It was a game packed with excitement, but unfortunately, things did not go the Florida Gators’ way in the end as the Kentucky Wildcats defended their home turf in a 20-13 victory on Saturday night. The win keeps UK undefeated on the season while the loss dropped UF to a 3-2 record, which includes a losing 1-2 record in Southeastern Conference play.
Dan Wolken at USA TODAY Sports published his college football misery index notebook on Sunday morning, which predictably included the humbled Orange and Blue. While the urge to place the Gators at the top of the list was present, Wolken ultimately placed them in second behind the flailing Oregon Ducks. Here is his take after Week 5 of college football action.
The Misery Index strongly considered putting the Gators No. 1 in this week’s ranking, but was afraid of getting flagged for a false start. Why not? Florida committed eight such penalties in a 20-13 loss to Kentucky, including two on the final drive after reaching the Wildcats’ 5-yard line. Beyond the inexcusable penalties at awful times, it was another one of those head-scratching games from Dan Mullen where his reputation as a great play-caller loses out to his reputation as a poor game manager.
For instance, Gators fans were livid that Mullen didn’t even try to put a drive together at the end of the first half when they got the ball back with 1:46 remaining and was content to run out the clock. This was also a game where it seemed like Anthony Richardson, the exciting redshirt freshman quarterback, should have gotten more than a handful of touches to try and spark the offense.
Instead, Kentucky beat Florida at home for the first time since 1986 by committing fewer penalties and making big special teams plays — which was enough to win despite being held to 224 yards of offense and 1-for-9 on third down.
So there you have it: Florida’s ability to seize defeat from the jaws of victory made it an appropriate addition to Wolken’s index and even gave a serious challenge for the top spot. Hopefully, the Gators can rebound from this nadir and get back on the winning track ahead of the Georgia game at the end of the month.
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