UK scouting report from friendly rival

Please give Mertz more than two seconds to throw and have a running game. Kentucky should stack the box and dare us to stay in the pocket. Can we make them pay?

 

Inside runs will get stuffed if we can’t pass to soften them up.

 

Hmmm, two interceptions to Vandy? And he’s better than Levi’s. I haven’t watched but that sounds bad. Drops can be on the qb too. Some qbs just have a higher rate of drops vs catchability of the ball they throw. Some qbs make tge receivers job harder than it had to be. Metz interception off the receivers hands came to early and too hot. Tgat one was on Mertz in my opinion.

 

Indeed!

 

Lol, I hope not. I hope he throws six my man.

 

Whoever wrote that Leary is better than Levis … that’s just homer talk. C’mon.

Kat’s haven’t really played anyone so it’s impossible to know how good they are. Oline looks off compared to last year and the defense looks good. I expect they will scale up against a real SEC opponent and be stout.

My take is if Florida can establish a running game they win. Napier will spread out the field and use motion to create holes. Only question is if the Kentucky defense can sort out the concepts and stuff it.

 

I’d be curious to know what your comparison of Leary vs. Joe Milton is.

 

This is going to be a classic game. Well, classic in a conventional way.

Besides a weird ball bounce (see Utah game, 2022), this game is going to be won or lost on both lines of scrimmage and the overall play of the QB. If our O-line plays well enough away from the Swamp (no silly fouls) and we can run effectively, Mertz should be able to throw enough to score TDs. But that is only if we break our usual pass routine. There were some new wrinkles last game. It needs to continue. But make no mistake, can't run well, Mertz is going to get CREAMED!

So, if we play to a tie in the trenches, meaning both teams' are effective, then the win should go to the better QB and that is Mertz. But I still see issues with Napier as the OC and time manager. We shall see whether these issues will continue.

 

Thanks for your insight. If Leary is as disciplined as Mertz has been shown to be against two good to vey good defenses, I expect this to be a very boring, conservative, low-scoring game. I don't see either team getting their running game going against the other's defense (DL and LB look light-years better for UF than last year). My key players as a barometer for UF are going to be how Jaydon Hill fulfills his multitude of assignments on defense and how many balls Eguakun can snap for Mertz.
Who do you see as your key guys for success on Saturday?

 

This could be said about quite a few QBs over the last few years....

 

I'll be surprised if we can win this game.
We haven't shown that we can beat a decent opponent on the road under CBN.
We did beat TAMU last year on the road but so did App State.

But at least it feels like we are finally taking UK seriously.
I mentioned this last year- that we should begin taking them seriously- and was basically laughed out of the room.
Our team certainly felt the same way. (Though our defense did ok- AR and the offense stunk it up, however.)

For whatever reason UK/ Stoops treat us like their Super Bowl.
I'm not sure why they don't treat UT or UGA that way, but they don't.

I do think the noon start will work in our favor.
So here's hoping I'll be surprised on Saturday.

 

I sure hope no one actually connected to the program is going into this game with that defeatist BS mentality. SMH.

 

So many fans think this year is like last year.

 

It's always our first real test of the year. We play down to teams, but Stoops always gets us up for the big games.

He's vanilla and doesn't show much on film in the cupcake games, but the Florida game is always the first big test of the year. It's the first time we get fired up to play. Usually we're huge underdogs and it's not a game you guys circle. We come in with more energy and bring out a lot of things you haven't seen on tape and have a lot more energy. Stoops teams always seems to bring it for the Florida, South Carolina, and Louisville games. We usually are flat against Tennessee and play our worst game. We always crap the bed in Starkville.

You're right about the noon start helping, a later kick would be a rowdier crowd. We're doing a t-shirt gimmick with the fans, so it will be a fired up crowd.

 

To take Uk seriously?? That's defeatist?
No sir. it's finally treating them like a threat instead of like Vandy.
Again- I said this last year and so many- maybe you- laughed it off. You were so wrong!!
We see how that turned out. It was an embarrassing loss.

 

As I said, we haven't won a big game on the road yet under CBN.
It's early and I think CBN will get it right.
Will he this weekend? I hope so.
And as I said, I think we are finally taking them seriously.

As the other UK cat says, they always play down to their competition...
Until they face us. Then they go crazy.
We need to be ready.