Two days after winning his first start for the Gators, Tyler Murphy was talking about First Take.
The telecommunication major said Monday that he would like to host a sports talk show similar to ESPN’s debate-centered program once his football career is over.
Until that day comes, Murphy will have to settle for giving Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith talking points — like his 13 consecutive completions to start Saturday’s game.
“That’s something I don’t really try to pay attention to,” Murphy said. “I just focus on getting first downs and managing the game.”
Coach Will Muschamp was pleased with what he saw from his new starting quarterback on the road. Murphy’s demeanor in tough situations especially impressed Muschamp.
“That’s one of his strengths: demeanor and how he handles things” Muschamp said. “After the interception, you would expect a guy to be down about things. He understood what happened on the play.”
Although Murphy proved calm and collected throughout Florida’s 24-7 victory against Kentucky, he had an occasional struggle while adjusting to his new role last week during practice. The first few days, Murphy caught himself trying to do too much.
“Going out there and just getting the experience of being a starter really helped,” Murphy said.
“I’m starting to get used to the speed of the game. Hopefully, things will continue to slow down for me and I can continue to keep making progress and getting better.”
Gators getting stops: Nothing makes Jaylen Watkins prouder than stopping opponents on third down.
“It’s our job to keep them from getting a first down, and we’ve been doing that pretty well,” Watkins said.
Florida boasts the second-best defense in the nation, allowing only 202.5 yards per game.
But when it comes to stopping the opposition on third down, no team tops the Gators.
Kentucky moved the chains just once on eight third downs against Florida. The Gators have now limited opponents to an FBS-best 17.8 percent third-down conversion rate.
“That’s go-time,” Buck linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. said.
“So everybody, the defensive line, pins their ears back and the secondary gets ready so we can get off the field and get our offense back on the field. That’s like putting up points for us.”
Muschamp said the key to UF’s third-down success is a good four-man pass rush, playing man-to-man on third and short and good zone principles on third and long.
He praised his staff’s ability to mix those concepts well enough to keep the opposing offense off balance.
Through four games, the results have been good for the Gators.
“There’s a little subtle change on first and 10 and second down for us, but third down can be very drastic depending on the team we’re facing and what we carry into a game,” Muschamp said.
“We’re trying to make the offense adjust in those situations each game based on what they do.”
Jones breaks free: One glaring disparity in the box score following Florida’s 24-7 win against Kentucky was how running back Matt Jones stacked up against the Wildcats. Jones tallied a career-high 176 yards on the ground, while Kentucky’s offense managed only 173 yards of total offense.
“That’s good for Matt,” Fowler said.
“He hadn’t played a great game. And we don’t want them to get a lot of yards.”
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
Tyler Murphy attempts a pass during Florida’s 24-7 victory against Kentucky on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
