Earlier in the year, UF coach Urban Meyer was fond of a statistic that said when a team blocks one punt in a game, that team wins the game 90 percent of the time.
What's the percentage when a team blocks two?
"It's 100," defensive end William Green said.
A blocked punt on Kentucky's first drive from Green set the tone for No. 5 UF, and freshman running back Jeff Demps followed with a punt block of his own on the next Kentucky drive. The Gators recovered both and took possession inside the Wildcats' 5-yard line each time for two easy scores on their way to a 63-5 victory Saturday afternoon.
With 9:22 left in the first quarter, UF had 14 points with only 17 yards of offense.
UF has four blocked punts on the season.
The momentum UF (6-1, 4-1 SEC) gained from the two blocked punts kept the players going through the game and should keep them going heading into next weekend's annual contest against Georgia in Jacksonville.
UF cornerback Joe Haden admitted the team is glad the Georgia contest has finally arrived, but players would not say much more than that. Haden did say the team would not be running on the field after scoring against Georgia.
"I just want to win the rest of our games," Haden said.
Wide receiver Percy Harvin knows the offense is clicking right now considering the Bulldogs are next.
"We're going into that game on all cylinders," Harvin said. "We're looking to get to Atlanta. Georgia's in the way, so, like I said, we remember the loss from last year, so we're going to prepare for them real good this year."
On Kentucky's third punt, the crowd buzzed with anticipation of another block, but then sighed when the Gators didn't come up with one.
Instead, UF had its first conventional drive of the game, scoring on a four-play, 61-yard effort culminating in a 16-yard run from junior wide receiver Percy Harvin. Harvin scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass on the Gators' next drive.
Kentucky coach Rich Brooks was certainly impressed with his opponents.
"I think we played one of the best teams in the country," Brooks said. "They've got speed, talent, size, playmakers at a lot of positions, and you've got to give them a lot of credit. Shouldn't have been the magnitude of the loss as it was, in my opinion, but they went out and took it from us."
The 28 points scored was the most ever by a Meyer-coached team in the first quarter.
As if that wasn't enough, the Gators also blocked a Wildcats field goal try in the second quarter. When it seemed Kentucky (5-3, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) finally had its offense going, the drive stalled, and UF cornerback Joe Haden stuck his hand out to reject Lones Seiber's attempt.
Demps ended the ensuing UF possession with a 61-yard scamper for a touchdown after catching a slant pass, putting UF up 35-0.
"I didn't think we'd be beaten this badly," Brooks said. "I think we're a better team than that, I think we've already demonstrated that this year. But I got some pretty sick feelings when I saw 51 points scored on LSU two weeks ago. … Looks like they took advantage of the week off, too."
The Gators' scoring finished with two names you don't hear too often: Backup quarterback John Brantley connected with a wide open David Nelson over the middle of the field for a 38-yard touchdown. With that catch, fans poured out of the stadium.
INJURY NOTE: Freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins left the game with a shin bruise, but Meyer said Jenkins is "very probable" for the Georgia game on Saturday.
ETC: UF last had three blocked kicks against South Carolina on Nov. 11, 2006, the famous "Cock Block" game. … Quarterback Tim Tebow scored three rushing touchdowns on Saturday, the 36th of his career, tying former Gator great Emmitt Smith for the most in team history.
