First look at UK's 2018 schedule: Florida

If Kentucky fans are wondering whether the program will defeat Florida in their lifetimes following the 2017 season, you might have to forgive them. It will happen at some point, although the last 32 years are a stark reminder that it's never going to come easy.

Cats Illustrated continues previewing Kentucky's 2018 football opponents with a look at the Gators and their new but familiar head coach.

Florida, September 8th, 2018 (Gainesville, Fla.)

2017 Overview: The fun 'n gun of Florida football under Steve Spurrier and the punishing and explosive years under Urban Meyer had given way to stagnation and a downward trajectory long before 2017, but this past fall was the final nail in Jim McElwain's coffin as the head coach of the Gators. He simply couldn't get the offense going. The Gators were one of the nation's worst offensive teams, and had some of the nation's worst quarterback play, every year he was in Gainesville.

Last year poor quarterback play conspired with preseason suspensions and defensive personnel losses to produce a 4-7 season. The Gators were 4-8 in 2013, so Florida's two worst seasons since 1979 have come in the last five years.

The problems began in the season opener against Michigan, a bad matchup if ever there was one. Florida could muster only two defensive touchdowns against the Wolverines and, sadly for Kentucky, it seemed like one of the only times the Gator offense got on track all year was in the second half when they stormed back to erase a 13-point deficit and extend "the streak".

At the end of September the Gators were 3-0 in the SEC but that was fool's gold. The Gators lost their last six games to Power Five teams, failing to score more than 22 points in any of those losses.

While Florida survived atrocious offense at times under McElwain and Will Muschamp before him, what really crushed the Gators last year was when the floodgates opened on the defense. Florida allowed a completely uncharacteristic 27 points per game. Some of that was because of heavy personnel losses due to graduation and the draft from the previous season. Some of it was that coupled with the typically bad offense putting the defense in bad situations. The defensive collapse later in the season is probably due in large part to the offense's struggles.

To top all that off, Florida's special teams unit was worse than usual.

It was a bad year for the Gators. One of the worst that anyone reading this has ever seen from them. But it also opened the door for the Mullen hire and history could prove that to be a pivotal moment for the program.

Offseason Questions and Storylines: Exit Jim McElwain, enter Dan Mullen. The Gators managed to do what many other programs before them in recent years were not able to accomplish in prying Mullen away from a comfortable setup and high favorability ratings in Starkville. The transition from McElwain to Mullen is the overriding storyline in Florida football right now. It's a hire that has been widely praised by media, seems very popular with the Gator fan base, and makes complete sense. Mullen was offensive coordinator for two Florida national championship teams under Urban Meyer and his track record of developing quarterbacks (Dak Prescott, Nick Fitzgerald) holds the potential for exactly the remedy Florida football needs.

Mullen built a blue-collar culture in Starkville with lower-ranked players who worked hard, bought in and overachieved. The S&C gains were impressive to anyone paying attention. Florida has had that identity before, with different coaches, but this is a team that seemed to quit when things went south in 2017. How quickly will Mullen find or form a leadership core that establishes that same blue collar culture?

And about those quarterback questions. Quarterback at Florida was once a mark of prestige and came with the assumption that you were one of the nation's best, most respected players. In recent years the Gators' quarterback play has been anything but impressive.

Malik Zaire and Luke Del Rio are no longer with the program. Mullen was able to flip five-star signal caller Emory Jones from Ohio State and the true freshman will be a part of the quarterback competition from Day One. Kyle Trask is a pro-style quarterback all the way and that's not the mold Mullen has seemed to prefer in the past. Then there's Feleipe Franks, who played against Kentucky last year, but didn't exactly do much to stir the hopes of the Florida faithful as a freshman.

Previewing UF's 2018: This is football so it would be a mistake to start anywhere other than the quarterback position. If Mullen fixes the QB position in Gainesville, he'll be a big success. If he doesn't, he'll disappoint. His track record suggests he will get it right, but how quickly? Emory Jones clearly comes with the most long-term upside, but Mullen will have a competition and then he'll have to decide if he's willing to ride the highs and lows with a true freshman. That could help the Gators build for the future, but could also bring some early growing pains. The simple fact is there don't seem to be attractive alternatives to Jones, at least right now.

The darkhorse candidate and possibility for Florida is athlete Kadarius Toney behind center.

Kentucky fans know what kind of offense Mullen wants to run from his time at Florida and Mississippi State. Mullen's Bulldog quarterbacks ran the ball 637 times over the previous three seasons. Last year the team rushed the ball 634 times overall, while passing 353 times.

Running back Jordan Scarlett, who had been suspended, was recently cleared to rejoin the team. He and Lamical Perine figure to get a lot of carries in UF's backfield.

Florida is making the switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense so there could be an adjustment period due to the schematic changes. Time will tell how the Gators' personnel fits the new alignment. Linebacker was not exactly a position of strength of UF last season and they'll have another on the field in 2018.

The defense should improve in terms of the numbers because of talent alone, especially if the offense can move the chains with a little more success than last year. There's some talent on offense but there aren't easy answers at quarterback. This Florida team will not be picked by many to win the SEC East, but it would be a surprise if they don't see at least a three-game improvement in Mullen's first year after the collapse in '17.