5 Things You Need to Know About the Florida Gators

The rollercoaster season has continued for this Kentucky Football team. Home losses to South Carolina and Vanderbilt have been very obvious low points. However, this is still the same team that took Georgia to the final minutes and went on the road to beat Ole Miss. Discipline and focus seem to be bigger issues than on-field talent. Over the years, and even this season, Coach Mark Stoops’ teams have seemed to play some of their best football when their backs are squarely against the wall. That is certainly where things stand this Saturday in Gainesville. A win over the Florida Gators would right the ship once again and put the ‘Cats on the path to bowl eligibility. Meanwhile, a loss could potentially send the season into an ugly tailspin.

After losing 31 straight matchups between 1987 and 2017, Kentucky has won four of their last six against the Gators including three straight. Coach Billy Napier is squarely on the hot seat and another home loss to the Wildcats could put things over the edge. Neither head coach in this matchup should feel super comfortable with their standing right now. However, one is guaranteed to get over .500 and earn a second SEC win. The other will face another week of intense scrutiny from his fanbase. This is a very important, potentially season-saving, swing game for both programs.

As always, we have all of your pregame needs right here on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com for the 7:45 p.m. (Eastern Time) kickoff on SEC Network between the Kentucky Wildcats (3-3, 1-3) and the Florida Gators (3-3, 1-2). If you haven’t already, you have to dive into Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report. That is your in-depth, football-nerd preview. For those in search of a more surface level look at what to expect on Saturday evening, you are in the right place. Let’s dive on in to five things you need to know about the Florida Gators.

Backup Quarterback in the Mix

For the second straight season, Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz is out with an injury. Now, DJ Lagway has officially been handed the keys to the offense. The true freshman was a top five prospect in the Class of 2024. Lagway arrived in Gainesville with extremely high expectations and a lot of hype. He will now get a chance to showcase his skills as QB1 going forward for the Gators.

Lagway gives Florida more of a vertical presence, but the trade-off from Mertz has been efficiency. He is averaging over 10 yards per attempt and completing a very respectable 65.3% of his passes, but has also thrown four interceptions while also being sacked over 5% of the time. The true freshman threw a game-tying touchdown in last weekend’s near upset at Tennessee. However, he also threw an interception. Winning the turnover battle will be paramount to success for the Kentucky defense on Saturday night in The Swamp.

Talented Wide Receivers Help Carry the Passing Attack

True sophomore Eugene Wilson III had seven catches for 50 yards in week one. Then, he went off for six catches, 141 yards, and a touchdown in a week two win over Samford. However, he had to miss three weeks with an injury before returning against Tennessee. The 5’10” speedster had 61 catches for 538 yards and six touchdowns last season as a freshman. He will likely be a go-to target for DJ Lagway now that he is back healthy.

Aside from Wilson III, Elijhah Badger and Chimera Dike are tied with 19 receptions a piece to lead the Florida Gators. Badger is an Arizona State transfer with a team-high 28 targets and 376 receiving yards. He had over 1,500 yards while catching 10 touchdown passes in the last two seasons for the Sun Devils. Dike is a Wisconsin transfer with 353 yards and a pair of scorers this season. He posted just shy of 1,500 yards in 44 games for the Badgers. All three primary receivers have big play ability which will likely be unlocked even more by Lagway at quarterback.

Explosiveness, Lack of Finishing Headline the Gators Offense

There is no denying the early season explosiveness this Florida Gators team has shown. That could potentially grow even further with freshman DJ Lagway at quarterback. Through six games, the Gators’ 9.1 yards per drop back is 10th best in all of college football. They are creating explosive plays through the air on over one-fifth of pass attempts. Under Coach Mark Stoops, Kentucky’s mantra defensively has been “bend, don’t break.” That will certainly be put to the test in Gainesville on Saturday night.

While Florida has had success moving the football and creating big plays, they have struggled to close out drives. That is why they are still just 3-3 on the season. The Gators’ offensive line has allowed a havoc rate of 14.2% which is 121st nationally. That should be music to the ears of Kentucky’s very talented defensive front. Additionally, they are converting only 37.9% of third downs which is 87th in the country. Their red zone conversion rate of 68% isn’t necessarily bad, but it will probably need to be better to break their losing streak against the ‘Cats.

Florida’s Defense Continues to Hold Them Back

It has been a revolving door of defensive coordinators for Coach Billy Napier and the Florida Gators. He is now onto his fourth in four years with Ron Roberts from Auburn calling the plays. The result has been no Top 25 defense since 2019. It appears that this group won’t be any different.

Florida is allowing opponents to convert 41.8% of their third down opportunities which ranks just 86th in college football. Outside of that one statistical category they aren’t truly bad anywhere, but it is hard to find a clear strength. Yards per play (5.32), success rate (40%), yards per drop back (6.54), and yards per rush (4.52) are all very average at best. Most important for Kentucky will be finishing drives. After coming up with zero points in three red zone drives against Vanderbilt, including one that was inside the one-yard line, the ‘Cats must convert on scoring opportunities to win on the road.

Size Up Front Produces Some Havoc

If the Florida Gator’s defense is going to find success against Kentucky it is going to start at the point of attack. A pair of jumbo-sized defensive tackles eat up a lot of room up front to allow for some havoc. The Gators produce a havoc on 12.1% of snaps which is just inside the Top 50 nationally while also producing a pressure rate of 32.2%. Again, it hasn’t necessarily translated to a ton of overall defensive success, but it is at least something for the Big Blue Wall to be cognizant of on Saturday night.

Caleb Banks and Cam Jackson are the two primary names to know along Florida’s defensive line. Those two are true behemoths at 6’6″ 325 pounds and 6’6″ 342 pounds respectively. Meanwhile, Tyreak Sapp and George Gumbs Jr. lead the Gators in pressures and tackles for loss. The attention that Banks and Jackson draw up front certainly helps to open things up for everyone else on the defense. Kentucky must find consistent success on the ground and hit on a couple of timely explosive plays through the air to keep the pass rushers honest. Like many games, this one could ultimately come down to the battle in the trenches.