2011 Florida Gators Football: Grading the Gators Against Kentucky

If you are a Gator fan, there was a lot to like about Saturday night's 48-10 road thrashing of SEC East rival Kentucky.

There were the 405 rushing yards. There were four forced turnovers (by four different players). There was the quick start (the score was 21-0 with 3:39 remaining in the first quarter).

With all of those positives, the grading should be pretty easy this week.

Offense

As mentioned earlier, UF ran for 405 yards as a team. That is the sixth-highest total in program history.

Jeff Demps led everyone with 10 carries for 157 yards (15.7 ypc) and a pair of touchdowns. Not to be outdone, fellow speedster Chris Rainey added 105 yards on 15 carries (7.0 ypc), and third-string tailback Mike Gillislee contributed six carries for 84 yards (14 ypc) and a touchdown.

In all, the Gators (now 12th in the USA Today Coaches' Poll) averaged a whopping 8.8 yards-a-carry and ran the ball into the end zone at Commonwealth Stadium four times.

A couple of lost fumbles are all that keep this from being an A+. So, give the running game an A.

The passing game was relatively quiet, but not much was needed.

John Brantley finished just 8-of-14 for 115 yards, but his 45-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Christian in the first quarter was a beauty and set the tone for the game.

Backup Jeff Driskel struggled, finishing 0-for-3 with an interception that really wasn't his fault, and Trey Burton also threw an incomplete pass.

On a not-so-good note, outside of Frankie Hammond, Jr. (three receptions for 42 yards), Florida's wideouts were nonfactors. Christian (two catches for 56 yards and a touchdown) was utilized early, but didn't catch a pass after the first quarter.

Give the passing game a C+. Really nothing all that good (aside from the TD pass to Christian), but really nothing all that bad, either.

The offensive line earned an A, owning the UK front and allowing just one sack (to Driskel).

Defense

It was an exceptional all-around night for the Gator D.

Kentucky managed 134 yards on 36 carries (3.7 ypc) and did not score on the ground.

The Wildcats also struggled through the air, as Morgan Newton and Maxwell Smith combined to go 22-of-44 for 165 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. They also were sacked a combined four times.

And UK was forced to punt six times.

Leading the way for the Gators were linebacker Jon Bostic (team-high 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble), linebacker Michael Taylor (six tackles, including two for a loss of five yards, as well as a 30-yard interception return), defensive tackle Omar Hunter (four tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery), safety Matt Elam (four tackles, two pass break-ups and an interception that was returned 18 yards) and defensive tackle Jaye Howard (three tackles, a pass break-up and a fumble recovery he snagged out of the air one handed and returned two yards for a touchdown). 

Give the run defense an A, and give the pass defense an A.

Special Teams

The surprise of the season continues to be placekicker Caleb Sturgis.

The St. Augustine native missed most of 2010 with an injury, but has opened 2011 making his first 11 field goal attempts and going 18-for-18 on extra points. Against UK, he was successful on all six PATs and a pair of field goals.

David Lerner got his most work of the season on Saturday night, punting five times for an average of 36 yards with a long of 43 and one downed inside the 20. The Wildcats did only have five punt return yards all game.

Kentucky's Mychal Bailey totaled 148 yards on eight kickoff returns, an average of less than 19 yards-per-attempt. Solomon Patton did have a 36-yard kickoff return for UF, but aside from that, it was a pedestrian night for the Gators.

Give the special teams an A-.

Overall, the Gators scored an A-. I'd give Bostic the player of the game award, but I'll offer you some choices, based on numbers listed in this story, in the poll to the left.