When Florida took to the field for its Southeastern Conference opener against Kentucky on Saturday, it looked nothing like the team that showed up against Eastern Michigan one week earlier.
The Gators (2-0, 1-0 SEC) may have squeezed out a 36-30, triple-overtime win against the Wildcats (2-1, 0-1 SEC) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but UF coach Will Muschamp knows the Gators can’t get caught up in the hysteria of the victory.
Inconsistencies riddled Florida throughout the game, making it difficult for the fourth-year coach to relish the win.
"I don’t really feel relief after games," Muschamp said. "I just look at it from the technical standpoint that we’ve got to clean some things up in the back end and our guys fought."
In the first half, it seemed as if the Gators regressed back to their 2013 form.
Five of Florida’s seven drives before halftime resulted in punts and one finished in an interception — quarterback Jeff Driskel’s first of the year — resulting in just three points through 30 minutes of play.
Dropped balls were abundant and deep passes missed the mark as Driskel skidded to a 35-percent completion rate and just 116 passing yards — 107 of which went to sophomore wide receiver Demarcus Robinson.
"We had a couple shots down the field where we maxed the protection … but we threw out of bounds," Muschamp said. "I think Demarcus would’ve brought it in if we had given him the chance. ... We were just a little off on some of the deep balls down the field. You hit a couple of those balls, it changes how they play, but we didn’t hit those balls."
The young Florida secondary failed to cover when it mattered and saw more than its fair share of interception opportunities fall right out of its hands with some having costly repercussions.
With just under six minutes to play in the third quarter, Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles — under pressure by Florida’s Dante Fowler Jr. — attempted a pass in the direction of wide receiver Blake Bone that went in and out of cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III’s control.
One play later, Towles found backup wide receiver Garrett Johnson deep for a 60-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats their first lead over the Gators in a game since Oct. 20, 2007.
"Defensively, you know, we’ve just got to cover better," Muschamp said. "Bottom line. That’s my responsibility, and we’ll improve on it. … When you play a team that’s gonna be willing to throw the ball vertically that much, there’s going to be some 50-50 balls. We need to play the ball better, which we didn’t and that was very frustrating."
In the second half altogether, Florida allowed Kentucky to go 5 for 7 on third down and average 9.7 yards on that down in the process.
Towles finished with 369 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions — a number that could have been higher if any of Florida’s 14 pass breakups didn’t hit the ground.
But the Gators took positives away from the game as well.
The offense rallied in the second half, scoring on three straight drives to start the third quarter.
Robinson showed that he’s a playmaker on offense, catching a school-record-tying 15 catches for 216 yards, a number that ranks fourth in program history.
No other Florida receiver had more than two catches against Kentucky on Saturday.
Matt Jones separated himself from Florida’s deep pack of running backs, tallying 156 yards on a career-high 29 carries and punching in the game-winning touchdown in the third overtime period four hours and eight minutes after play began.
On Florida’s three overtime drives, Jones carried the ball eight times for 45 yards, including the one-yard scamper up the middle to seal the game.
"We’re explosive enough offensively to go make some plays," Muschamp said. "And quite frankly as we moved forward in the season last year, we weren’t. As a competitor, you don’t ever want to admit something like that, but it’s hard not to at times when you struggle to make 10 points."
Safety Keanu Neal forced two interceptions — the first coming off a tipped pass by fellow safety Jabari Gorman, the second giving the Gators the ball back with 22 seconds left in regulation in a tie game.
The interceptions were the first of Neal’s career and helped the Gators bring their season turnover margin to +7 — second in the country only to Notre Dame (+8).
"There were a lot of things that I messed up on," Neal said, "but those interceptions just show what putting your mind back into things will do."
Florida now shifts its attention to its first road test of the season, a trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face No. 3 Alabama (3-0).
UF knows the mistakes it needs to correct. Now it needs to correct them.
"I think we’ve got a mentally strong team," Driskel said. "You didn’t see guys hanging their heads on the sidelines. You saw guys that were competing and knowing that at the end of the game, we’ve got the players to make the plays and the coaches that were going to get us in the right situation. That was good experience for us. We know kind of how overtime works now."
Not every win will be easy.
The Gators learned that on Saturday.
"It’s a very adverse game," Muschamp said. "There’s going to be games like that when you play in our conference, and you’ve got to find ways to win those games and our guys found a way to win."
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Demarcus Robinson (11) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown in Florida's 36-30 triple-overtime win against Kentucky on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
