After suffering just their second loss of the season this past weekend on the road at Tennessee, the Kentucky Wildcats now control their own destiny at 7-2 on the season with three games remaining, and each one will determine their playoff fate. Up next are the Florida Gators, who are coming in 5-4 and 3-4 in the SEC.
The Gators began the year surging into the top 10 after defeating Ole Miss, but have since then shown inconsistency, which is why they are now out of the top 25. Since that win over the Rebels, Florida has picked up a big win over Texas, but are coming off blowout losses to Georgia and Oklahoma. Their other two losses on the season were against Missouri and South Carolina. With that, let’s look at three things you need to know about Jon Sumrall’s Gators.
RB Jadan Baugh is the star on offense
When you look at Florida’s offense, there is one clear leader in terms of production and that is running back Jadan Baugh, who is one of the best in the country. On the season, Baugh has 130 carries for 836 yards and 14 touchdowns. Baugh ranks 6th in the country in rushing touchdowns and 16th in rushing yards. In his first four games of the season, Baugh had splits of 160-136-162-142 yards on the ground, as well as rushing for three touchdowns in three of those games. He’s going to be a handful to deal with and honestly, there’s not much you can really do to stop a guy of that caliber. What they can do is try and limit the explosive plays, which hurt them against Tennessee.
Defense has faced issues all season
This is one area Kentucky needs to exploit. After not putting up a single touchdown against Tennessee, this is a game that the Wildcats can use to bounce back and that’s all due to Florida’s issues on defense. Outside of rushing defense, which still ranks 60th nationally, the Gators have some issues, especially in the pass game and on the scoreboard. They are 99th in scoring defense, ranking 14th in the SEC, and are also just 134th in third down defense. Last week, Florida allowed an Oklahoma offense that has been very inconsistent go on to have their best game of the season, putting up 23 points, as well as allowing 38 points to South Carolina a few weeks before.
Florida has gone back-and-forth at QB
This has played a part in their inconsistency, but Florida has gone back-and-forth at QB. The Gators decided to bench Aaron Philo six games into the season when he struggled in their 38-19 loss against South Carolina. Since then, Tramell Jones Jr. has been the guy, but now, the Gators are switching back to Philo. I’m not sure if this is a good thing to do be seemingly undecided about your QB this late in the season, but nonetheless, Florida is doing it and going back to the original starter. Florida was able to get wins over Auburn and then #4 Ole Miss with Philo under center, but he’ll be knocking off the rust in Kroger Field after a three-game absence.
Overall, Kentucky needs to have a much better showing on offense, or they could be in trouble against a Florida team with a running back that loves to find the endzone.
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