Will Florida football's 'Road Warrior Mentality' be enough to win at pesky Kentucky?

Florida football has established itself as a ranked team now — No. 23 in the USA Today/AFCA poll and No. 22 in the AP Top 25 — even after an underwhelming 22-7 win over Charlotte at The Swamp on Saturday.

The three-game winning streak for the Florida Gators (3-1, 1-0 SEC) has come within UF's raucous home confines, where Billy Napier has gone 8-2 over his first 17 games.

Playing away from The Swamp has been a different story for the Gators in the Napier era. Florida is 1-4 in true road games and 1-6 when you combine road and neutral games (a 42-20 loss to Georgia in Jacksonville and a 30-3 drubbing to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl).

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Another road test for UF comes Saturday at Kentucky. The noise in the system will reach jet engine levels if Florida flops against the Wildcats. The once one-sided rivalry has become competitive thanks to the coaching acumen of Kentucky's Mark Stoops, who has led the Wildcats to back-to-back wins against Florida and three wins in the last five meetings between the two schools.

"Obviously Kentucky has a really good football team," Napier said. "We've got a ton of respect for Coach Stoops and the program that he's built there, the consistency in which they play and the brand of football that they play — the fundamentals, the philosophy.

"It's a tough place to go play. We've got to go up there and play at noon. Our players are well aware of the program Kentucky has. They've beaten us two years in a row. I do think there are challenges that come with going on the road and playing in this league, and certainly Kentucky is one of those."

Florida Gators QB Graham Mertz says UF needs road warrior mentality

Mertz, who dropped to 6-8 as a starting quarterback on the road following UF's 24-11 season opening loss at Utah, said playing well on the road in tough environments comes down to a mentality.

"You've got to have that road warrior mentality," Mertz said. "It's really — if you go into any road game, it's a hostile environment. I mean, you've got your boys with you."

Florida struggled with procedural issues, red zone execution and special teams gaffes in the Utah loss.

"We went to Utah, and we didn't execute," Mertz said. "We mentally didn't have that edge. So, across the board, we're talking about that. We've got to go out and execute at a high level and just have fun doing it. That's our plan."

Will the noon kickoff help Florida football?

Florida's lone win on the road under Napier came last November at Texas A&M. It was an 11 a.m. local time kick, and the Gators didn't answer the bell early against an Aggies squad that was down several starters due to the flu. The Gators actually trailed 24-20 at the half. But Florida took over the line of scrimmage in the second half by running the football and putting heat on Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King. The Gators scored 21 unanswered points en route to a 41-24 win.

Of course, the Kentucky crowd at Kroger Field (capacity 61,000) could be less rowdy for a noon kick. Stoops, though, provided an entertaining answer when asked whether the crowd could remain a factor during his Monday press conference.

Napier, as well, doesn't view the start time as having an impact on the outcome.

"We don't get to decide that," Napier said. "We've got to play at different times. One of the reasons why we formatted training camp the way we did this year.

"I like to win, OK? I don't care what time the game is. I like to win."

Will the Florida football defense travel?

Florida has won early on the strength of its defense, which leads the SEC (244.8 yards per game allowed) and ranks fifth nationally.

"We've done a better job playing the normal downs better." Napier said. "We've done a good job of getting off the field on third down. And when we do get into the red zone, for the most part, we're playing pretty good down there."

The Gators, though, have forced just one turnover through its first four games, and may need to force a takeaway or two to generate momentum. UF also will need to avoid giving up the big play, like it did when Utah started the game in week one with a 70-yard TD pass from quarterback Bryson Barnes to receiver Money Parks.

"There's always room for improvement," Florida defensive lineman Caleb Banks said. "I think we're doing a good job with a lot of things. I think we can improve on getting to the ball quicker, like just tackling. I know we've been really good with tackling, but I know we can do better."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida Gators football in search of success on road at Kentucky Wildcats