Gators QB Anthony Richardson during Saturday's loss to Kentucky. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: A Game to Forget for Richardson and Gators
Sunday, September 11, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Anthony Richardson received royal treatment a week ago. He will be scrutinized for whether he eats too many Skittles this week.
Richardson will serve as a walking, talking model of an in-the-flesh 180.
Those Heisman Trophy odds that surged following Richardson's performance against Utah will tumble back to planet Earth. And the toothy smile Richardson flashed in the wake of beating Utah was replaced by glumness in Florida's 26-16 loss to Kentucky at The Swamp.
As Richardson trudged off Florida Field late Saturday night, he seemed much smaller than his 6-foot-4, 232-pound frame. Freshman teammate Christian Williams noticed, patting Richardson on the lower back and offering some encouraging words as the two entered the tunnel toward the locker room.
Richardson struggled mightily in his second career home start, throwing a pair of interceptions that led to points for No. 20-ranked Kentucky, the game-changer a 65-yard pick-six by Wildcats senior cornerback Keidron Smith. The Gators never recovered after Smith's score gave the Wildcats a 23-16 lead late in the third quarter.
Richardson had little to recover from besides a bruised ego and perhaps a bruised body following a hit in the first quarter that showed him limping around afterward. To his credit, Richardson offered no excuses for his poor play when he took questions from reporters.
Richardson was noticeably distraught in his postgame press conference, his right hand wiggling around in his pants pocket and his feet shuffling behind the podium.
"I feel like I let everybody down,'' Richardson said. "In this game and in life, adversity is going to come, and it's going to go. Everybody expects a lot from me, and I expect a lot from myself, and I didn't showcase anything that I'm capable of tonight. So, just have to grow from it."
Richardson's step back was the worst-case scenario for first-year Gators coach Billy Napier and his team, which is expected to live and die mainly by what Richardson does on Saturdays.
In the season-opening win over then-No. 7 Utah, Richardson was spectacular, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for a career-high 168 yards. He made plays every time the Gators needed him to.
He looked lost against the Wildcats, who defeated the Gators in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the Jimmy Carter administration. Richardson finished 14 of 35 for 143 yards and two interceptions. He had four yards rushing after 106 against Utah.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops and his defense deserve a lot of the credit, scheming to keep Richardson's legs from taking over the game. If the Gators were going to win, Richardson would have to outduel Wildcats quarterback Will Levis.
Advantage Wildcats.
"Anthony can do things better," Napier said. "That starts with me. I think part of coaching is putting your players in position where they can have success. We made mistakes tonight. Anthony made mistakes. I made mistakes. One thing I know about Anthony, he's a fighter. He's going to show back up, and he's going to work hard to improve. He has that level of investment and commitment to the players and the people in the organization."
Richardson and Napier said all the right things after Saturday's disappointing defeat, a setback that opened a fire hose on the optimism of Week 1.
Napier spoke to his team about taking ownership of the loss and committing to improving. Richardson did the same. The former Gainesville Eastside star is exceptionally talented. He is a dynamic athlete; he has a strong right arm and can beat opponents in myriad ways.
He beat himself on Saturday.
"I was pretty good to start the game off, but I missed a lot of different throws, and my confidence got shot,'' Richardson said. "It affected my receivers poorly, missing them wide open, so I know their confidence probably went down as well. I didn't help my O-line; I didn't help my running backs.
"I failed the team, so mentally I shot myself down a little bit, but I tried to stay in it. Physically, I was fine. I just tried to play through it and just play the game."
While the performance dampened the excitement from Richardson's season-opening performance, it was refreshing to hear Napier and his young quarterback accept responsibility. Gators fans voiced their displeasure over former coach Dan Mullen's refusal to do the same a season ago.
There is only one place to go from here for Richardson and the Gators, and that's back to work.
You can put aside the Heisman chatter for Richardson. At least for now, you can silence the talk of Florida competing with Georgia for the SEC East title. Napier did his best to curb the preseason hype surrounding Richardson. It's easy to see why after what everyone saw Saturday.
A week ago, I wrote that Richardson's performance against the Utes validated the hype in this same space. This week it's a polar-opposite story.
All you had to do was watch as No. 15 walked off the field Saturday. The number that may have fit best was 180.
