Anthony Richardson & Gators flop towards Kentucky: ‘I played terrible’

A sellout crowd on the Swamp, nationwide TV viewers and 22 NFL scouts from 15 groups had been desperate to see what Anthony Richardson may do for an encore Saturday evening towards Kentucky.

With a high 10 rating in sight on an upset-filled day and Heisman hype constructing after only one week, Florida’s callow quarterback fell again to earth and the No. 12 Gators’ sudden rise fizzled throughout a 26-16 loss to the No. 20 Wildcats.

Richardson and Napier every shouldered the blame through the Gators’ third loss prior to now 5 conferences with the Wildcats, losers of 31 straight within the sequence till a breakthrough win in 2018 in Gainesville.

“You’ve got to take a good look in the mirror,” Napier mentioned. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do, what our staff’s going to do.”

Richardson deliberate to look inside.

The subdued redshirt sophomore from Gainesville took complete possession for the loss.

“I feel like it’s completely on me,” Richardson mentioned. “Lots of people say it’s not, however I really feel prefer it’s on me. I performed horrible.

“I didn’t do anything that would’ve helped my team.”

Richardson was jittery from the soar. He accomplished 1 of 4 passes on the opening, didn’t document consecutive completions through the first half and completed 14 of 35 for 143 yards and a couple of interceptions whereas speeding for simply 4 yards.

Every week earlier he totaled 274 yards, ran for 3 touchdowns and didn’t commit a turnover towards No. 7 Utah.

The 2 interceptions Saturday evening led to 14 Kentucky factors, together with a 65-yard pick-six by cornerback Keidron Smith for the go-ahead rating with 3:25 to go within the third quarter and the Gators driving.

Meanwhile, quarterback Will Levis, a fellow first-round prospect, confirmed superior poise throughout his second season as Wildcats’ starter as a reported crowd of 88,993 seemed on.

Levis accomplished his first 6 passes and completed a decent 13 of 24 for 202 yards a landing and an interception whereas underneath constant strain from the Gators’ protection. Kentucky’s QB linked with Dane Key for a 55-yard rating because the 6-foot-3 first-year freshman outmuscled Georgia switch cornerback Jalen Kimber for the ball.

Florida 3 sacks and seven quarterback hurries every week after failing to get Utah quarterback Cam Rising to the bottom.

“A lot of good on defense,” Napier mentioned.

Junior defensive sort out Gervon Dexter made his second profession interception, off a go deflection by Brenton Cox Jr. to arrange a Gators’ rating for a 16-7 lead.

But with the offense struggling, Florida’s protection wore down as Kentucky’s run recreation and Levis managed the clock. The Wildcats held the ball greater than practically 18 minutes of the second half to stroll away with consecutive wins towards the Gators for the primary time since 1976-77.

Florida ended the evening 5 of 19 on third/fourth down every week after it was 9 of 14.

“We’ll learn from this experience, and we’re going to improve,” Napier mentioned. “We’re going to return and work. You’ve bought to take possession. Certainly as a frontrunner, that’s precisely the plan right here. We can coach higher, and we will play higher. That begins with me.

“We’ll go back to work and try to improve.”

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Edgar Thompson at [email protected] or comply with him on Twitter at @osgators.

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