Sept 28, 2002
By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kickers and punters went running for cover. Return men and defensive backs were begging for more.
In a wild game better suited for the back yard than The Swamp, No. 7 Florida overcame a season’s worth of special-teams miscues to somehow end up with a 41-34 win over revitalized Kentucky on Saturday.
Keiwan Ratliff returned an interception for a touchdown and scored two points on a defensive conversion to help the Gators (4-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) overcome their own errors and Derek Abney’s two special-teams touchdowns.
When it was over, after nearly four hours of big plays, big mistakes and huge momentum shifts, two points were clear: Despite their victory over Tennessee last week, the Gators still have problems.
And Kentucky (4-1, 0-1) is legitimate – and disappointed.
“Moral victories don’t get you into bowls,” Wildcats quarterback Jared Lorenzen said. “They don’t get you into BCS polls. It makes you feel good for about three hours, and that’s it.”
Rex Grossman threw for 375 yards and two touchdowns to Taylor Jacobs, but on this day, that wasn’t the big news. There were too many other crazy things happening, mostly on special teams.
Florida’s Matt Leach had two extra points blocked. Punter Sean Morton dropped a clean snap. Morton’s replacement, Jason Hunter, had another punt blocked. Earnest Graham lost a fumble that led to a quick Kentucky touchdown.
Abney had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and returned a punt 49 yards for another score, the seventh time in NCAA history a player has returned both for a touchdown.
It was a special-teams debacle courtesy of Florida coach Ron Zook, who is supposedly a special-teams guru. After watching those units break down for the umpteenth time, Zook simply stood on the sideline with hand on hip, shaking his head in disbelief.
“It’s as bad as I’ve ever seen it,” Zook conceded. “I’ll take full responsibility, and I’ll get it corrected.”
Abney’s punt return pulled Kentucky to within 39-34 with 5:24 left, and might have left the Gators wondering what else could go wrong.
Just then, Ratliff stepped in front of Lorenzen’s pass and made it to the end zone for a second time, this time for two points and a seven-point lead.
“I saw in the first half that they weren’t really respecting me, and they were coming at me,” Ratliff said. “I knew I would get some opportunities to make plays.”
Kentucky stopped Florida on its next possession, but came up empty when it got the ball back. The Gators ran the clock down to 2 seconds, and the game ended when Marcus Oquendo-Johnson sacked Lorenzen before he could get off a desperation heave.
Zook, once again, was spinning a success story despite a wildly uneven effort.
“If we weren’t a team that had a chance to be good, we’d have lost today,” he said. “Nobody quit.”
Kentucky, meanwhile, is at least one step away from learning how to win games like these.
Teams that score 14 points on special teams and another 20 directly off the other team’s errors should win, and Kentucky failed. It was a harsh disappointment for the Wildcats, 19-point underdogs who were off to their first 4-0 start since 1984 and seeking their first win over Florida since ’86.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like just because we beat the point spread, we beat Florida,” senior linebacker Ronnie Riley said. “I’m totally against that. I don’t get to play Florida anymore, and that upsets me.”
Artrose Pinner, the SEC’s leading rusher, finished with 90 yards on 20 carries. Playing on a short field most of the day, Kentucky’s hefty lefty, Lorenzen, threw for 180 yards and two scores.
His second TD pass, a 39-yard hookup with Aaron Boone, came one play after Graham’s fumble. It gave the Wildcats a 28-25 lead with 3 minutes left in the third quarter, leaving The Swamp in shock after the Gators held a 19-0 halftime lead.
Grossman said he never panicked.
“It was really wild,” he said. “But at the same time, we knew we could drive the ball and score points. It’s not like we were playing the New England Patriots.”
Still, this was no predictable game – and no typical week for either the Gators or Wildcats.
Zook took to the sideline just two days after his father, Pete, died of cancer he was diagnosed with about a month after his son was named coach of the Gators last winter.
The Gators wore black patches with the name “Pete” on their helmets to honor Zook’s father. Before the game, Zook ran out of the tunnel first and pointed skyward, in a split-second tribute to his dad.
Zook called it “a roller-coaster ride” – not only the game, but the week and the last nine months.
“But that’s part of it,” he said. “Unfortunately, we all have to go through that at times. For 48 years, I’ve tried to please my father. Today, I did exactly what he wanted me to do.”
