The Kentucky Wildcats were able to beat the Florida Gators, 33-14. What does this result mean for Florida and Kentucky going forward?
Ray Davis went on for 280 rushing yards on a day when the passing game wasn’t working. Despite the offense only being half functional, the Kentucky Wildcats blew out the Gators. This game was a no-contest from the start as Florida would be down 16-0 after the first quarter.
The Gators’ offense didn’t do anything of any real value in this game as Billy Napier’s seat starts to get hot. Yes, the Gators did beat Tennessee but the lack of work this season may make it hard for him to get through the season. The Gators may be able to beat Vanderbilt next week but’s hard to see a way for the team to get beyond six wins this season.
They play Georgia, LSU, a really good Missouri team, Florida State, Arkansas, and South Carolina to close out the season. Only two of those games are winnable. If this performance indicates anything it’s hard to see how the Gators can increase their win total from last season. Graham Mertz was pretty good in this game but he was still complimentary to the rushing game.
The problem was the fact that the rushing game was non-existent in this game as the team only had 69 rushing yards for the entire game. The book on Florida may be that the team just doesn’t have enough offensive gas to compete in the SEC. Kentucky on the other hand is undefeated and are ranked this week.
Still, this team is on fraud alert until proven otherwise. They will most likely get smoked by Georgia this week. The following next two weeks against Missouri and Tennessee will decide this team’s destiny. Both of these teams are good SEC teams with flaws which is something that the Wildcats have not faced up to this point. Tennessee’s offense is not the same as last season but they are still good.
They also face Alabama, Mississippi State, and Louisville in the back half of the season. It’s hard to see a world where Kentucky is able to beat Alabama (despite their own fall from grace). Mississippi State should be a victory and Louisville will provide their other challenge. The point is that the easy part of Kentucky’s schedule is over. Now it is time to prove they deserve a top 25 ranking going forward.