GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida-Kentucky series has been more notable than usual since Dan Mullen took over the Gators.
As you may recall, in Mullen's second game as Florida's head coach, the Gators lost at home to the Wildcats 27-16 in 2018. It was Mullen's first SEC game at Florida and Florida's first loss to the Wildcats since Mullen was a teenager. It was not a good night for the home fans.
Meanwhile, in Mullen's second season, it looked as if the Gators might lose again to the Wildcats until quarterback Kyle Trask replaced injured starter Feleipe Franks and led a comeback victory. Trask's emergence changed the trajectory of the program. He is now a Heisman Trophy candidate and the Gators control their own destiny in the Southeastern Conference East Division race.
The No. 6-ranked Gators (6-1) host the Wildcats (3-5) at noon Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. What does Mullen's third game against the Wildcats have in store?
For more on Saturday's game between the Gators and Wildcats, here is The Opening Kickoff:
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH ... GATORS QUARTERBACK EMORY JONES
Jones has passed for touchdowns in each of the past two games.
Backup quarterback Emory Jones threw his first touchdown pass of the season in the win over Arkansas. (Photo: Evan Lepak/UAA Communications)
Do you look at Kyle Trask and his path to become the starter as to help you with staying patient?
Yeah, most definitely. I definitely look at him and the path that he's taken, had to go through, and he's done nothing but like just help me because it kept me confident, just seeing the things that he does and how he hands his business week in and week out. It just keeps me motivated. It keeps me looking forward and I can't wait until it's my turn.
What do you remember thinking last year when Feleipe Franks went down at Kentucky?
I mean, it was a real hit in the game when that happened. A real hit at the time for both of us when that happened. I mean, since I've been here, I've been preparing like every week as a starter. Me and Kyle were both ready for that game, as you see, he was ready. So, I've got the same mindset like every week: just prepare like a starter because I'm one play away.
Do you have a general idea of when you are going to go into a game?
Nah, not really. It's crazy because like these three years I never know when I'm going to go into a game. I've just always got to be ready. Like that one time last year against LSU, I didn't have my helmet with me when he called me into the game. From that time on, I always have my helmet with me, my feet ready to go because I never know when he is going to call me in.
What does it say about you throwing a touchdown at Vanderbilt instead of Kyle throwing for his fourth in the game?
I mean, it's never about any stats or anything like that with Coach Mullen or Kyle. Kyle was happy as ever when I went in there and threw that touchdown so it's never any like … like I don't think he ever thought about that honestly. He was all happy for me to go in the game and do my thing.
THREE STORYLINES
The Gators are coming off a ho-hum win at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats got spanked by 60 points last week at No. 1-ranked Alabama. Considering Florida has played better than it did a week ago and so has Kentucky, both teams should be fired up to get back on the field. The Gators will undoubtedly be judged for style points considering that if they continue to win, a likely matchup against Alabama looms for the SEC Championship next month in Atlanta. In reality, nothing matters but a win for Florida.
This series has been much more competitive since Mark Stoops took over the Wildcats in 2013. Although the Gators are 6-1 against Kentucky over that span, one victory came in overtime, one was by five points, and another by a single point. Kentucky won at The Swamp in 2018 and led a year ago in Lexington until Florida's late comeback.
Much of the pregamebuzz for this game has centered on UF quarterback Kyle Trask, who came off the bench to replace injured starter Feleipe Franks last year at Kentucky and 14 months later is a leading candidate to win the Heisman Trophy. Trask's story took off when he led the Gators from a 21-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to a 29-21 over the Wildcats in 2019.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
He's already been mentioned (see above), but Kyle Trask's remarkable season and Heisman bid is gaining traction week by week. Trask was a guest on the "Dan Patrick Show" this week and assured Patrick that he has never done a Heisman pose. Patrick didn't believe him. What Trask has done is pass for 2,554 yards and 31 touchdowns in seven games. His play is certain to be under more scrutiny each week until the Heisman is announced, but if Trask continues to put up numbers like he has, the race could be over.
Kentucky middle linebacker Jamin Davis (team-high 73 tackles, two interceptions) did not travel to Alabama last week for reasons believed to be related to COVID-19 protocols. Davis returned to the Wildcats' depth chart this week and is expected to bolster a defense that got ran over by the Crimson Tide.
UF head coach Dan Mullen said tight end Kyle Pitts is expected to return Saturday. Pitts has missed the last two games due to a concussion and facial injury against Georgia when he was involved in a violent collision with Bulldogs safety Lewis Cine. If Pitts picks up where he left off -- he has 24 catches, 414 yards and eight touchdowns in 4 1/2 games -- the Kyle Konnection can light back up.
FIVE DIGITS
9 – Consecutive games the Gators have scored 35-plus points, a school record. 19 – Years since the Gators had three 400-yard passing games in a season (2001) prior to last week's win at Vanderbilt in which they threw for 413 yards. UF had 446 yards passing at Ole Miss and 474 against Georgia earlier in the season. 31 – Consecutive wins for the Gators over Kentucky before the Wildcats snapped the streak with a 27-16 victory at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium two years ago. 18 – Players from the state of Florida on Kentucky's roster. 0 – Players from the state of Kentucky on Florida's roster.
