KYLE CURTIS: Stoops and Levis Used Motivation To Surge For The Win in The Swamp

“Who's soft now?” Stoops screamed at his players following the victory in The Swamp

When Richardson dropped back, he often overthrew. (Chris Spears Photo)

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By KYLE CURTIS

GatorBaitMedia.com

While many things went poorly for the Gators on Saturday night on the offensive side of things, Kentucky’s defense showed up. There was a bit of prior motivation for not only the Wildcats’ defense but the whole team leading up to the game.

On the Paul Finebaum show earlier in the week Roman Harper, a former NFL safety, predicted that not only Florida would beat Kentucky but also took a shot at Mark Stoops’ ball club.

“Use me as ammo, if you need it, I’m feeding it to you right now, Kentucky Wildcats,” Harper said. “But if you want to win this game, you’ve got to stop Florida up front. Kentucky looked a little softer, I hate using the word softer, but they were not as physical running the football.”

Kentucky used it as ammo.

The Florida offense could not find any rhythm all night and made Anthony Richardson look like he did not belong on the field, later proclaiming his performance as "terrible.' Kentucky's defense imposed its will on the Gators, both schematically and physically. After the game, Mark Stoops addressed the “soft” comments made in the locker room.

“Who's soft now?” Stoops screamed at his players following the victory in The Swamp.

Nonetheless, this Florida offense did not look like the same team from just a week ago. Richardson, who catapulted himself into the Heisman conversation following last week’s performance, but just as quickly lost momentum after last week. Richardson never seemed comfortable all night, overthrowing open receivers or just flat-out making the wrong read.

After a bad snap by Kentucky on a punt resulting in a safety, the momentum seemed to be in the Gators' favor. Richardson turned the ball over on an errant throw resulting in Kentucky snatching the momentum right back.

As frustrating a game as it was for Gator fans, Florida had every chance to get back in this game. Even Coach Billy Napier noted of the missed opportunities that it was a "tribute to the team that had a chance" at the end.

“I take full responsibility for the loss,” Richardson said. “I feel like I let everybody down, especially the defense. I played terrible… I didn’t do anything to help my team… I got to play better for them and the University.”

While Richardson and the rest of the Gator’s offense struggled to find a rhythm, there were still a few bright spots. (Chris Spears Photo)

Brenton Cox along with Gervon Dexter wreaked havoc for Kentucky all night for the Gators' front seven. Cox and Dexter teamed up to make Will Levis’ night as miserable as they could constantly finding themselves in the backfield. Without the defense’s performance, the game would not have come down to the final few drives.

Additionally, along with a strong performance from Patrick Toney and his defense, the lone bright spot from the offense was Trevor Etienne. The true freshman cemented his role in this Florida’s backfield as he was gaining chunk yardage all night making the first guy miss. Etienne scored his first touchdown in the orange and blue along with converting a two-point conversion. Etienne is turning into a star.

The Gators are now ranked 18th in the AP Poll, dropping six spots from last week’s position. Florida will host USF Saturday and look to get back on track.