If we're saying the same after next week's game, Richardson and Gators fans will smile again. If the story stays the same, well, no one in orange and blue wants to go down that road right now.
Richardson will serve as a walking, talking model of an in-the-flesh 180.
Those Heisman Trophy odds that surged following Richardson's performance against Utah will tumble back to planet Earth. And the toothy smile Richardson flashed in the wake of beating Utah was replaced by glumness in Florida's 26-16 loss to Kentucky at The Swamp.
As Richardson trudged off Florida Field late Saturday night, he seemed much smaller than his 6-foot-4, 232-pound frame. Freshman teammate Christian Williams noticed, patting Richardson on the lower back and offering some encouraging words as the two entered the tunnel toward the locker room.
Richardson struggled mightily in his second career home start, throwing a pair of interceptions that led to points for No. 20-ranked Kentucky, the game-changer a 65-yard pick-six by Wildcats senior cornerback Keidron Smith. The Gators never recovered after Smith's score gave the Wildcats a 23-16 lead late in the third quarter.
Richardson had little to recover from besides a bruised ego and perhaps a bruised body following a hit in the first quarter that showed him limping around afterward. To his credit, Richardson offered no excuses for his poor play when he took questions from reporters.
Richardson was noticeably distraught in his postgame press conference, his right hand wiggling around in his pants pocket and his feet shuffling behind the podium.
"I feel like I let everybody down,'' Richardson said. "In this game and in life, adversity is going to come, and it's going to go. Everybody expects a lot from me, and I expect a lot from myself, and I didn't showcase anything that I'm capable of tonight. So, just have to grow from it."
Richardson's step back was the worst-case scenario for first-year Gators coach Billy Napier and his team, which is expected to live and die mainly by what Richardson does on Saturdays.
In the season-opening win over then-No. 7 Utah, Richardson was spectacular, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for a career-high 168 yards. He made plays every time the Gators needed him to.
He looked lost against the Wildcats, who defeated the Gators in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the Jimmy Carter administration. Richardson finished 14 of 35 for 143 yards and two interceptions. He had four yards rushing after 106 against Utah.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops and his defense deserve a lot of the credit, scheming to keep Richardson's legs from taking over the game. If the Gators were going to win, Richardson would have to outduel Wildcats quarterback Will Levis.
Advantage Wildcats.
"Anthony can do things better," Napier said. "That starts with me. I think part of coaching is putting your players in position where they can have success. We made mistakes tonight. Anthony made mistakes. I made mistakes. One thing I know about Anthony, he's a fighter. He's going to show back up, and he's going to work hard to improve. He has that level of investment and commitment to the players and the people in the organization."
Richardson and Napier said all the right things after Saturday's disappointing defeat, a setback that opened a fire hose on the optimism of Week 1.
Napier spoke to his team about taking ownership of the loss and committing to improving. Richardson did the same. The former Gainesville Eastside star is exceptionally talented. He is a dynamic athlete; he has a strong right arm and can beat opponents in myriad ways.
He beat himself on Saturday.
"I was pretty good to start the game off, but I missed a lot of different throws, and my confidence got shot,'' Richardson said. "It affected my receivers poorly, missing them wide open, so I know their confidence probably went down as well. I didn't help my O-line; I didn't help my running backs.
"I failed the team, so mentally I shot myself down a little bit, but I tried to stay in it. Physically, I was fine. I just tried to play through it and just play the game."
While the performance dampened the excitement from Richardson's season-opening performance, it was refreshing to hear Napier and his young quarterback accept responsibility. Gators fans voiced their displeasure over former coach Dan Mullen's refusal to do the same a season ago.
There is only one place to go from here for Richardson and the Gators, and that's back to work.
You can put aside the Heisman chatter for Richardson. At least for now, you can silence the talk of Florida competing with Georgia for the SEC East title. Napier did his best to curb the preseason hype surrounding Richardson. It's easy to see why after what everyone saw Saturday.
A week ago, I wrote that Richardson's performance against the Utes validated the hype in this same space. This week it's a polar-opposite story.
All you had to do was watch as No. 15 walked off the field Saturday. The number that may have fit best was 180.
If we're saying the same after next week's game, Richardson and Gators fans will smile again. If the story stays the same, well, no one in orange and blue wants to go down that road right now.
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