The question of “what if?” will haunt Kentucky (2-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) fans for years to come.
If on-screen graphics are to be believed, it likely should have been 4th and 12, with a 27-game winning streak on the line and 88,334 hearts left to palpitate still harder.
Was center Max Garcia’s arm still cocked or had it flinched just a hair?
Was the ball still firmly on the ground or had it begun its propulsion into quarterback Jeff Driskel’s frenetically waving arms? What if the Wildcats could have forced the Gators (2-0, 1-0 SEC) into a longer down and distance? Could they have pulled out the victory?
It was fourth down, seven yards to go, and the strength of the formation was set to the wrong side of the field for UF — tick-tock, tick-tock went the playclock, the paradox of time still existing in the setting of an untimed overtime situation, a simple beauty of college football.
The bead of the referee’s whistle did not rattle, and Jeff Driskel found a waiting Demarcus Robinson for what seemed like his 45th catch of the evening — but was in reality just his 15th, tying a school record that had been unmatched for 44 years.
“Just get close, and come to me before the defender gets to me,” Robinson told himself as the ball hung in the air. “I definitely was nervous at the time.”
As Robinson hauled in the answer to Kentucky’s one-play opening punch of overtime on the way to a 36-30 triple overtime win, he continued his one-night-only exorcism of some of the demons placed upon him.
For an evening, he lived up to the expectations heaped upon him since he came to UF in 2013, delayed by inconsistent performances, on the field and character issues off of it — he’s been suspended for three games in his college career.
Robinson’s 216 yards were the most a Florida receiver has had since Taylor Jacobs eclipsed 200 in 2002, and the fourth most for any UF receiver all-time in a single game. Robinson’s production accounted for 40.6 percent of Florida’s yardage output, and 73.2 percent of its output through the air.
The dominating performance was a byproduct of what Kentucky showed Florida on defense, bringing multiple pressure fronts with six and seven defenders creating one-on-one matchups with defensive backs that Robinson feasted on.
He was targeted on 21 of quarterback Jeff Driskel’s 43 throws, including the first four passes the redshirt junior completed to begin the game en route to a dismal 7-of-20 first half for UF’s passing game.
The Gators headed to intermission deadlocked 3-3 with its bluegrass visitors, a far cry from the dominating performance shown against Eastern Michigan, more reminiscent of 2013 Florida ineptness.
The Gators gained 532 yards at the end of the day, but at 94 plays the law of diminishing returns kick in as UF could only muster 5.7 yards per play with a 5-of-17 third-down efficiency rate.
The offensive line looked shaky starting freshman Roderick Johnson at right tackle and Driskel, apart from locking onto Robinson sailed multiple throws to open receivers streaking downfield.
“I think we’ve got a mentally strong team,” Driskel said. “You didn’t see guys hang their heads on the sidelines. You saw guys that were competing you know, that at the end of the game we got the players to make the plays that are gonna get us in the right situation so I think that was a good experience for us, we know how overtime works now, we might have to run into another down the road.”
But the second half became a bit of a shootout, with Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles repeatedly testing a shaky Florida secondary to the tune of 24-for-45 for 369 yards, with eight completions of more than 15 yards including three touchdowns that each went for at least 25 yards. The Gators were able to grab three turnovers from what amounted to Towles arm-punts including a tip drill from Brian Poole that landed in Keanu Neal’s arms, his first of two on the day.
While Robinson dazzled through the air, running backs Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor grinded on the ground. Jones mashed out 156 yards on a career-high 29 carries, and Taylor contributed 15 carries that went for 64 yards, a one-two punch used to pace Florida when it decided to get back to its Muschamp-era roots of ground and pound.
After Neal’s second interception, Florida drove with a chance to win the game on a 52-yard Austin Hardin field goal — his first attempt of the season. It missed right and for the sixth time in school history, and the Gators went to overtime — something Muschamp quipped made up for the cancellation of the Idaho game earlier this season.
But after Robinson tied the game up at 27 on the delay of game that wasn’t, the Gators had an opportunity to take a 34-27 lead in the second overtime.
It was a third down play in which Robinson was again open and waiting for what would have been his school-record 16th catch. Driskel didn’t find Robinson in time, and the receiver was visibly upset stamping his feet in anger as the ball fell to the turf un-caught.
“I did get a little frustrated because I saw that I got open, so I thought he was gonna see me,” Robinson said. “And he looked at me so I thought he was gonna throw it to me off the bat. He hesitated a bit, and I just got a little frustrated.”
The teams would match field goals in Overtime No. 2 and move on to a third as the hour inched closer to midnight. Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III attempted a swan dive into the path of Kentucky kicker Austin MacGinnis’ 41-yard try but his efforts failed to result in hand meeting leather but his acrobatics did appear to force the alteration of the trajectory of MacGinnis’ kick slightly, resulting in him pushing it to the right.
From there, Jones took over again, pounding all 25 yards into the end zone on four carries, plunging to paydirt and taking the Gators to victory.
A streak preserved in an improbable way that included for the second straight week an eye-popping offensive performance.
This one was individual rather than collective, and stood out during a night that raised more questions about Florida’s future on that side of the ball in 2014 than it provided answers.
While Kentucky fans will never have their what ifs answered, Florida fans had one question quelled: What if Demarcus Robinson played to his full potential?
That question answered itself Saturday night in The Swamp.
Follow Richard Johnson on Twitter @RagjUF
Teammates celebrate a touchdown with sophomore wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (11) during Florida's 36-30 overtime victory against Kentucky on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Junior quarterback Jeff Driskel throws a pass intended for sophomore wide receiver Demarcus Robinson during Florida's 36-30 triple overtime victory against Kentucky on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
