LEXINGTON, Ky. — Florida’s offense wasn’t perfect Saturday, but it didn’t need to be.
UF’s defense took the onus upon itself to keep Kentucky from ending the longest winning streak in the country.
Quincy Wilson intercepted Wildcats quarterback Patrick Towles on a desperation heave in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter and the Gators hung on to win 14-9 on Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, extending the nation’s longest win streak to 29 consecutive games.
Quarterback Will Grier, named the starter on Thursday and making his first road and Southeastern Conference start, went wire-to-wire for the Gators, receiving every snap while displaying deceptive athleticism and playmaking ability to keep drives alive.
“I thought he did some good things with his feet,” coach Jim McElwain said of Grier, who rushed 12 times for 69 yards and a touchdown.
“But that might have gotten him into some trouble as well by not staying in the pocket and letting the play develop.”
On Kentucky’s first offensive series, Towles had the Wildcats’ offense moving efficiently in Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC) territory and threatening to score.
Vernon Hargreaves III had other plans.
Towles’ pass was tipped at the line into the cornerback’s hands, and Hargreaves sprinted 53 yards down the field to get the Gators in scoring position.
Grier, who finished the game 13-for-22 for 125 yards, took the ball on 4th and 1, rolled out right and dove into the end zone to put Florida in the driver’s seat for good.
“When you see your quarterback laying out for stuff like that, putting his body on the line, it really gives you a little spark that you might not see is there,” redshirt senior tight end Jake McGee said. “It’s something that gives you that extra motivation to keep going.”
A 3-yard touchdown by junior Kelvin Taylor gave Florida took a 14-3 lead, and the momentum, going into the half.
But Kentucky (2-1, 1-1 SEC) refused to go away, and the Gators repeatedly made mistakes to keep the Wildcats in the game until the final whistle had blown.
After UK’s first two drives of the second half ended in punts, Grier marched the Gators down the field to Kentucky’s 5-yard line.
But a lob in the endzone intended for McGee was underthrown and intercepted by the Wildcats’ J.D. Harmon, keeping Kentucky’s upset hopes alive.
“(Harmon) got up and jumped pretty high for it, with a inch higher it gets over but it’s a bummer,” McGee said. “He made a good play, but we gotta try to punch through some points though.”
In the end, the Gators wouldn’t need the extra points, but that’s a credit to the formidable play of the defense, which had six sacks and 10 tackles for loss to go along with the pair of interceptions.
With Florida clutching an 8-point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats drove all the way down to UF’s 21-yard line and looked poised to score.
But Kentucky would settle for just a field goal after a crucial sack by redshirt junior defensive end Alex McCalister stopped the Wildcats in their tracks.
“This is (Alex’s) game, passing and spreading. I told him ‘It’s your game, you missed one, you have to catch up to me on sacks’,” senior defensive end Jon Bullard said. “We kind of went back and forth the whole night. I had one, he got one, he got another one, he came and talked to me, I told him I was going to catch up.”
Junior Kelvin Taylor, a week removed from receiving a publically broadcast lashing on the sidelines in UF’s 31-24 victory over East Carolina, responded in a big way for the Gators.
The Belle Glade native gashed the Wildcats to the tune of 54 yards on 16 carries while adding Florida’s second touchdown with just 14 seconds left in the first half.
Taylor said he had forgotten about McElwain’s tongue-lashing that went viral, choosing instead to focus on UF’s SEC opener in a hostile environment.
“I just focus on my team and kept working hard during practice. Really I have forgotten all about that,” Taylor said about dealing with the fallout of McElwain’s tirade. “My preparation for me when I get out there is to encourage my teammates. We are looking for a win and that’s all.”
McElwain has instilled a mindset in the team to celebrate victories quickly but not dwell on them. Florida returns to Gainesville to face a Tennessee team that on Saturday hung 55 points on Western Carolina. The Gators have won the last 10 games against the Volunteers, tying the longest winning streak in the rivalry series.
“(We are) already thinking about the next opponent who obviously has a lot to prove and is going to try to beat our socks off,” McElwain said. “But our guys are figuring out how to win and that was a real happy locker room in there. And that was great to see. They deserve it.”
Despite being focused on moving onto the next game, Taylor said the win against the Wildcats revealed Florida can bend but not break when the team experiences hardships on the field.
“It just shows us that we don’t let adversity hit us and we keep fighting until the clock says zero,” Taylor said. “Our team, we feel like we can beat anyone. It’s all about us at the end of the day. We trust in our coaches and our guys and we feel like we can whoop anybody and we just gonna keep working hard.”
Contact Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
UF quarterback Will Grier dives into the end zone for a touchdown during Florida's 14-9 win against Kentucky on Sept. 19, 2015, at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Florida football team was 6-0 and ranked in the top 10 for the first time in more than two years when the NCAA suspended starting quarterback Will Grier on Oct. 12 for 12 months for using performance enhancing drugs. Jordan McPherson broke down the suspension (http://www.alligator.org/sports/football/article_a0d8d470-7166-11e5-bbf9-93728dbca758.html) and Ethan Bauer wrote on how the suspension should fuel a conversation on the NCAA's PED policy (http://www.alligator.org/sports/football/article_94b217d2-844a-11e5-8f45-db4dc66bc8e8.html)
