Kentucky Wildcats Football: The Morning After Florida

The Florida Gators came into Lexington, made quick work of the Wildcats and were back on their way to Gainesville in no time. While we here at the WBN try our best to keep a positive outlook when possible, It’s tough to take a lot of good from this game. The Wildcats will now prepare to take on a LSU team that I believe is the best in the country and should be ranked number one…. And the game will be in Death Valley. Joker and company have a tough stretch ahead of them and will have to find a way to stop the bleeding.

So What Happened?
Well, this game looked to be very competitive at the start. The Wildcats were flying to the ball and held the Gators to two three-and-outs on their first two drives. The Cats had the momentum and more importantly, were winning the field position battle. Then the fumble by Josh Clemons completely changed the game all at once. Momentum was lost, Florida got the ball at midfield, and the defense was forced back onto the field only moments after they had gotten another stop. One long pass to the tight end later, and the game was pretty much over. The momentum was gone and the Wildcats never really got within a sniff as the Gators racked up 48 points on the night.

Room for improvement
-It’s hard to really fault the offensive line for a bad performance again this week. The Gators sacked the quarterbacks four times and piled up 24 yards worth of negative rushing plays, but the line did do a decent job of picking up the frequent blitzes and giving Newton enough time to get the ball away. The backs and tight ends however, did not do very well in protection. The offensive line actually looked better last night than they have this season, so having the full compliment of starters may pay dividends as the season progresses.

-CoShik Williams didn’t have a terrible game by any means, but I think it’s clear now that he is not a feature runner. He has some serious grit for a little guy, but he is a liability in protection, he’s a poor receiver out of the backfield, and he has limited abilities as a running back. I think he is going to continue to be a good option as a change of pace guy, but if Sanders and Clemons are both out for LSU, we will need George or Gainer to step up.

-The receivers clearly have no come to terms with the fact that they are quickly becoming a joke. You have got to catch the ball when it hits you in the hands. E.J. Fields and DeMarco Robinson both had trouble making plays last night.

-The Defensive line once again struggled to get pressure, but I’ve got to call out the entire defensive unit here. Being out of position, losing contain, and playing sloppy are things that will get a junior high football player benched. I’m not sure why these college athletes haven’t figured that out. The long runs, cut-backs, and complete field reversals are embarrassing to watch. I understand that the Florida players are fast, but that was completely ridiculous.

The Bright Spots
-While Newton made some bone-headed plays, I thought he played a pretty good game. One of his interceptions was completely because of Tyler Robinson’s blown protection, and it appeared the other one was tipped at the line. The guy is hitting his receivers in the hands, commanding the offense, getting rid of the ball quickly when he can, and picking up yards on the ground when the passing plays break down. He could probably play better, but he has been impressive in the past two games minus a couple of mistakes.

– Jonathan George runs the ball REALLY hard.

-Some of the younger players saw some playing time.

-In limited action, Maxwell Smith looked pretty good. He still has a ways to go, but you have to like his confidence stepping in against Florida in his first collegiate action.

-The special teams units did not give up any big plays.

-Sorry, no love for the defense this week.

Game MVP for Kentucky: Ashely Lowery. That first hit set the tempo for a good game, until the UK offense choked.

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