Cats frustrated by Florida pass rush

The Wildcats had come into the game with a lot of confidence after a 26-22 road win at South Carolina, but the Gator defense forced them to settle for a trio of Austin MacGinnis field goals. And he got things going early with a 53-yard interception return leading to Grier’s 1-yard run.

The Gators held Kentucky’s Patrick Towles to 8-of-24 passing for 126 yards and allowed United Kingdom just 115 yards rushing behind those half a dozen sacks.

Quarterbacks Will Grier and Treon Harris have each started a game, playing well under center for Florida, and McElwain is expected to use both again.

The Wildcats’ takeaway from their 28th straight loss to the Gators was a belief they could compete, and the goal now is carrying that confidence into finally ending the streak. That this is all the “wussification” of America, that we’re being too soft, that this is why kids don’t grow up to be responsible adults.

Momentum swung in the second half when Grier threw an end zone interception midway through the third quarter.

Near full strength for the first time all season, the Gators defense – self-proclaimed the Best Defense in the Nation, or #BDN – spearheaded its 14-9 victory with a commanding performance. One of the wins involved Tim Tebow’s only significant injury as a Florida player.

Two weeks into the 2015 college football season, the Florida Gators are off to a 2-0 start under Jim McElwain. The production level should improve in the final two quarters with the balance the offense has shown, led by running back Stanley “Boom” Williams (242 yards, 10.1 per carry). I strongly suspect we’re having a completely different conversation today, and maybe we’re not so concerned about UK’s awful play on the offensive line and the anemic eight passes Towles completed in 24 attempts.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said “I think it is another step in the right direction”.

“If a guy’s hitting it and distributing it and has a good stroke, then we’ll go with it”, the coach said in a press conference Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

Senior offensive guard Trip Thurman said he had no problem with McElwain’s sideline explosion. He gained 80 yards on 16 carries. After forcing a three-and-out, they would get another field goal on the next drive to make it 14-9.

The Wildcats, who scored 30 points and had 450 yards of offense against the Gators previous year, were kept out of the end zone and had only 241 total yards. “I’ve got to make sure that, whatever it is, we can’t hurt ourselves”. Defensively, Florida yields 237.0 yards in passing and 29.5 yards in rushing.

But beating Florida would at least keep United Kingdom in the SEC East discussion, and would signal that the youngest of the Stoops brothers is building a program on the rise.