When UF and Kentucky studied film of each other this week, they might as well have been watching a mystery movie and a horror flick.
The No. 5 Gators don't know what to expect from a Kentucky team that lost most of its offensive firepower from last season and has an injury list filled with starters and playmakers, and the Wildcats are hoping they won't run into the UF squad that hung 51 points on LSU two weeks ago.
"This test will be bigger than anything we have seen all year," Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said. "Florida's offense obviously woke up big-time against LSU. You think about how good LSU has been and what they have accomplished and how good their defense has been, and to think that Florida could score 50 points on them, it's like going to a fright movie for crying out loud. It's just scary."
To make matters worse for Brooks, his suddenly reliable defense - ranked best in the Southeastern Conference in points per game allowed - has been decimated by injuries.
The Wildcats could be without six starters Saturday: defensive tackle Myron Pryor (ankle, out), free safety Marcus McClinton (knee, questionable), cornerback David Jones (elbow, questionable) and linebackers Micah Johnson (ankle, probable), Johnny Williams (shoulder, questionable) and Braxton Kelley (shoulder, questionable).
That group contains Kentucky's team leaders in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions and fumbles forced, bad news for a team the Gators have scored 40 points or more against in 10 of the teams' last 14 meetings.
The health problems could certainly put a damper on the Wildcats' effectiveness, but UF coach Urban Meyer doesn't expect that to change Kentucky's game plan, which he says is clean and simple.
"A lot of guys throw the kitchen sink at you, these guys don't," Meyer said. "They're very fundamental. They don't give you the shots. They're going to play how they play
coverage-wise and force you to methodically work the ball down the field, which is something we haven't been great at, so it's a heck of a challenge."
On offense, Kentucky ranks 90th in the nation in yards per game, a far cry from last year's explosive unit that averaged more than 440 yards and 36 points behind quarterback Andre Woodson, running back Rafael Little and receivers Steve Johnson and Keenan Burton.
Those four are gone, and the top remaining playmakers - running back Derrick Locke and wide receiver Dicky Lyons - will miss the rest of the season with knee injuries.
That leaves signal-caller Mike Hartline and backs Tony Dixon and Alfonso Smith to carry the load, but a star may have emerged last week.
Freshman quarterback/receiver Randall Cobb caught two touchdown passes in the final five minutes against Arkansas to erase a 13-point deficit and cap a 21-20 win, and he also completed two of three passes for 45 yards.
Still, the bigger challenge for UF (5-1, 3-1 SEC) may be staying focused rather than stopping Kentucky (5-2, 1-2 SEC), whom the Gators have won 21 straight games against.
Coming off a season-saving demolition of LSU and with the Georgia game just a week away, UF controls its own destiny in the conference title race, but looking ahead or behind could have disastrous results similar to the loss to Ole Miss.
"We just have to stay focused and think about one game, talk about one game at a time," safety Ahmad Black said. "(The coaches) make sure we're about Kentucky and Kentucky only - not last week and not next week."
