The Dan Mullen era in Gainesville is off to somewhat of a rocky start. Florida lost to Kentucky, 27-16, which marked its first in the annual matchup since 1987. The Gators failed to convert on a 2-point conversion attempt while trailing 21-16, which would have cut the deficit to three points. Florida also fumbled on the final play of the game, which was returned by safety Davante Robinson for a 30-yard touchdown. Here’s what Mullen said after Saturday’s loss: Mullen has arrived for his presser: “I think we have to be much more physical at the point of attack. And way too many missed tackles.” #Gators — Graham Hall (@GrahamHall_) September 9, 2018 Mullen begins his press conference by giving Mart Stoops some high praise — Michael Phillips (@mikephillipsGT) September 9, 2018 Mullen: "We’ve got to be much more physical at the point of attack….We have to be more physical up front on the offensive line.” #Gators — Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) September 9, 2018 Mullen says Florida must grow mentally and physically. Gators must learn how to practice. It's a mindset. — Mark McLeod (@McLeodLive) September 9, 2018 Mullen: "One game never defines anything. That’s one game in a long season." #Gators — Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) September 9, 2018 Mullen on the lack of physicality: 'That’s a mind-set that takes some time for us. I’m not a very patient person, though.' — Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) September 9, 2018<doc-sep>Welcome back to THIS WEEK IN SCHADENFREUDE, your weekly chronicle of the most enraged, devastated, and conspiratorial in college football internet. We will begin in the only place that would make sense following Week 2. The Gators’ 31-game winning streak against their personal doormat ended. UK fans flipped a car and reportedly danced in their underwear in a puddle with a mannequin. A Florida running back announced his intent to transfer 35 minutes after the game ended. Was Florida the victim of a refereeing conspiracy reminiscent of the 2003 “Swindle in the Swamp” against Florida State? It’s a question that needs to be asked, and it was asked at the message board at GatorCountry.com. The context: Florida appeared to connect on this field goal that sailed above the top of the uprights, but officials called it no good, and the NCAA rulebook says there’s no reviewing kicks that pass above the top of the uprights. Why aren’t there lasers atop the goalposts? This was ruled a missed FG for Florida. pic.twitter.com/n6me6eIPqq — Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 9, 2018 What was at play here? A poster floated one thought: Swindle 2.0 Swindle 1.0 was when FSU beat UF in Gainesville in ‘03, after a series of iffy calls went against the Chris Leak-quarterbacked Gators. Was there reffing conspiracy at work here, as well as then? Maybe. Yeah, I had that thought several times tonight. Watching a KY offensive lineman hugging a Gator player from behind -- more than once -- helped that thought. We clearly got the Bama crew tonight. Yeah, it could be. Someone replied: This was constant as well. One person chalked it up to incompetence, not maliciousness: The dumb zebra never looked up. He just saw the initial movement of the ball and made up his mind. MORON! ! But someone then corrected that post to read more cuttingly: The dumb zebra never looked up. He just saw the initial movement of the ball and made up his mind. CHEATER! ! Tangentially, it wasn’t the first time this had happened: A little off topic, but I recall a similar bad call on a Gator fg back in the 80s at Auburn. Lost that game also. But how high did this plot go? Possibly above the SEC and all the way to the NCAA’s ref czars: Likely earned a pat on the back from the good ol boys (Steve Shaw and Rogers Redding) and the rest of the scumbags in Birmingham Another person wondered, generally: I want to know why Florida is constantly hosed by the refs at home? ? Anyway, Kentucky had 12 penalties for 114 yards. Florida had six for 55. Potential conspiracies aside, it was a hard day. Two games into the Dan Mullen era, this poster doesn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel: 4 years from relevance. I think it’s going to take four years of Mullen’s recruiting and conditioning before we start to see changes in this program. This one has, uh, some scattered thoughts about the fanbase: I felt like a plurality of the fan base in attendence (especially behind the Kentucky bench) did nothing to help us or really give the home field advantage, absent of those couple series following the Field Goal screwing. (At least we all thought it was, was it?) Does anyone have any suggestions for educating the students on when make noise and why? Did anyone else have a similar observation tonight? On an unrelated note. The mobile brick oven pizza being offered before the game by 19th and University was unreal. Those guys are the real deal. And there’s this devastating conclusion: This was worse than when Muschamp lost to Vanderbilt for