By Hays Carlyon
GAINESVILLE – Well, it was a fun season for a week.
Now, the reality has set in.
The Gators might’ve upset Utah last week, but there remains a ton of work to do for first-year coach Billy Napier.
He needs players. Everywhere.
He also needs to learn to punt.
Kentucky turned a 16-7 deficit into a 26-16 win over the Gators in The Swamp on Saturday night in front of 89,993 fans.
Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson turned in a miserable performance after looking like a phenom in the win over Utah. Richardson completed a ghastly 14 of 35 passes for 143 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. One was returned for a touchdown. The other gave the Wildcats the ball at the Florida 6-yard line. He also managed just 4 yards rushing on six carries.
The Wildcats always had a spy on Richardson and never seemed to give him the running lanes by playing man that Utah did. It appeared Kentucky coach Mark Stoops stayed in zone and Richardson never had room. His confidence shrunk as the game progressed.
Napier never could find the right formula for his putrid offense. He then went super aggressive going for it on fourth down deep in his territory twice. Neither worked.
The second gave Kentucky a field goal that put the game away.
The real trouble for the Gators is what’s coming. Georgia awaits, as does Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU and Florida State.
In a week, the Gators went from unranked to 12th.
Now, they will be wondering if they’ll be headed to a bowl game.
That’s the fickle nature of September in college football.
Napier has a mountain of work ahead of him to keep this season afloat and to build Florida’s roster back to where having to worry about losing three of five to the Wildcats isn’t a concern.
(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon).