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By: LARRY VAUGHT
So much for the streak-busting.
For the 29th straight year, Kentucky lost to Florida. The Wildcats had plenty of chances to pull the mild upset to end the streak but lost 14-9.
Florida had just 245 yards of total offense and was 2 of 11 on third-down conversions. One of the Florida touchdowns was set up by an intercpetion after UK’s Dorian Baker had dropped a pass in the end zone that would have given UK the early lead.
Maybe that was just a sign of what was to come from the offense because UK managed just 241 yards and now has gone six quarters without a score. Quarterback Patrick Towles was 8-for-24 for 126 yards and was sacked six times for losses of 50 yards.
“We never got in any rhythm or sync offensively and they (Florida) had a lot to do with it,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “We put ourselves in the hole and didn’t make plays when we had to.”
Stoops said Baker’s drop on UK’s first possession was “critical and a huge swing” in the game.
“We never gave our fans a chance to get into the game. It was a great environment leading up to the game and seeing the stadium filled was incredible. That would have been a great start,” Stoops said.
He said he was pleased with the defensive effort but that there were still key mistakes.
“The numbers might look good, but we still lost,” linebacker Josh Forrest, who had eight tackles, said. “All that matters is winning and we did not win.”
Towles was not sharp at times, but he also often had almost no protection. Stoops noted that Towles overthrew a pass on 3rd-and-goal at the 5-yard line and also missed Baker on UK’s final drive when he did not put the “ball in his chest” when he was open.
However, he was not ready to abandon his quarterback and go to backup Drew Barker like many UK fans are already pleading for him to do.
“Patrick has done some very good things. I don’t want to throw him under the bus. It’s not all on Patrick. There is plenty to go around. He would be the first to tell you that we have to improve,” Stoops said.
Towles said just that, too. However, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said blame him, not Towles.
“I did not do a very good job calling plays and putting us in the right positions,” Dawson said. “That’s a good defense we played and I just didn’t do very well.”
Why not?
“We all have bad nights. That’s all I can say,” Dawson said.
For Kentucky football fans, that’s all they have been saying for 29 years after playing Florida.
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