Kentucky smothers Florida in big road win
Many expected the Anthony Richardson Show when Kentucky rolled into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday. Mark Stoops, Brad White, and the entire Kentucky defense had different plans.
After becoming the college football media darling after Week 1, Kentucky sent the SEC and the rest of the country a message with a dominant 26-16 road win that easily could’ve been by as much as three possessions.
KSR is live from the press box to provide some takeaways.
Anthony Richardson gets bamboozled
There were a lot of takes on the internet, radio, and television after redshirt sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson led Florida to a win over top-10 Utah. There was a lot of Heisman buzz followed by some crazy hyperbole.
Many in Gator Nation thought the local product would be the difference in a home contest with Kentucky. The Cats had other plans.
Richardson was limited to 12 non-sack rushing yards on five attempts, and that might be his biggest statistical highlight. Through the air, the rising star only completed 40 percent of his 35 attempts, averaged just 4.1 yards per attempt, and recorded a woeful success rate (22.9%).
The Gators are going to go as far as Anthony Richardson takes them. Saturday proved that. Two interceptions led directly to Kentucky touchdowns as the Wildcats put the clamps on a quarterback that many think is one of the best players in the country.
Tip your hat to the Kentucky defense as that was an all-time performance.
Will Levis makes enough plays
The Kentucky offense is going through some growing pains. Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach Zach Yenser are working through some issues on the front, and this unit misses All-SEC tailback Chris Rodriguez. At wideout, there are a pair of rookies playing a ton of snaps.
Will Levis has a lot on his plate at quarterback. The redshirt senior made just enough plays for Kentucky to put together some scoring drives.
After taking multiple hits to begin the game, Levis got Kentucky on the scoreboard with a very good deep ball to Dane Key. Scangarello used Levis heavily in the boot game, and the offense got tight ends involved early. In the second half, sophomore Chauncey Magwood emerged as a key target.
Levis finished the game with 202 passing yards on 8.4 yards per attempt as the Cats hit on just enough explosives to muster 19 offensive points. It was enough to win the game.
Kentucky couldn’t have done it without QB1.
Super seniors make game tilting plays on defense
One of the reasons that Kentucky had a great shot at being very good on defense this season was due to the boatload of experience returning. The Wildcats have five super senior starters, and each made some big plays on Saturday.
None were more important than a pair of interceptions that led directly to touchdowns.
As the first half was coming to a close, Kentucky found itself trailing 16-7 with little momentum. That all changed when Jordan Wright pulled in a one-handed pick to set the Kentucky offense with a goal-to-go situation. That led directly to a very important Middle 8 touchdown.
After a long drive by the offense led to a field goal to tie the game, Florida put together its best drive of the second half. The Gators created a scoring opportunity, but that all went away after one bad decision from Anthony Richardson.
A poor read from Richardson saw the ball go right to super senior Keidron Smith who was squatting on the expected short hitch. The Ole Miss transfer then showed some moves in the open field to make the quarterback miss and record a huge defensive score.
Kentucky’s defense was the MVP on Saturday. The entire unit deserves credit, but a pair of super seniors made some big-time plays.
Ground game shows life in the second half
The overall ground game numbers are still ugly, but there was some promise shown after the halftime break. Kentucky found some success with the traditional running game in the second half and that is a big deal.
Kavosiey Smoke and La’Vell Wright combined to rush for 97 yards on 17 attempts after the break posting 5.7 yards per rush with a 47.1 percent success rate. This was real growth.
Smoke was particularly impressive as the redshirt senior produced four rushes of 10-plus yards to give the offense some much-needed pop. The Cats struggled to finish drives, but the ground game took a lot of pressure off the rest of the team.
Thanks to the lost yardage on the bad snap that led to a safety, the overall yardage will be ugly. However, when you dig deeper it’s clear that the offensive line found some success in the ground game late, and that will be huge for the offense moving forward.
Third phase takes a step back
After a dominant performance against Miami (Ohio), the kicking game for Kentucky regressed to the mean on Saturday.
There were multiple blunders in the third phase.
A high snap on a punt gave Florida two points with a safety. A bad snap on an extra point took away another point. The return game provide little impact, and Collin Goodfellow averaged just 38.8 yards per attempt. In the kicking game, Matt Ruffolo missed a 38-yard attempt but did respond with a big make on the next possession.
The ceiling is high for Kentucky in special teams due to the return value that Barion Brown and Tayvion Robinson can provide, but the snapping issues must be fixed immediately.
One big step towards the ultimate goal
Kentucky has not hidden from the ultimate goal for the 2022 team. The Wildcats want to win the SEC East and make it to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.
Kentucky’s 10-point Week 2 road win over Florida was a huge step in the right direction.
As Kirby Smart appears to have another juggernaut at Georgia, the Bulldogs could easily run the table before heading to Lexington on Nov. 19. That eliminates wiggle room for the Cats.
Kentucky could not afford an early season loss to a division foe. The big win creates momentum as the Big Blue gets two non-conference home games before hitting the road against to face Ole Miss in the next SEC contest. The latest win gets the ball rolling for what could be a huge matchup with UGA later in the year.
The Cats must conquer some other challenges later in the year, but Saturday’s win was a huge first step.
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