Takeaways From Florida's 26-16 Collapse Against Kentucky

What we learned from Florida's 26-16 loss to Kentucky in Week 2.

Photo: Billy Napier; Credit: Alex Shepherd

The No. 12 Florida Gators were yanked off the pedestal they were placed on following last week's upset victory over formerly No. 7 Utah on Saturday night, dropping their first conference matchup of the year in a 26-16 home loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in Week 2.

You can find All Gators' takeaways from the defeat below.

Anthony Richardson comes back to Earth with two-interception showing

Anthony Richardson's Heisman Trophy candidacy hype train came to a screeching halt just one week after it picked up significant speed. 

His three-touchdown showing in Week 1's win over Utah was the primary reason why Florida shot up the rankings and made believers in the Gators nationwide. But his 40% completion percentage, two back-breaking interceptions (including a pick-six) and lack of rushing production against Kentucky have quickly turned believers into doubters. 

Richardson made a few great passes to begin the game, including a 16-yard strike to Justin Shorter, a roll-out dart to Xzavier Henderson at the sideline for 28 yards, and a seam shot to Ricky Pearsall for 24 yards on separate drives throughout the first quarter. Each drive stalled from there, though, resulting in a combined three points and Richardson going a combined 0-of-6 passing to finish those series.

He didn't seem to change his approach after those aggressive tosses, continuing to try to squeeze in bigger throws with power rather than taking what the Wildcats' defense gave him and passing with touch. This led to plenty of inaccurate misses and, ultimately, Richardson losing confidence in himself.

"I was pretty good to start the game off, but I missed a lot of different throws and my confidence got shot," Richardson said post-game. "It affected my receivers poorly, missing them wide open so I know their confidence probably went down as well."

It seemed as though Richardson lost head coach Billy Napier's trust as the night went on, too. It first became apparent when the Gators, up three points with Kentucky set to receive the ball to open the second half, ran out the clock on their final drive before halftime, which began with 1:21 left in the second quarter. Granted, UF was out of timeouts but could have at least tried to push into field goal range.

And later, despite a missed Wildcats field goal that held their lead at seven points with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter, Napier didn't allow Richardson to try pushing the ball downfield on the Gators' second to last drive. Rushes were called on first and third down with a short pass to Henderson for four yards in between those snaps, and UF ended up punting after a three-and-out.

The situation felt eerily similar to Florida's loss to Kentucky last year, when quarterback Emory Jones couldn't get into a groove and former head coach Dan Mullen clearly lacked the confidence in his signal-caller necessary to aggressively call plays.

Through two games, Richardson turned from a Heisman hopeful into an enigma. Flordia and its faithful are hoping he can shake the showing off and rebound next Saturday against USF.

Florida's pass rush improves significantly

After not posting a sack against Utah, Florida put Kentucky quarterback Will Levis in the dirt three times on Saturday and added consistent pressure throughout the matchup, credited with seven quarterback hurries.

It's worth noting, though, that most of this production came in the first half. Levis was productive with a 10-of-15 clip for 155 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the first 30 minutes due to some leaks in coverage, but UF's pass rush paired with UK's lack of a rushing game held the Wildcats to just one organic scoring drive in the first half. 

Their second first-half touchdown was the result of Richardson's first interception, which set Kentucky up six yards from the goal line.

Opportunities to get after Levis became limited in the second half, however, as he only threw nine passes in the third and fourth quarters combined. Kentucky's rushing game began to find some life as UF's defense was getting worn down, and the Wildcats simply began to control the tempo. 

Still, it was promising to see the unit limit Levis' ability to move Kentucky down the field thanks to the pressure created. Players from all three levels of Florida's defense were able to put him in the dirt, with defensive end Gervon Dexter and safety Trey Dean III splitting the first sack, defensive end Justus Boone posting the second and outside linebacker Amari Burney tallying the third.

Two starters exit with injuries

The Gators lost a starter on both sides of the ball amid the loss, as right tackle Michael Tarquin went down with an injury in the first half and linebacker Ventrell Miller went to the locker room in the fourth quarter. 

Redshirt freshman Austin Barber filled in for Tarquin at right tackle, while redshirt freshman Jeremiah Williams saw his role increase at inside linebacker alongside Burney and true freshman Shemar James in place of Miller.

Both the Gators' offensive line and linebacker units clearly missed the starters, though. Kentucky was able to increase its pressure on Richardson and limit his ability to run, while UF's run defense became a sore spot with 107 second-half yards allowed including 57 on 12 attempts in the fourth quarter, giving the Wildcats control over the game clock.

Napier shared after the game that both contributors are dealing with lower leg injuries and that more information will be available during Week 3.

Additionally, starting left guard Ethan White saw his playing time cut on Saturday, but it wasn't due to injury according to Napier, who said the junior lineman is "fine" after the game. Sophomore Richie Leonard IV subbed in at left guard on two separate occasions and was on the field for a significant stretch of reps each time, once in the first half before subbing in again early in the second half.

Adam Mihalek proves himself as Florida's starting placekicker

The Gators have listed redshirt freshman and walk-on Adam Mihalek and true freshman Trey Smack as co-first-teamers on kickoffs and at placekicker for the first two weeks of the season. If the Kentucky game is any indication, the "or" between the two at placekicker is likely to disappear this week following Mihalek's breakout performance.

Mihalek nailed his first two career field goal attempts, from 39 and 50 yards out in the first half. He's up to 3-of-3 on extra point attempts this season, too.

His contributions at the end of drives in which Florida's offense, such as his 50-yarder after a 40-yard rush by Montrell Johnson and three plays that combined for two yards to follow, stalled are a large reason why UF remained in the game as it lingered on.

As first witnessed during the spring, Mihalek's kicking power doesn't typically translate to kickoffs, so we could see Smack eventually get a chance in that respect this season. But, unless Mihalek takes a big step back, he did enough in Week 2 to maintain placekicking responsibilities moving forward.

Expectations shift once again for Napier's first season in charge

The Gators made a meteoric jump from unranked to No. 12 on the AP Top 25 following their upset victory over Utah last week, forcing everyone to adjust their expectations and respect Florida's potential to contend in big games moving forward.

After the humbling loss to Kentucky, expectations are shifting for Florida once again and questions are beginning to arise. Were the Gators overrated this week? How far will they fall in the polls? Is UF's first road test against Tennessee in Week 4 a winnable game? Do they have any fighting chance in the SEC East anymore with a loss to Kentucky under their belt?

Some of these questions are easier to answer right now than others, but they all point toward a much-needed slap of reality to the faces of Florida fans and likely the team.

In actuality, the Gators simply weren't ready to become the nation's darlings this year. How could they have been after such a turbulent offseason, featuring a coaching change, a culture being torn down and rebuilt, and roster turnover that led to 34 new players across the board?

Napier has said since day one that the Gators' roster has holes and that inexperienced players will be depended on in 2022. That statement rings true through two games, not nearly enough time for youthful contributors to become fully comfortable in expanded roles — this thinking can apply to Richardson, who made just his third career start on Saturday. 

It was never going to be an overnight fix. 

Perhaps fans should embrace that mentality now. Sure, Florida could iron out some issues and pull out some impressive wins over its next ten games. But the idea of Florida being a legitimate threat that came from Week 1 reactions was just too good to be true.

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