Florida’s football players know about streaks. Last year, they entered a game at Tennessee having won 11 straight over the Volunteers. Former Gators cornerback Quincy Wilson announced he had a message for UT ahead of that game when he asked whether a duck could pull a truck, the point being that ducks don’t pull trucks, and Tennessee doesn’t beat Florida. That’s just the way it is. Or at least the way it was.
“It means everything,” he added of the streak over Tennessee. “We can’t give up that streak. We’re definitely going in and giving it all we’ve got.”
As it turned out, a duck could, in fact, pull a truck, and the Gators fell to the Volunteers. So heading into a clash with Kentucky on Saturday having won 30 straight over the Wildcats, no Florida players did any trash talking about ducks and trucks or any other varieties of birds and vehicles this week. Some said they weren’t even aware of the streak.
One was wideout Freddie Swain, who said he'd never heard of the streak when it was brought up by reporters on Tuesday.
Regardless, Swain recognizes the game’s importance for No. 20 Florida, and so does coach Jim McElwain. Unlike last year’s loss to Tennessee, losing to Kentucky would put Florida at two losses and likely sink any championship aspirations before they leave the harbor. But McElwain also said a win over the Wildcats would put Florida in the driver’s seat in the SEC East.
“Now, what does the driver’s seat mean?” McElwain asked. “It means you’ve got to go win the next one.”
That’s getting a little too far ahead, but it speaks to the importance of this game for this season. Nevertheless, leading up to the game, the streak has been the focus.
Greg Nord, UF’s special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, was a coach at Kentucky the last time UK beat UF — the year was 1986 — and played for the school before that.
“I don’t know if I had any kids yet or not,” he said of that victory, “and (now) I’ve got grandkids. So it’s been a long time … there haven’t been a lot of happy Wildcats when the Gators come into town.”
So far, though, Kentucky has been a sexy pick to win the game and break the streak. The Wildcats boast an SEC-best run defense, they’re 3-0 and their home stadium — Kroger Field — sold out for the first time in two years.
Florida players, however, say they don't care.
“We treat every game as the most important game of the season,” safety Nick Washington said.
“We take every game one-by-one,” defensive lineman Luke Ancrum said.
“We’re focusing on staying locked in,” linebacker Jeremiah Moon said.
Last year before playing Tennessee, some UF players felt the same about the streak over the Volunteers as Washington, Ancrum and Moon did. But after the game, their disappointment in losing it was obvious.
“It’s been 11 years since we’ve lost to them,” then-linebacker Alex Anzalone said after the game, “and to be the team that lost this game really hurts. But we know we have a really long season ahead of us. No national championship team at UF has ever went undefeated, so this is a time that we can really just come together and be better as a team.”
That last part doesn’t apply in this case, because no UF team has ever lost two games and won a national championship either. So aside from the streak being on the line, this time the team’s postseason hopes likely are as well.
That’s not ideal, because McElwain’s record in true road games in his three-plus seasons at Florida is 5-4. His record at home is 12-1. But despite those numbers, he said he loves road games, and whether there’s a streak, conference standing or title aspirations at stake, he expects that road record to improve on Saturday.
“I don’t know how you can’t love it,” he said of opposing fans hissing and jeering, “and I don’t know how you don’t play better on the road.”
You can follow Ethan Bauer on Twitter @ebaueri, and contact him at ebauer@alligator.org.
The last time Kentucky beat Florida was in 1986. UF players, however, say they don't care. “We treat every game as the most important game of the season,” safety Nick Washington said.
