CBS SportsLine wire reports
Sept. 26, 1998
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- No. 8 Florida is developing a bad habit of giving up big plays. This time, it had more than enough offense to make up for it.
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Doug Johnson threw for five touchdowns and Jesse Palmer added two as the Gators' two quarterbacks were barely enough to outscore Tim Couch and Kentucky in a 51-35 victory Saturday, a school-record 24th consecutive victory in the Swamp.
Couch, who gained credibility in the Heisman race by passing for 406 yards against the nation's fourth-best pass defense, set the Kentucky career record for passing yards and threw a scare in the Gators until two late interceptions.
A week ago in a 20-17 overtime loss to Tennessee, the Gators gave up a 54-yard touchdown run and a 29-yard TD pass in a game they otherwise dominated defensively.
ON SATURDAY, COUCH THREW TD passes of 97 and 74 yards to Craig Yeast, and Yeast returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score.
"We gave up all those big plays and still won by 16," coach Steve Spurrier said.
He can thank the Kentucky defense for that.
The Gators (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) passed for 452 yards against a Kentucky secondary that simply couldn't keep up with their speed. Nafis Karim did most of the damage, scoring three touchdowns in a span of 2 minutes, 22 seconds in the second quarter that made Kentucky play catchup the rest of the game.
And the Wildcats (3-1, 0-1) couldn't quite get there.
"We're still a recruiting class away on defense," coach Hal Mumme said. "We've got to be able to run corners in there the way they run that stable of receivers in there."
As long as the Wildcats have Couch, they figure to be in just about every game.
"We feel we have made a whole lot of movement," said Couch, who was 40-of-61 and kept Kentucky close until two fourth-quarter interceptions ended its hopes. "We think we're going to run the table and end up having a great season."
THE GATORS STILL HAVE A CHANCE at one, even if they never figure out who is their best quarterback.
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Florida's Doug Johnson fires a first-half
touchdown pass to Nafis Karim Saturday.
(AP)
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Spurrier alternated Johnson and Palmer with no real formula -- every other series, every other play -- and wasn't sure who played more when the game was over. Both were successful against a Kentucky secondary that hardly managed to put up a fight. Johnson was 13-of-23 for 270 yards, while Palmer was 9-of-14 for 182 yards.
Karim had caught three touchdowns in 33 previous games for Florida, then matched that in a burst of scoring that gave Florida the lead for good.
With the game tied at 14, Johnson threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Karim. The Gators stopped Kentucky at its 1 and, after a 40-yard punt, Palmer hit Karim for another touchdown on the next play.
The line-drive kickoff ricocheted off James Whalen and Florida's Joe Ferguson recovered at the 23. Three players later, Johnson hit Karim on a 9-yard fade pass into the corner of the end zone.
"It was happening so fast," Karim said. ``After the third one, I was like, `Dang, I'm doing something."
So was Yeast, who set a Kentucky record with 206 receiving yards.
Still, the Wildcats' show belongs to Couch. He has 5,737 yards passing, beating the previous record of 5,564 set by Bill Ransdell in 1984-1986. That was also the last time the Wildcats beat Florida, and they arrived Saturday bent on proving they would be a factor in the SEC.
INSTEAD OF JOGGING ONTO the field to start the game, they walked. And early on, they looked poised and confident.
It took Kentucky -- make that Yeast -- 30 seconds to cover 197 yards for two touchdowns that stunned a sellout crowd at the Swamp that has grown used to the Gators having their way with the Wildcats.
After Florida opened the game with Palmer throwing a 29-yard TD pass to Travis Taylor, a drive that covered 75 yards in four plays, Yeast took the kickoff, broke to his left, slipped away from Reggie Davis and went untouched down the sideline.
Couch wasn't terribly effective early on. Only three of his first-half passes were longer than 7 yards, but one was the longest offensive scoring play in school history.
Starting from his 3, he stood poised in the end zone and hit Yeast in stride at about the 30. Safety Teako Brown made a weak attempt at the tackle, and Yeast was jogging the final 30 yards for the touchdown.
The Gators scored almost as quickly, and more often. Their first five touchdown drives lasted a combined 3:06.
But before the rain arrived, and before Florida could move in for the kill, Jeff Snedegar put pressure on Palmer and Matt Layow stepped in front of the hurried pass into the flats, returning it 6 yards for a touchdown. It was the third consecutive game Kentucky scored a defensive touchdown.
Florida looked again to put the game away on Johnson's 47-yard touchdown pass to Robert Gillespie on a swing pass. But the Gators got conservative and went nearly an entire quarter -- from 5:14 left in the third until 5:41 left in the game -- making only one first down.
Terry Jackson finally broke through with a 44-yard run that gave Florida the breathing room it needed. Jackson finished with 116 yards.