the first time in 35 years. It isn’t as bad as when we lost to Georgia Southern. This is only the third worst loss in the last decade. This Florida fan wants you to know he’s not like FSU’s coach, who recently suggested opposing players faked injuries against the Noles. But he thinks Kentucky players faked injuries against UF: Kentucky deserved to win, this is not an excuse, and I am not Willie Targgart However, whenever Florida showed any spark on offense, made a big play or got into any type of groove, a Kentucky player would immediately hit the turf. Now, I hate to accuse a team of faking injuries, and no, as I stated above that isn’t why Florida lost, but Jesus, how many times did you see a UK player go down holding a leg after the Wildcats defense made a big tackle or a big stop? Now, how many times did they hit the turf after Florida made a big play? Exactly. I don’t know how the NCAA could go about enforcing a rule change, but it was clear that there was something up with the timing of the injuries tonight. But remember: He’s not Willie Targgart. Now, please slowly read through Florida fans reconciling with their fate. i wasnt even a semen swimming around in my dads nutsack last time we lost to kentucky... im embarrassed — ‍♂️ (@loadiee) September 9, 2018 justice demands this pic.twitter.com/v1QJU8C4Gu — Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) September 9, 2018 Lol we lost to Kentucky — CavemanSmith (@caveman_smith) September 9, 2018 Well when you lose to Kentucky there’s only one way to cope JUST TAKE EM https://t.co/EG7KMr3VVm — BUM CHILLUPS (@edsbs) September 9, 2018 We lost to Kentucky dawg wow — We lost to kentucky dawg (@jbanks88) September 9, 2018 Fucking Kentucky ‍♂️ — Chris Bullard (@Duh_Fuq) September 9, 2018 LMAO WE LOST TO KENTUCKY Y’ALL — Brandon (@notcalx) September 9, 2018 Mannnnnnnn we ain’t lost to Kentucky since 1986 ‍♂️ ‍♂️ ‍♂️ — Silver $poon Coon™️ (@Mr_2Smooove) September 9, 2018 We lost to Kentucky at HOME unreal — El Cuco (@Leonardo_0mar) September 9, 2018 Still can’t believe we lost to Kentucky — Young Scholar (@Gatorboi06) September 9, 2018 Still can’t believe we lost to Kentucky ‍♂️ — George Brocato Jr. (@GBJ_1) September 9, 2018 Still can’t believe we lost to Kentucky lmao — sean (@BroSean_) September 9, 2018 I had a dream last night we lost to Kentucky — Mo Mitchell (@MOTHAGR8) September 9, 2018 We fucking lost to the Kentucky Wildcats. IN FOOTBALL . — YungMARLEY (@KD2Real1) September 9, 2018 I found this video of every @FloridaGators fan born after 1986 watching the loss to @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/yx4Fc3zSAd — Alex Davis (@asdavis_) September 9, 2018 Bro we really lost to Kentucky — Adrian Lopez (@HisNameIsAdrian) September 9, 2018 We deadass lost to them bum ass dudes in Kentucky.... WHAT THE FUCK?!?!? — Dwight♠️ (@Dwight_APG) September 9, 2018 We don't know whether Florida is transitively better than Nicholls State right now. Which is cool. — Alligator Army (@AlligatorArmy) September 9, 2018 Not even mushchamp lost to Kentucky. Jesus — HBC Mullen (@HBC_DanMullen) September 9, 2018 Fucking Florida lost to Kentucky....fuck 2018... — Petty Killmonger (@DaOnlyG_B_) September 9, 2018 I’m actually so happy I left UF so I don’t have to put up with the humiliation of a horrible recruitment office ever again. Jesus Christ. They lost to fucking Kentucky. — Zach Robledo (@RobledoTorpedo) September 9, 2018 My man was like “we lost to Kentucky?? Fuck this I’m out” — Lara FOREVER BEEN Croft (@AT_the_Model) September 9, 2018 Kentucky bro.... fucking KENTUCKY — PEANUT (@NoLimitPNut) September 9, 2018 It was nice knowing y’all pic.twitter.com/4JxqoRX1oo — Morgan Moriarty (@Morgan_Moriarty) September 9, 2018 And this person had a miserable experience at an ASU tailgate, which didn’t come close to living up to the lofty standard of event management set by MSU itself: - nightmare entry, waited in long lines - no chillers in tents, hotter than effing ‘nam - VIP was full bullshit, $175 to cram into a dingy clubhouse, no way to sit - bar had 2 workers for 200+ peeps, line was often 50 deep - multiple hours before the game they ran out of fucking water, people were suffering, what a joke - basically a scam event, they made a bunch of money and offered shit - lesson learned: never attend a non-MSU sponsored event, they’re all money grabs.<doc-sep>Adarius Lemons was so confounded by Florida’s loss to Kentucky yesterday that the sophomore running back announced his intent to transfer about 30 minutes after the game ended. He used notes. Oh, yes. He did. Mighty petty, this. He’s going to miss “some of the boys” he’s played with and”learned a lot from the previous coaches that were here.” But my favorite part of this is the walk-off line: Thank you farewell. No punctuation or anything. I’ve been so tired of signing “Best” to people at the end of emails; going to use this now. The Gators hadn’t lost to the Wildcats in football since 1986, so one can understand why this might be jarring. But also Lemons has had a shaky relationship with Florida since he was in high school. He briefly de-committed, then complained about the coaching staff (the one he was learning from) that had brought him in and even tweeted his intention to leave before a game last season. Take into account the coaching change at Florida and it seemed like this was always the most likely outcome. Lemons will likely have to sit out a year if he wants to transfer to another big-time program. Or maybe he’s already on the phone with Jason Brown, trying to grab a spot at the latest Last Chance U. Can we have this serve as another reminder that when coaches leave or schools make coaching changes, players should be given some extra leeway in transferring? Thank you farewell.<doc-sep>
