Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch Are Coming — And That Tends To Fall In Florida Gators Favor
Updated: Nov 27, 2020
It seems it wasn’t long ago that Florida maintained a 31-game win streak over the Kentucky Wildcats. It also wasn’t long ago that Kyle Trask was an unheard of three-star backup quarterback from the Lone Star State.
But Lexington’s own Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch would change all of that in 2018 and 2019.
In Dan Mullen’s inaugural season as Florida’s head coach, his first SEC East matchup would come with some pressure. But nothing that all of his predecessors didn’t face in the years before him.
Galen Hall, Gary Darnell, Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook, Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain all helped build a 31-year legacy of beating up on the Wildcats, which made for one of the longest head-to-head winning streaks in college football.
When the Wildcats came into The Swamp in 2018, there was still a lot of excitement in Gainesville surrounding Florida football’s new hire. But on the back of quarterback Terry Wilson and running back Benny Snell Jr. the Wildcats stunned the Gators at home, giving Mullen his first loss back in Gainesville.
But, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d say Gators fans should look back at that loss and be thankful that it unfolded the way that it did.
“We come out and we have a tough loss to Kentucky early,” Mullen told the “Herbstreit and Fitzsimmons” podcast following the loss. “I don’t know if they knew how to react to that or they thought, ‘OK, we lost to Kentucky. What’s going on?’.”
That “what’s going on?” question was a sentiment that was shared across the fanbase.
But according to Mullen, the shocking loss to the ‘Cats sent waves through the football building.
“All of a sudden, then they start realizing, ‘I understand now why you’re on us about every day, every detail of practice and the strain and the effort in which we have to play with.’,” Mullen attested. “All of a sudden they start practicing better, harder, the effort increases. And our performance increases.
“These guys, when you can show them the gains they’re making, the improvements they’re making… it helps them buy into what we’re doing in the future.”
Florida would go on to win five straight following the loss to Kentucky in 2018 – including Mullen’s first signature win back in Gainesville when the No. 7-ranked Gators knocked off the No. 6-ranked LSU Tigers on Florida Field.
Seems like there was some truth to Mullen’s offered assurance following the Kentucky loss in 2018.
But when the Gators found themselves reeling at Kentucky again in 2019, it seemed as though Mark Stoops would be the face of father-figure internet memes depicting Dan Mullen as a diaper-clad infant.
Of course the entire world knows what happened next.
Down 21-10 in the third quarter, Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks, who had completed 12 of his 17 passes for 174 yards with a touchdown and interception, was rolled up on in the bottom of a dogpile.
The last time the world saw Franks in dressed in Orange and Blue was as he disappeared into the tunnel at Kroger Field on the back of an injury cart, clutching a towel to his face.
It also made for the first time the world saw Kyle Trask – well, saw Kyle Trask and paid attention, anyways.
Though no one, especially myself, who always rooted for Franks, wanted to see the Florida quarterback to go down in the way that he did, if not for his season-ending ankle injury, the world would have never been graced with the story of Kyle Trask.
Everyone has their own way of telling the story of the high school backup who never started a game in high school, accepted an offer to play SEC football at Florida as a three-star and who now is leading the 2020 Heisman race.
And now that story has an opportunity to come full circle.
The Gators have already successfully cleared the hurdle of beating the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville to sit in the drivers’ seat of the SEC East. It was the key to Pandora’s Box, if you will.
And with a divisional title, Florida’s road to Atlanta to square off against the Crimson Tide for the SEC Championship seems to be paving itself.
From here on out, it’s one step in front of the other for the Gators.
And a visit from the Wildcats is the next step for Mullen, Trask and the No. 6-ranked Florida football program. And if the last two years are any indication, the Gators know it won’t come easy.
“I think they had a tough game last week, but that was out of the norm of how that game played out for them,” Mullen said of Kentucky. “Even if you look at it, in the second quarter, they were driving in for a field goal to make it 7-6 in the middle of the second quarter. Then they snap the ball – some weird things started happening for them, and the game got away from them. But you look at them, very good defensive team, stout up front. One of the best pass defenses in the conference. Then they complement playing ball control football. Their physicality and how they’re able to run to the ball. For us, always, you know you’re always going to get their best when they come play the Gators.”
Referring to Kentucky as “Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch” isn’t that far-fetched when looking at how odd the last two Florida-Kentucky matchups have been.
And Saturday is bound to bring a lot of the same as Stoops admitted on Wednesday that the Wildcats could be missing as many as 18 roster members due to Covid-19 and other injuries.
But if one thing is for certain, no matter what happens on Saturday, Mullen and the Gators tend to find the silver lining when playing Kentucky.
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