Tailback Mark Thompson is mugged by teammates after his first-quarter TD run, the first collegiate score of the junior-college transfer's career. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/For UAA Communications)
That's More Like It: Gators Erupt in 45-7 Blowout of Kentucky
Saturday, September 10, 2016 | Football, Chris Harry
The Gators beat the Wildcats for the 30th straight time.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — That sage philosopher in the Florida locker room known simply as "Teez" made some headlines this summer when he was asked about the Gators' on-going mastery of a particular program in the Southeastern Conference. He responded with a rather candid answer.
"The greatest indicator of the future is the past."
The question to "Teez," also known as cornerback Jalen Tabor, actually was in reference to Tennessee, a team the Gators have defeated 11 straight.
Suffice to say, his words of wisdom apply to Florida-Kentucky.
Junior quarterback Luke Del Rio threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns and the UF defense stonewalled the Wildcats by allowing just 149 total yards — and a mere three pass completions — and forcing four turnovers in a 45-7 trouncing Saturday in the SEC opener for both team at the "Swamp." The outcome marked the 30th consecutive win for the Gators (2-0, 1-0) in the series — the longest such active run by one FBS program over another — but more importantly left the crowd of 85,821 with a far better vibe than last week's lackluster 24-7 defeat of Massachusetts.
In that one, the Gators managed just two touchdowns, settling instead for three field goals from sophomore Eddy Pineiro. In this one, Del Rio made good on his vow this week that Florida's offense not only was capable of finishing drives, but would start to finish drives.
"We did a really good job of that today," he said.
Florida finished six of them against Kentucky (0-2, 0-1), which struggled the week before on defense in surrendering 34 unanswered points and more than 500 yards in a 44-35 loss to Southern Miss. If nothing else, the performance was a confidence boost for a unit that needed one.
Better yet, a bar for the expected standard of effort and performance.
"We had a lot of guys do their jobs — and at a higher level with an extra sense of urgency," Coach Jim McElwain said. "That's the edge the Gators have to play with to be successful."
Del Rio, who hit 19 of his 32 attempts and commanded a unit that converted 14 of 20 third-down opportunities, became the first UF quarterback since Rex Grossman against LSU in 2001 to hit 300 yards and four TDs passing against a league opponent. Sophomore wide receiver Antonio Callaway caught five balls for a career-high 129 yards, including a 78-yard scoring bomb. Freshman tailback Lamical Perine carried 17 times for 105 yards to lead a ground attack that went for 244 yards and helped the Gators to a total offense digit of 564.
Only a 2-yard scoring run from UK's Jojo Kemp with 4:27 remaining prevented what would have been UF's first shutout of the Wildcats since a 38-0 blanking in 2012.
Sophomore wideout Antonio Callaway crosses the goal line at the end of his 78-yard touchdown strike from Luke Del Rio. Callaway finished with five catches for a career-high 129 yards. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
"Real short and sweet here," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. "There is not a lot to say other than we got our butts kicked, both on offense and defense. I guess we did some decent things on special teams, but we got handled. We got behind the chains offensively and we can't do that against a quality team."
It happened early, then often.
UF tailback Mark Thompson, a junior-college transfer from Pennsylvania, opened the scoring on a third-and-2 play at the 2:32 mark of the opening period when he capped a 15-play, 84-yard drive during which Del Rio handed off to four different running backs, completed passes to three receivers and converted three third downs. The last one was Thompson's TD. He took a handoff to the left side of the line, planted his foot and drove the pile into the end zone.
It set a tone for the running game, then Florida would call on a lengthy cast.
"We have a running-back-by-committee thing going on and I like that a lot. It keeps us fresh," Thompson said. "We're all talented. We're all elite players."
The Gators' most elite player on offense doesn't play running back. He showed up in the second quarter.
On the ensuing Wildcats possession after the Thompson score, quarterback Drew Barker tested UF cornerback Quincy Wilson deep down the left sidelines. Wilson thwarted the play with a spectacular one-handed interception. On first down, Del Rio dropped and hoisted a pass down the middle seam, where Callaway had a step on the back end of the UK secondary.
The pass led Callaway perfectly, hitting the sophomore star in mid-stride and allowing him to race untouched into the end zone. One play, 78 yards.
"I definitely want to capitalize on the shot plays," said Del Rio, who overthrew Callaway on a near-identical play on the first snap of the game last week. "It puts a lot of stress on the defense."
And the Wildcats defense was under siege all game, mostly because it was on the field all game, starting with a first quarter that saw the Gators put up 209 yards to the Cats' 29. Still, Kentucky had a chance to make a dent in the Florida lead when Del Rio's second-quarter pass for C.J. Worton was thrown behind the wideout, who tipped it into the hands of UK safety Derrick Baity for a pick. UF's defense, though, forced the Wildcats to attempt a 34-yard field goal that Austin MacGinnis bounced off the left upright.
"The main thing for us was cutting down on mistakes," cornerback Quincy Wilson said of a defense that last week gave up three plays of 20-plus yards. "And I think the offense did a good job of getting from our stops and turnovers."
Pineiro, already with four field goals in his first two collegiate games, easily rammed home a career-long 54-yard in the second quarter, completing an 8-play, 44-yard drive to those familiar chants of "ED-DY! ED-DY! ED-DY!" He missed both his other attempts, though.
Late in the second period, Barker was intercepted by Tabor, the preseason All-American who returned to the field after a one-game suspension. Tabor perfectly sniffed out a wideout screen by waiting on the play and knifing through two UK players to pick the pass off. Del Rio, who had 197 yards through the first two quarters, went to work on a 13-play, 58-yard drive, hitting Powell on a nicely timed slant route for a 5-yard score just 18 seconds before halftime for a 24-0 lead.
Same amount of points as the week before.
"We were ready to play last week, and we were OK. Just OK. That's not the expectation of the Gators," McElwain said. "Today, we played better, but I still think we can play better than this."
UF senior safety Marcus Maye intercepted Barker on UK's opening possession of the second half. Three plays later, the Wildcats made it easy on the Gators when they lost both Freddy Swain and tight end DeAndre Goolsby on wheel routes to the right sideline. Del Rio could have thrown the ball to either one of them for an easy score. Swain, the freshman, was the choice and got his first career TD.
Freshman running back Lamical Perine scores in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard swing pass. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/For UAA Communications)
Kentucky made a quarterback switch on the next possession, swapping Stephen Johnson for Barker. Johnson got a rude welcome when he fumbled under duress after being nudged by his own offensive lineman. UF defensive lineman Tavin Bryan recovered and the Gators needed just six plays to go 35 yards, with Jordan Scarlett finishing things off.
UF's next drive was six plays, 58 yards and ended with Perine joining Thompson and Swain as first-time college TD scorers.
Maybe no one could have predicted those two guys would score in their first SEC games. The eventual outcome? Different story.