After 31 years, it's finally over. Florida fell 27-16 Saturday night to visiting Kentucky, ending the Gators' 31-game winning streak over the Wildcats -- the longest active winning streak over an opponent in FBS. Their last win prior to Saturday night was Nov. 15, 1986, four years before Steve Spurrier took over in Gainesville, for some perspective. It's the first win for Kentucky in Gainesville since 1979, which was when Jimmy Carter lived in the White House, if you needed a little more of that perspective to soak in from this moment. Wildcats quarterback Terry Wilson completed 11 of 16 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Benny Snell rushed for 175 yards to earn coach Mark Stoops and Co. the upset in The Swamp. So, what did we learn about Kentucky snapping the streak that's haunted it for so long on Saturday night? 1. Kentucky's running game is dangerous: After being pulled last week due to a nagging injury in the win over Central Michigan in favor of Gunnar Hoak, Wilson was unflappable under center in the win over the Gators. In addition to his stellar work through the air, he added 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground to take some pressure off star running back Benny Snell. It worked wonders in the upset win Saturday night but is also a huge development moving forward. For the Wildcats offense to have this kind of success against a tough Gators defense, on the road with uncertainty under center, doesn't just end a streak -- it makes them dangerous in the SEC East. South Caroilina went down to Georgia Saturday afternoon, and no other SEC East team has a signature win like the one that Kentucky posted Saturday night. Will it matter in the long run? That remains to be seen. But at the very least, Kentucky not only broke the streak but announced to the SEC that it can at least make some noise in a division that, at the moment, is "Georgia and everybody else." 2. Dan Mullen needs time: The first-year coach of the Gators was one of the most notable hires of the offseason after Mullen turned Mississippi State into a competitive football program. Saturday's loss proves that it's going to take some time for Mullen to turn thing around. One glaring concern is that Mullen doesn't have a quarterback. Feleipe Franks tossed five touchdown passes last week against Charleston Southern, but didn't have the same kind of luck against the Wildcats. The redshirt sophomore went 17 of 38 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. While the yardage might look nice, quite a bit of it occurred in the fourth quarter when the Wildcats were essentially in prevent defense. That's not to say Franks can't be that guy. Maybe he can. After all, it's his second game in Mullen's system and he went against an underrated Kentucky defense led by linebacker Josh Allen. But Gators fans must have patience. Mullen is still the same offensive genius that led Mississippi State to the No. 1 spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings in 2014, but he can't turn around a program neglected by former coach Jim McElwain overnight. 3. Whether either side admitted it, the streak mattered: Leading up to the game, coaches and players on both sides were peppered with questions about the 31-year dominance. The answers were very politically correct. Kentucky's players and coaches said that the 31 previous years had nothing to do with the 2018 team, and the same message was echoed with the Gators. On the surface, that's true. But it was clear from the opening kickoff that the Wildcats used the streak as motivation and Florida played tight -- perhaps hoping not to be the team that couldn't get the job done. For the Wildcats, it was obvious in the postgame interview. Snell was on the verge of tears after, as he said, "shocking the world." He went so far as to partially calling out former Gator Tim Tebow on live TV before stopping himself. It's one game. But it's a huge game in a lopsided SEC East rivalry, and both sides were well aware. 4. The Gators had an awful night: Forget the on-field domination by the Wildcats, Florida lost even more once the game was over. Star sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson was announced as out for the season by his father after Wilson allegedly tore his ACL early in the first quarter.