The Day After Breakdown

QB

First off, Luke Del Rio didn't come in and win the game. Statistically speaking, Feleipe Franks played just as well. However, while Franks has a higher ceiling than Del Rio, for now, LDR might be the better option because he is without question more poised in the pocket, and though Jim McElwain brushed off the suggestion, yes it does look like Florida has an expanded playbook while he was in the game.

C+

RB

Florida rushed for 186 yards against what was supposedly the top run defense in the SEC. It took awhile, but finally Florida's coaching staff saw the light in the second half, making Malik Davis the primary ball carrier and he responded with 93-yards on 21 carries (4.4 avg). Kadarius Toney's 36-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat was one of the biggest plays of the game.

A

WR

Though he is listed as a receiver, Toney's biggest contributions were rushing (36-yard touchdown) and passing (50-yard completion to Tyrie Cleveland). For the most part, Florida's receivers weren't able to find much room to get open against the Wildcats. The greatest gift the Gators received - twice - was Kentucky leaving wide outs uncovered.

C

TE

Other than an incredible play by DeAndre Goolsby to lay out for the yard marker on a third and 8 reception, it was mostly a negative game for the tight ends. The most disappointing aspect being C'Yontai Lewis. In the first two games, though he wasn't making an impact in the passing game, was making some nice blocks. He looked lost out there blocking on Saturday night. This position group, once again overall, is a negative game contribution.

D

OL

They didn't play great, but they still played their best game of the year and they were better in the second half than they were in the first. The Gators ran for almost 200 yards and only gave up one sack.

C

DL

On Friday, in our pregame Staff Roundtable I called out the defensive tackles. Over the first two weeks, Taven Bryan and Khairi Clark have looked average at best, with Clark looking like he may be on the verge of being replaced in the starting lineup. Well, the duo certainly responded on Saturday. They are still a bit hit or miss, but both made a couple of big plays, Bryan especially turned it up during the fourth quarter. Then you have Jabari Zuniga, both good and bad. He had a couple of plays in the backfield, and then in the end committed a dumb penalty that almost cost the Gators the game. Jordan Sherit, Jachai Polite and CeCe Jefferson also had their moments.

B

LB

This is simply not an SEC caliber linebacker position group. Not when healthy, certainly not when they are as banged up as they are right now.

D

SEC

Kentucky doesn't exactly feature a top tier passing attack, but they still had their way more often than not against the Gators. At cornerback, coming off of a week in concussion protocol, Duke Dawson wasn't his usual stellar self, but the freshmen played well overall. It is at safety where Florida has some serious issues. After coming on late last season, Nick Washington has regressed in 2017. Chauncey Gardner simply has no business playing safety for an SEC team.

C

ST

By averaging over 52 yards per punt, including three punts over 50 yards, it appeared as though Johnny Townsend actually out kicked his coverage more often than not, which resulted in Kentucky averaging 29 yards per punt return. Florida on the other hand averaged by five yards per return. Eddy Pineiro didn't attempt a FG and put four of his five kickoffs in the endzone. A big blunder though was kicking the game opening kickoff out of bounds. Once again, there was no return game for Florida to speak of. With all the athletes Florida has, that has to change.

C

Coaching

As bad as Florida's coaching has been, at least they aren't Kentucky. How in the world do you allow a receiver to go completely uncovered for touchdowns twice in one game. The good news for Florida fans is that it happened, the bad news being that had it now, the Gators would have lost. Again, this week, Florida's clock management can be called into question. When CeCe Jefferson sacked Stephen Johnson on third down, there were 55 seconds left in the half and Florida had two timeouts. If they had used a TO there, after the missed FG attempt the Gators would have had the ball on the 30 with 50 seconds and a TO remaining. If you have a kicker that you say you trust from 58-60 yards, why not try to steal a score to end the half in a tied game?

F