Pass rush lacking and what else Florida fooball learned from blowout loss at Kentucky
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LEXINGTON, Ky. − Florida football will look to push forward after a humiliating 38-7 loss to Kentucky that put a severe dent in its bowl hopes.
The Florida Gators (3-6, 2-4 SEC) need to win out, beginning on Nov. 15 at No. 7 Ole Miss (7 p.m., ESPN) to reach a bowl for a second straight season. After Ole Miss, Florida closes the season with back-to-back games at The Swamp with No. 22 Tennessee (Nov. 22) and rival Florida State (Nov. 29).
"We're not going to point the finger at each other," Florida linebacker Myles Graham said. "We're not going to deflate. We're still going to come out and try to play our ball, but that wasn't acceptable. That wasn't up to our standard."
Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC) outgained Florida 401-257, The Gators were unable to overcome four first-half turnovers, at UF dropped to 0-2 under interim coach Billy Gonzales. The Wildcats finished the game 8-for-12 on third down conversions and 2-for-3 on fourth down conversions.
"If you don’t take care of the ball, you’re not going to win the game," Gonzales said. "So, we did a poor job taking care of the ball. They did a really good job rushing the ball, and obviously we didn’t get off the field on third down, they didn’t punt at all. So, like I said I’ll take the blame for everything.”
Here's three things Florida football learned following its loss to the Wildcats:
Florida football's pass rush remains inconsistent
After recording seven sacks against Mississippi State, Florida has recorded just three sacks over its last two games.
Florida had just one sack and one quarterback hurry facing Kentucky freshman quarterback Cutter Boley., With time to throw, Boley diced up Florida's secondary, completing 18 of 23 passes for 163 yards and 2 TDs.
"Definitely not enough pressure, man," Graham said. "You can be accurate when there's no pressure on you. Just mental busts on defense, guys not being where they need to be. We just didn't do our job."
Florida junior defensive end Kamran James recorded UF's lone tack to increase his total to 3.5 for the season.
Florida football QB DJ Lagway struggling with depleted WR corps
Lagway was benched for the first time in his UF career after completing 11 of 19 passes for 83 yards in the first half with one TD and three interceptions.
But Lagway isn't entirely to blame for UF's pass game struggles. Florida was down two starters, with Eugene Wilson III (sprained ankle) and Dallas Wilson (broken foot). Florida redshirt freshman receiver Tank Hawkins opted out before the Kentucky, adding to UF's lack of depth at the position group.
Freshman wide receiver Vernell Brown III returned to action after being limited in practice with a shoulder sprain and caught just one of eight targets for 22 yards. J, Michael Sturdivant had been the lone UF receiver to stay healthy all season but the UCLA transfer hasn't provided the kind of impact the Gators were hoping for. Sturdivant had three catches for 29 yards against Kentucky and hasn't caught a TD pass since Week 1 against Long Island University.
Florida football RB Jadan Baugh making case for team MVP honors
Even facing a Kentucky defense stacked up to stop him, the 6-foot-1, 231-pound Baugh gutted out 64 yards on 17 carries and scored UF's lone TD on a 10-yard catch.
Baugh has rushed for 747 yards with five rushing TDs and one receiving TD on the season and is vying to become UF's first 1,000-yard rusher since Kelvin Taylor in 2015.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Three things Florida football learned from Kentucky loss
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