Two seasons ago, the No. 10 Florida Gators traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, to face an unranked Kentucky team. Fifteen Gator penalties and a blocked field goal later, Florida lost to the Wildcats on the road for the first time since 1986.
The loss marked the beginning of the end for the Dan Mullen era in Gainesville. Two seasons later, with a second-year coaching staff in tow, Florida looks to vanquish its procedural woes away from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“That's in the past,” said Florida head coach Billy Napier in a Monday press conference. “Obviously it's part of playing on the road in this league. It's going to be challenging.”
The Gators’ issues away from the friendly confines of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium weren’t in the past in week one in Salt Lake City. Florida faced a talented Utah team, but mistakes and miscues defined UF’s season-opening loss.
Florida committed nine penalties against the Utes, including several false starts in crucial red zone situations. The Gators also gave up a free first down after they ran two players wearing the No. 3 on the field to field a punt.
“We went to Utah, and we didn't execute,”said redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz in a Monday press conference. “We mentally didn't have that edge.”
UF hopes the return of redshirt junior center Kingsley Eguakun helps refine some procedural issues in a difficult environment. The veteran offensive lineman is Florida’s only offensive starter who was in Lexington two seasons ago.
“Experience, there’s no value, no price tag you can put on it,” Napier said in a Wednesday press conference. “He’s comfortable, he’s been there, he’s a really good communicator.”
Mertz emphasized the importance of improving communication away from home. The Wisconsin transfer is as experienced as any quarterback in college football, and he said he’s working on the team’s execution in hostile environments.
“We've been on the road, we've seen that,” Mertz said Monday. “I guarantee you you're going to work at communicating on a high level.”
Florida played seven games away from the Swamp under Napier. The Gators are 1-6 in those games, including the first road loss to Vanderbilt since 1988. Mistakes defined that loss in Nashville, especially a muffed punt returned for a touchdown.
Napier believes last season provided the Gators good experience of life on the road in the Southeastern Conference.
He noted Florida’s performance against Tennessee as an example of the team’s good procedure on the road and said the staff has tried to replicate road environments.
“I'm hopeful that the things that we've done in training camp and the things that we do throughout the week can replicate that for the players,” Napier said Monday.
Penalties and communication are key areas the Gators are working on improving, but turnovers are another aspect Napier highlighted heading into Kentucky. Crucial turnovers played a role in all of Florida’s road losses last season and protecting the ball will be important Saturday.
“We know the turnover margin is important in this league,” Napier said Wednesday. “If you win the turnover margin, you win three out of four games.”
The Gators have protected the ball fairly well with four turnovers through four games. Florida’s defense — despite massive improvement across the board — has forced just one turnover. It’ll be important for the defense to get more takeaways moving forward, Napier said.
UF will face the Wildcats at noon Saturday at Kroger Field. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Contact Topher Adams at tadams@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Topher_Adams.
Topher Adams is a fourth-year communications major and in his fourth semester with the Alligator. He previously covered football, baseball and women's basketball. He also enjoys professional lacrosse and Major League Soccer.
