Kentucky has got to be scared out of its mind.
Sure, the Wildcats are playing Arkansas this Saturday, but the giant monster UF has become looms large in two weeks.
There's no way the Wildcats are not looking past their game this weekend to the Gators. It's impossible to be distracted by a small mound of dirt on the side of the road when a gigantic mountain is emerging on the horizon.
And this isn't just any mountain. The Gators, with one victory, became the best team in the Southeastern Conference again, became the peak of the climb through any team's schedule, became the team everyone expected them to be heading into the season, became the juggernaut nobody wants to face on Saturdays.
One game has never changed the perception of a team's season as much as this one did.
All it took was a gigantic, 30-point victory over the No. 4 team in the nation, a complete blowout on both sides of the ball no one saw coming.
The win was more impressive than Alabama's 41-30 win over Georgia because the Gators didn't fold when the Tigers got back into the game like they did so often in 2007.
A 20-0 lead evaporated into a 20-14 lead in a matter of six minutes of game clock. The UF team we're used to seeing might have collapsed, going three-and-out on the next drive and letting the higher-ranked team take a 21-20 lead.
Instead, the UF team fans have been waiting for finally poked its head out of its shell, going on a season-defining drive to go up 27-14 and never looking back.
"That was a huge drive," quarterback Tim Tebow said. "I think that's a big difference from this year to last year. … I think that's where you see the difference now, is a more mature team, a more poised team."
The offense was stellar for most of the night. Punter Chas Henry only had to shake a leg twice. The Gators put up 50 points on a ranked opponent for the first time since the Tennessee game last year when they scored 59. Percy Harvin caught two touchdown passes in one quarter for the first time in his career. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey averaged 9.3 yards per carry combined.
And then there was the defense, the true heroes of the game. Linebacker Brandon Spikes almost got as much work as Henry punting. He shanked a ball into the fourth row of the stands while celebrating his interception return for a nail-in-the-coffin touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins led the team in tackles and even sacked LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee in the fourth quarter. LSU running back Charles Scott, who came into the night as the No. 7 running back in the country for yards per carry, saw just 35 yards on 12 carries, and 18 of those yards came on the last play of the game.
The one problem the Gators should have for the rest of the year is keeping the sense of urgency that provoked Saturday night's slaughter.
"If you don't play with a chip on your shoulder, you're going to get drilled," UF coach Urban Meyer said. "That's the essence. … If they can keep the chip on their shoulder, you're going to see a fine, fine team."
If they can keep it up?
Kentucky - and the rest of the SEC - might as well raise the white flags now.
