NFL Draft News & Analysis

UK-UF grades: Gators crush Wildcats in all facets of game

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 10: during a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Florida Gators 45, Kentucky Wildcats 7

Here are the biggest takeaways and highest-graded players from the Florida Gators’ 45-7 drubbing of the Kentucky Wildcats:

Florida Gators

Quarterback grade: Luke Del Rio, 73.7

Del Rio built off of a strong Week 1 performance with an even better showing in Week 2. The son of Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio successfully spread the ball around, completing passes in the middle of the field, outside of the numbers on both sides and at all levels of the field. He also picked Kentucky apart when they chose to blitz — the Wildcats blitzed 10 times and Del Rio completed eight passes for 176 yards, two touchdowns and a sparkling 158.3 QB rating on those occasions.

del-rio-passing-chart-edit

Top offensive grades:

OT Jawaan Taylor, 84.5

C Cameron Dillard, 80.7

TE DeAndre Goolsby, 77.6

TE C’yontai Lewis, 74.6

QB Luke Del Rio, 73.7

Offensive line sets the tone for the Gators' offense

QB Luke Del Rio dropped back 32 times on Saturday and was pressured just four times.  RT Jawaan Taylor, RG Tyler Jordan, C Cameron Dillard and LT David Sharpe all didn’t allow a single pressure on the day. Taylor earned the highest overall mark of the bunch because he also posted an 84.5 run-blocking grade. The Gators ran 10 run plays that went off of either Taylor’s left or right shoulder, they accumulated 97 yards on those plays.

Top defensive grades: 

LB Kylan Johnson, 76.1

ED Jabari Zuniga, 75.8

S Marcus Maye, 74.3

DI Joey Ivie, 74.1

LB David Reese, 73.7

Playmakers at all three levels carry the defense

There were no outstanding individual performances on the Gators' defense yesterday in a blowout win that saw 23 different defensive players see double-digit snaps. LB Kylan Johnson tallied one sack and made two stops in run defense; DE Jabari Zuniga had two hurries and also recorded a stop; NT Joey Ivie led the group with three total pressures (all three being hurries) and CB Teez Tabor didn’t allow a single one of his three targets to be caught while recording an interception.

Kentucky Wildcats

Quarterback grades: Drew Barker, 44.0; Stephen Johnson 59.2

It was simply a miserable game for QB Drew Barker, who completed more passes to the other team than he did his own. Barker telegraphed passes and let go of a few balls that he likely regretted immediately after. Stephen Johnson came in to relieve him and only attempted two passes. Check out Barker's passing stats below:

barker-passing-chart-edit

Top offensive grades:

C Jervontius Stallings, 78.1

RB Stanley Williams, 69.0

G Nick Haynes, 67.4

WR Jeff Badet, 65.2

WR Charles Walker, 60.5

The Wildcats offense couldn’t get anything going

To sum up the Wildcats' offense on Saturday: Charles Walker was one of their five top performers without being targeted a single time — he basically made a couple of decent plays as a run blocker and simply didn’t screw anything up. That qualified as a strong offensive performance for the Wildcats on Saturday. Stallings had a nice game from the center position, as he didn’t allow a single pressure and had a positive game as a run-blocker with a 78.4 grade. Stanley Williams also had a decent game running the ball, earning a 73.9 run grade while averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

Top defensive grades:

DI Adrian Middleton, 76.4

S Marcus McWilson, 72.4

DI Jacob Hyde, 61.3

CB J.D. Harmon, 58.9

DI Matt Elam, 53.1

Wildcats defense struggles all over

Defensive end Adrian Middleton played well, recording four stops to go with a QB hurry, but unfortunately for him and the rest of the Wildcats, the rest of the defense couldn’t quite keep up. LB Jordan Jones led the defense with a total of six run stops, but he also missed six tackles on the day. CB Derrick Baity had an interception and an additional pass defensed, but he also allowed his other four targets to be caught for 115 yards (including 50 yards after the catch) and a touchdown. The Wildcats defense missed a whopping 14 tackles on the day, compared to just three for the Gators.

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