INJURY REPORT
PROBABLE: TE Kyle Pitts (head/nose); QUESTIONABLE: OL Stewart Reese (shoulder); LB Jeremiah Moon (foot); LB James Houston (undisclosed); OUT: WR Trent Whittemore (ribs); DB Ethan Pouncey (hip, out for season); UNAVAILABLE: During the unprecedented 2020 season, Florida releases a list of players not available on game days prior to kickoff.
THEY SAID IT
"I think about it a lot. It's a huge moment for my career. Being a backup for all that time, it kind of is waiting on that moment where you get your opportunity and that kind of was where I got my chance. So yeah, I do think about it a lot. Just kind of my, like, true beginnings. It's been a crazy journey so far. I think we're just getting started." -- Gators quarterback Kyle Trask on rallying Florida past Kentucky a season ago
"Like I've said before, there's no perfect game, there's no perfect player. We can finish better, we can do the things that I talked about better and to be a little cleaner. But at the end of the day, you can go back to some games, for example in the Ole Miss game. We weren't playing great, but we were up so big, I mean in the fourth quarter, we were just playing to get the game over with." -- Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham when asked about criticism of defense
"We definitely need to hit the reset button. There were things out of our control last week. Again, absolutely no excuses, but as far as our players' mentality, we have to hit reset and get back to playing the way we're capable of." -- Kentucky coach Mark Stoops on bouncing back from 60-point loss to Alabama, Kentucky's worst loss during his tenure
"I heard somebody say something like, 'Boy, you know, he had his worst performance of the year.' When the worst performance the year is like 370 yards passing, three touchdowns, no interceptions, things are going pretty well." -- Gators head coach Dan Mullen on Trask's performance in last week's win at Vanderbilt (26 of 35, 383 yards, 3 TDs)
"I love football. I always try to stay humble, but when the ball is down, my heart is giving me everything I got, playing with the love I got." -- Gators linebacker Ventrell Miller on his passion for game
NOTES FILE
Florida leads the all-time series 52-18 and has won 32 of the last 33 meetings. The Gators are 28-5 at home against the Wildcats.
Gators coach Dan Mullen is 27-6 in his first 33 games at Florida, the same record as former UF coaches Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer had in their first 33 games at UF. Spurrier and Meyer lost Game No. 34, a factoid that has no bearing on this game but causes fans who believe in jinxes much concern as I learned on Twitter this week.
Florida is the only FBS team with three players who have six or more touchdown receptions this season: Kyle Pitts (8), Kadarius Toney (7) and Trevon Grimes (6).
Grimes has a touchdown reception in four consecutive games, joining Toney (2020), Percy Harvin (2008) and Dallas Baker (2005-06) as the only Gators since 2002 with a touchdown catch in four or more consecutive games.
Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson was benched in the second half at Alabama after throwing a pick-six. He had a solid first half (10 of 16, 120 yards) and has thrown for 832 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions on the season. Wilson passed for 151 yards and two scores, and rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown in Kentucky's win over the Gators in 2018.
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has 47 wins, which is tied with Fran Curci for second on the school's all-time win list. No. 1 is Bear Bryant (60).
Wildcats offensive guard Austin Dotson will wear No. 65 against the Gators in honor of late offensive line coach John Schlarman, who passed away Nov. 12 after a two-year battle with cancer. A former All-SEC lineman for the Wildcats, Schlarman wore No. 65 as a player.
UF quarterback Kyle Trask needs 388 yards passing to tie Chris Leak (2,942 in 2006) and crack the school's top 10 single-season yardage mark. Rex Grossman holds the school's single-season record with 3,896 yards in 2001.
THE SPORTSWRITER(S)
Normally in this space I provide a glimpse into the team the Gators are playing. However, this week I have decided to call an audible.
If you have not heard, longtime Gainesville Sun sportswriters Pat Dooley and Robbie Andreu are retiring. Dooley has worked at the Sun since 1987 -- a year before novelist Richard Ford published "The Sportswriter," hence the subhead -- and Andreu since 1993. They have chronicled the fortunes of the Gators for a combined 60 years.
That's a lot of press passes and deadlines.
But they go back much longer as Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel wrote this week in his profile of the two familiar faces in the Gators press box. I learned some things I did not know.
While they prepare for their next chapters, I thought I would share their final Swampcast as colleagues at the Sun. Here is their preview of the Florida-Kentucky game in Dooley-Andreu style:
BOTTOM LINE
Florida is a heavy favorite over the Wildcats, who are dealing with COVID-19 issues among players and staff. Kentucky is also coming off the demoralizing loss at Alabama in what has been a difficult season, most notably the death of offensive line coach John Schlarman (see notes section). While the Gators didn't play their sharpest game of the season last week at Vanderbilt, they were plenty good enough to take care of the Commodores without much trouble after a slow start. They will take care of the Wildcats, too, and my guess is look impressive in doing so.
