Although you'll never hear Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops straying too far from his "next game is the most important game" mantra, it's clear that this week's SEC opener against Florida has been on the Wildcats' mind for quite some time.
Several coaches and players have hinted that preparation for this key early matchup started midway through the summer, and the intensity has only picked up this week following (over?) analyzation of both teams' performance last week in the season opener.
After No. 20 Kentucky defeated Miami of Ohio 37-13 last week in routine but less-than-dominant fashion and Florida upset No. 7 Utah 29-26 in a thriller at The Swamp, regional and national sentiment seemed to swing heavily toward the Gators for Week 2.
SEC Network analyst Roman Harper, a former Alabama and NFL standout, raised some eyebrows at the Joe Craft Football Training Center and across Big Blue Nation when he called out UK on the Paul Finebaum Show.
"Florida is going to win this game, and I think they're going to win it handily," he said of the newly ranked Gators, who skyrocketed to No. 12 in the AP Top 25 this week after being unranked going into the season. "... It's going to look dominant."
It was a strong swing based on one game, particularly after the Cats were voted No. 2 in the SEC East in the media days poll compared to the Gators at No. 4.
Harper declined to offer a score prediction but labeled the Cats as "softer" based on their Week 1 performance, which, in fairness, featured a less-than-stellar rushing attack (1.9 yards per carry) from the UK offense.
It didn't take the Cats long to respond.
"Calling our guys soft. LOL," UK associate head coach Vince Marrow wrote on Twitter. "UK Football will never be soft. Trust me on that, partner."
"You got people out there who's gonna talk," UK senior linebacker Jacquez Jones said after Wednesday's practice. "But we know we've got to keep that in the back of our mind and go out there and play with a chip on our shoulder.
"It added more fire to me because ain't nothing we've shown is soft, so we just got to go down there and let 'em know."
Jones noted that he saw the intensity pick up at practice today. "That was kinda like a slap in the face."
Added fellow linebacker J.J. Weaver: "They talkin' a lot, saying we're not good, we're this, so most definitely, it's turned up a lot."
Weaver, who could play a pivotal role in the defensive scheme attempting to slow down Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, said he was already highly motivated for this matchup because he suffered a severe knee injury against the Gators in 2020.
After Richardson put on a great performance in the opener (168 yards passing, 106 yards rushing, 3 rushing touchdowns) he has become the focus of UK's defensive preparation.
"He's going to be a dominant player, but you just have to play fast and physical with him," Weaver said.
Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White said a quarterback like Richardson puts stress on the entire defensive unit.
"It's gotta be a team effort," he said. "I could say something funny or clever, which I rarely do, (but) one person is not going to stop him. One defense (scheme) is not going to stop him. We've got to do a good job, collectively, of making sure we're smart in our rush lanes, we're smart with how we rush with all our assigments on the read options.
"It's a challenge when you have a really gifted player, that person can change the outcome of the game. He can change the emotions within the stadium. He can lift a team, so we've got a big challenge in trying to figure out... he's going to make plays. We've got to try and limit the big ones and respond when he does make plays."
