Following Florida’s four-point loss to No. 5 Georgia, UF interim head coach Billy Gonzales stressed the importance of “the middle eight.” The last four minutes of the second quarter and the first four of the second half — the middle eight — elicited a 10-0 run for Georgia and ultimately turned the tide of the rivalry matchup.
“That eight-minute period, which I talk about, we need to be better at,” Gonzales said Nov. 3. “It was a 10-point swing.”
Although UF was 22-16 in the middle eight against its first six FBS opponents, the four-minute split straddling halftime continued to be a thorn in the Gators’ side Saturday. After a week where Gonzales spoke about improving and developing Florida football, UF came out flat against an unranked Kentucky team and was met with its worst loss of the season thus far.
Florida lost 38-7 in Lexington and was outscored by the Wildcats 14-0 in the middle eight, allowing two touchdowns just before the half. Sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway threw three interceptions in the first half and freshman Tramell Jones Jr. was brought in to start the second half, making his first appearance since the Gators’ opener.
“We had a rough first half, and I thought it might be good for him to have a chance to gather,” Gonzales said about Lagway’s benching. “We need to play better all the way around, not just him. Everybody needs to play a little bit better, and I’ll take the blame.”
After a KD Daniels fumble set up a 59-yard Kentucky touchdown drive with 3:32 remaining in the first half, the Gators failed to answer and went three-and-out after Lagway threw two incompletions. The Wildcats wasted no time on their subsequent drive, scoring a touchdown in just 72 seconds. Kentucky put together a five-play, 54-yard touchdown drive to take a 24-7 lead with 1:26 remaining in the second quarter.
Kentucky’s offense continued to steamroll forward while Florida’s remained stagnant. The Wildcats’ 21-point second quarter was their highest scoring quarter of the season, and in the final minute of the first half, Lagway threw two interceptions. He had also thrown a pick in the opening drive and was pulled from the game after completing 11 of 19 passes for 83 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in the first half.
With his multi-interception showing against Kentucky, Lagway now has 12 interceptions on the season and is the first Gators quarterback to throw 10-plus interceptions in a season since Emory Jones (13) in 2021. The only other UF quarterback with more than 12 interceptions in the last two decades is Chris Leak (13) in 2006.
“We’ll take a look at the film — and obviously we think he’s a very talented young man — but we’ll take a look at everything and kind of move forward once we get back home,” Gonzales said about the future of UF’s quarterback position. “You have four turnovers in the first half, you’re not going to win the game.”
To make matters worse, UF was outgained by Kentucky 401-247 yards in the loss and the Gators’ only points of the game came on a lone touchdown in the first quarter, after Kentucky muffed a punt and left the Gators 13 yards from the endzone.
In a game where two 3-5 teams looked for glimpses of resilience and affirmations of progress, Kentucky continued to dominate after halftime and quickly extended its lead to 31-7. The Wildcats added seven thanks to a well-executed, 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 7:26 off the clock – nearly half of the third quarter.
With Florida having dug itself in a 24-point hole after its return from halftime, the team looked unmotivated despite Jones under center, and a 65-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Dante Dowdell was the final blow from Kentucky. With the touchdown run, the Wildcats found themselves leading 38-7 with just over 12 minutes to play and handed Florida its first 30+ point loss to an unranked team since 1970.
“I’ll take the blame for everything,” Gonzales said. “It’s unacceptable and I’m going to put me up in front and say ‘That’s on me,’ I'll take the blame for this loss 100%.”
Despite Kentucky’s 14-0 run before the half, Florida’s defense stepped up during the “middle eight” to limit the damage after numerous turnovers by Lagway’s offense. With less than 30 seconds in the first half, senior Devin Moore forced a fumble and sophomore Aaron Chiles recovered, negating Kentucky’s 55-yard interception return. Again, UF’s defense saved more points with a Bryce Thornton interception that came with 11 seconds left in the half.
“I feel like we came out with energy, just the mental part of the game that we messed up,” Graham said. “We’ve got to look in the mirror and we’ve got to do better. That’s completely unacceptable and that’s not the Gator standard.”
Although UF ranks 12th in FBS in blue chip signees since 2022, with 52, the Gators are 12-18 in SEC play in that timeframe. Additionally, Florida’s offensive struggles and Lagway’s 11-12 touchdown-interception ratio after his promising rookie season have brought skepticism that talent isn't the issue at Florida – but development, scheme and an inability to sustain success are.
“No sir, we haven’t talked about that yet,” was the answer given by junior DB Jordan Castell when asked if Gonzales had talked to the team about the “middle eight” after the loss to Georgia.
The Gators need to win out to remain eligible for a bowl game this year and will look to get back on track against Ole Miss at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a third-year journalism-sports & media major who currently serves as the football beat reporter for The Alligator, now in his third semester with the paper. When not at his computer screen writing, Curan enjoys spending time outdoors, hanging with friends, family and pets, and watching the Patriots lose (no, he doesn't miss Brady).
