Sept 22, 2001
Box Score | Photo Gallery | Post Game Quotes
By STEVE BAILEYAP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – Florida’s defense entered the Southeastern Conference opener against Kentucky looking to prove a point.
The Gators (3-0, 1-0) blew out Kentucky 59-31 in The Swamp last season but surrendered 504 yards to the overmatched Wildcats.
This time the defense held strong, allowing only 288 yards and a single touchdown following a fumbled punt as the No. 2 Gators punished Kentucky 44-10 on Saturday for their 15th straight victory in the series.
“I think our guys were focused and emotionally ready to play this game,” Florida defensive coordinator Jon Hoke said. “A statement was made (in the media) that (Kentucky) always scores points on us. I think our guys wanted to make a statement of their own.”
Rex Grossman threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns, and backup Brock Berlin completed his only three passes for 95 yards, including a 64-yard TD, as Florida won its 11th conference opener in 12 years.
Grossman completed 22 of 36 passes, including 52-, 29-, 6- and 4-yard TD passes, to remain the SEC’s leading passer through three games.
Redshirt freshman Shane Boyd completed 23 of 39 passes for 203 yards and a 2-yard touchdown pass in his second career start for Kentucky (1-2, 0-1). Martez Johnson added 49 yards on nine carries for the Wildcats.
“Shane’s got some things he needs to improve on,” Kentucky coach Guy Morriss said. “But I think the 10 guys around him have got to step it up. I don’t think we’re being fair to Shane to put him in a position where he has to carry the offense.”
Earnest Graham added 86 yards on 11 carries, including a 50-yard scoring run, for Florida.
Reche Caldwell finished with five catches for 105 yards, including the 64-yard pass from Berlin, and Jabar Gaffney added six catches for 80 yards as the Gators racked up 397 yards through the air.
“We got a lot of opportunities thanks to our defense,” Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. “We didn’t get any turnovers, but we made big stops that were crucial to the outcome of the game.”
Before the game, the 66,146 fans participated in a moment of silence followed by a 10-minute music and video tribute to those who lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
“I get teary-eyed at the national anthem,” Spurrier said. “We normally don’t do it (come out of the locker room for the anthem) in college football, and I think we should.
“It makes us realize how fortunate we are to live in America. You look around the stadium and everyone is coming together. We are all extremely fortunate to be Americans.”
Despite the intense emotion on display during the pregame ceremony, it didn’t take the Gators long to find the end zone.
On third-and-inches from the Kentucky 30, Grossman faked a handoff to Graham and lofted a perfect strike to Gaffney down the middle between two defenders for a 7-0 lead with 9:47 to play in the opening quarter.
Kentucky cut it to 7-3 on Stephen Scaldeferri’s 41-yard line-drive field goal, the first of his career, with 14:38 to play in the second quarter.
The Gators drove 65 yards on their next possession, aided by two questionable pass-interference calls, to go up 13-3 on Grossman’s 6-yard TD pass to Taylor Jacobs.
Jeff Chandler’s 39-yard field goal as time expired gave Florida a 16-3 halftime lead.
“We were in the game but couldn’t make the plays we needed to at the right times,” Kentucky cornerback Derrick Tatum said.
The Gators pushed the margin to 23-3 on Grossman’s 4-yard slant to Gaffney with 3:27 to play in the third quarter.
Boyd then found Derek Abney for a 23-yard gain and Tom Malloy for a 25-yard gain to move the Wildcats to the Florida 2. On the next play, Boyd faked a handoff left, rolled right and hit a wide open Chase Harp to make it 23-10 with 1:30 to play in the quarter.
Graham’s 50-yard TD sprint down the left sideline with 28 seconds to play in the third quarter sealed the game for the Gators.
“We kind of lost our focus in the third quarter,” Tatum said. “Our defense is getting better, it’s just not good enough.”
Grossman added his fourth TD pass – a 52-yarder to Gillespie – and backup Brock Berlin threw a 64-yard strike to Caldwell in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
“It was a good win and I’m proud of our guys,” Spurrier said. “Kentucky was tough and they played well and played hard. We’ll enjoy this one and get ready for Mississippi State next week.”
