“Apocalypse Now.” Ayatollah Khomeini. Charley Pell. Queen. “Off the Wall.” Fran Curci. Pope John Paul II. Kentucky winning at Florida. 1979.
Kentucky vs. Florida final score: 3 things we learned from Gators’ 36-30 survival
The Wildcats have not beaten Florida since 1986, nor have they won at The Swamp since the 1970s. The Will Muschamp era lives another day.
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Also failing pic.twitter.com/4fwwNSzkrW
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) September 14, 2014 One of the longest-running in-conference streaks in college football is somehow intact. The Florida Gators weathered a triple-overtime battle to reach a baffling 2-0.
Kentucky's rebuild can now be considered a bit ahead of schedule, with absolutely fearless quarterback Patrick Towles (369 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions), Garrett Johnson's 150 receiving yards, and Mark Stoops' defense leading the way. But the story right now is Florida's continued exploration of the bizarre and embarrassing, despite coming out with a stunning home victory against a division opponent.
After 60 minutes of sporadic offensive explosions (aided by defensive breakdowns), the two went to overtime, where Kentucky stung Florida with this insane 25-yard scamper by freshman "Boom" Williams. The Gators responded with a touchdown from Jeff Driskel to Demarcus Robinson. The sixth frame was a field goals exchange. In the seventh, UK missed its field goal try, setting up the dagger: a one-yard plow by Matt Jones, who finished with 156 yards on the ground.
1979.
Via SEC Network
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Three things we learned
1. Kentucky’s Jojo Kemp is a man to listen to. Days ago, the UK running back said:
“A couple of my (high school) teammates actually went to Florida, so I’m familiar with a lot of those guys,” Kemp said. “It’s going to be fun walking out with a victory and rubbing it in their faces.”
Okay, Jojo. While you didn’t totally nail that one, you came really, really close. If you have any more game predictions, let us know. (Kemp pitched in 23 rushing yards of his own.)
2. The Wildcats’ defense might be for real, and Florida’s offense probably isn’t. The Gators looked great in their first game against Eastern Michigan, putting up 65 points and 655 yards against one of FBS’ worst programs.
And while Florida’s offense looked ... better this year against Kentucky (457 yards in regulation) than it did last year against Kentucky (402 yards), that kind of showing’s not gonna cut it against Alabama, LSU, or Florida State. Not when new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper was one of two reasons for higher Gator hopes in 2014, with the other being improved injury luck. If not for receiver Robinson’s 216 yards and two touchdowns ...
But UK’s defense, the one led by former Florida State defensive coordinator Stoops that gave up only three points to Ohio last week? The one that held its own against an offense with far more recruiting star rankings? Yeah, let’s keep an eye on it.
Does it even matter if Florida’s offense is for real, though? Because ...
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3. Will Muschamp will not be fired this week. You can come back from 4-8, if you have reason to hope for 8-4. You can come back if you have a string of top-10 recruiting classes and a promising quarterback with an offense fit to match his skill set and a rash of injuries for analysts to point to as the biggest reason for 4-8 (guilty!). You can even bounce back from losing to Georgia Southern before Georgia Southern goes FBS.
But you can’t have that kind of a season two years in a row. Losing to an improving Kentucky, no matter how improving that Kentucky might or might not be, would have been the latest in a series of unacceptable results for a head coach in command of the University of Florida’s resources.
We’ve seen college football teams have successful seasons despite results like this one, and ultimately, a win is a win. But if one or two balls had bounced different ways at any point tonight, Florida might’ve had an interim coach by morning.
Tune in next week!
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