's comments

-- "He brings a lot. Rod is one of them guys that really wants to get better. He's always in the weight room, always in the film room, always in the coaches' office. Rod is a very good player. He has a high ceiling." -- Gators defensive lineman Dante Fowler Jr. on Johnson

-- "They're a tempo team. They're going to be on the ball. They're going to play as fast as anybody that we play this year." -- Muschamp on Kentucky's offense

HISTORY LESSON

Stoops is Kentucky's 11th head coach since Bear Bryant posted a .710 winning percentage (60-23-5) with the Wildcats from 1946-53. The only head coach since Bryant to have a winning record at Kentucky was his predecessor, Blanton Collier, who 41-36-3 from 1954-61.

In Bryant's final trip to Gainesville as Kentucky's head coach in 1952, the Gators won 27-0 in their tune-up for the 1953 Gator Bowl, the first bowl game in UF football history (a 14-13 win over Tulsa).

TOPICAL TWEET

10 QUICK HITTERS

-- Kentucky's 27-game losing streak to Florida is currently the nation's longest in an annual series between major programs. However, the Wildcats also own a 16-game losing streak against SEC opponents. Kentucky hasn't won a conference game since beating Tennessee in the final game of 2011.

-- Florida has outscored Kentucky 312-43 over their past six meetings, including a 104-10 advantage in the first quarter. The Gators won't mind if that trend continues to deflate the Wildcats early.

-- Former UF quarterback Tim Tebow, who suffered that memorable concussion against Kentucky, is back in town to cover the game. Tebow will be on the SEC Network's "SEC Nation" show from 10 a.m. to noon and broadcast live from the Plaza of the Americas.

-- Kentucky running back Braylon Heard and receiver Javess Blue made the trip to Gainesville according to Stoops. Heard and Blue missed last week's win over Ohio with sprained ankles.

-- The Gators became the third SEC team since 1996 to rush for more than 250 yards and pass for 395 or more yards in a game in last week's win. The others: Kentucky in 2013 against Miami (Ohio), and Texas A&M in 2012 against Louisiana Tech.

-- Senior receiver Quinton Dunbar will try to make it 30 games in a row with a reception. Dunbar had five receptions for 81 yards in the opener to extend his school-record streak of consecutive games with a reception.

-- When Roper was offensive coordinator at Duke and Stoops defensive coordinator at FSU, they met twice. FSU won both games handily, limiting the Blue Devils to an average of 260.5 yards.

-- Dawson's interception return for a touchdown against Eastern Michigan was the first for a UF true freshmen since Saunders accomplished the feat in 2011 against Furman.

-- In Stoops' final regular-season game as FSU's defensive coordinator in 2012, Florida rushed for 244 yards against FSU's top-ranked defense in a 37-26 victory at Tallahassee.

-- Sixth-year senior Andre Debose made a strong return after missing all of last season with a knee injury. Debose returned four punts for 97 yards, including a career-high 55-yarder.

QUARTERBACK REVIEW

Former Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson breaks down current Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles for Saturday Down South:

share