Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Kentucky causes some more problems for Mullen, Gators
Florida’s SEC East title defense effectively ended during the first weekend of October with a 20-13 loss at Kentucky.
Three things learned during the No. 10 Gators’ defeat:
1. Dan Mullen has a Kentucky problem
Mullen inherited a program with a history of dominance against the Wildcats but finds itself facing an annual dogfight with Mark Stoops’ program.
Saturday night’s loss was the Gators’ first in Lexington since 1986. During Mullen’s inaugural season at UF, Kentucky ended Florida’s nation-leading 31-game winning streak with a stunning 27-16 win in the Swamp. If not for backup quarterback Kyle Trask’s late-game heroics on the road in 2019, Mullen would be 1-3 as the Gators’ coach in the series.
Florida’s five previous head coaches never lost to the Wildcats. Stoops changed the equation.
Kentucky’s 2014 triple-overtime loss in the Swamp during Stoops’ second season was a sign of things to come. Yet Florida always found a way to beat the ’Cats and wrote off the 2018 loss as the first SEC game during the transition to Mullen.
While the offensive-minded Mullen has shown the ability to adapt his game plan to fit his players’ talents, Stoops, a longtime defensive coach, has established an identity built on a strong run game and physical line play.
Mullen’s Gators (3-2, 1-2 SEC), who were 8-point favorites, look to salvage their season while Stoops’ unbeaten Wildcats (5-0, 3-0) pose the biggest challenge to Georgia, which hopes to reclaim the SEC East title from Florida.
2. Offensive line takes significant step back
The O-line’s emergence was the surprise of September. Through four games, Florida led the SEC in rushing and pushed around top-ranked Alabama during a 31-29 loss Sept. 18 in the Swamp.
But Kentucky’s defensive front, led by relentless senior Josh Paschal yet without injured nose tackle Marquan McCall much of the game, won the battle in the trenches. Meanwhile, a capacity crowd of 61,632 at Kroger Field rattled the Gators, who persisted on snapping the ball at the clap of quarterback Emory Jones’ hands rather than adjust to a silent count.
Florida’s line committed seven falsestart penalties and finished with fewer than 400 yards for the first time in 14 games.
“I’ll get with John Hevesy,” Mullen said of his longtime line coach. “We got to get better. That’s something we’re gonna look at with a problem. Give their crowd credit, they had a lot of energy, their guys played hard.”
The offensive line’s regression is cause for concern.
The Gators face SEC West rival LSU on Oct. 16 in raucous Tiger Stadium, where UF has lost four of its past five visits. An Oct. 30 visit from Georgia could get ugly if Florida isn’t more stout up front. During a 37-0 win against Arkansas, the Bulldogs manhandled a team that had outmuscled Texas A&M and Texas.
3. Jones struggles to attack defenses in passing game
Jones finished a respectable 23 of 31 for 203 yards but completed just one pass longer than 18 yards. Jones’ 22-yard throw to Xzavier Henderson was the Gators’ longest play from scrimmage and pivotal to their only touchdown drive that came on their second series.
Otherwise, screen passes and safe, conservative throws remain the norm. Jones has completed just one other pass longer than 20 yards during the past 10 quarters. The Gators’ 12 20-yard pass plays are more than one SEC team, hapless Vanderbilt with 11.
A gifted runner, Jones pushes to develop his ability to survey the field, look off defenders and find the open man. Early in the fourth quarter, Jones did not see Kentucky edge rusher J.J. Weaver drop into the coverage, leading to an interception that set up a Wildcats’ touchdown for a 20-13 lead.
Jones showed resilience, completing throws of 14, 18 and 11 yards to drive the Gators inside the Kentucky 20-yard line. A 10-yard run then gave Florida 1st-and-goal from the 9.
The Gators quickly fell apart, committing two false-start penalties. Visibly frustrated, Jones could not make the winning play. Of his final four passes, two were screens for negative gains and another was a 3-yard completion on third-and-11 followed by a fourth-down incompletion into traffic.
Jones’ ability to develop as a passer is key to his long-term success.