Checking in on the early-season temperatures in Gainesville, Fla. … 

HOT

Demarcus Robinson. There’s arguably no one hotter in the SEC on offense than the Gators sophomore wide receiver. Near the top on virtually every receiving statistic through two games, Robinson continues to be the biggest playmaker in Florida’s new offensive system. His 15 receptions, 216 yards and two touchdowns against Kentucky put him as the first receiver to record consecutive 100-yard performances since Jabar Gaffney in 2001. Robinson also was the first 200-yard receiver for the Gators in 12 years. It remains to be seen how he’ll handle tougher defenses down the line, especially when they zero in on him as a top priority, but Robinson has played out of his mind early on.

WARM

Matt Jones. Just below Demarcus Robinson in terms of early season success has to be running back Matt Jones. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound back has exploded for 221 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games, leading the charge for Florida’s power run game. Jones’ importance to the offense was amplified last week as quarterback Jeff Driskel struggled at times to have any rhythm in the passing game against Kentucky’s blitzes. Jones, along with Kelvin Taylor, may not get the hype like Robinson in Kurt Roper’s offense, but they’ll be just as important moving forward.

COLD

Penalties. One of the more frustrating things for Florida fans since Will Muschamp became the head coach has been the lack of discipline. Since 2011, the Gators have ranked either dead last or second-to-last in the SEC in penalties committed. This season hasn’t been much better, either. Florida committed another eight penalties last week for 78 yards, bringing their two-game total to 18 penalties and 178 yards. Their average penalty yards per game currently sits at just under 23 yards higher than the next team. Florida can’t move forward very far if discipline continues to be an issue.

FROZEN

Defensive communication. The secondary looked vulnerable to the deep ball, giving up seven plays of more than 20 passing yards. A big reason why was communication breakdowns between the defensive backs. Head coach Will Muschamp sees these mental lapses as teaching opportunities for he and his staff.

“Here are some things we need to clean up as far as our technique and things are concerned,” Muschamp said in his weekly press conference. “And the encouraging thing for me as you watch the film is it’s all correctable. You’re not looking at it going ‘wow we couldn’t cover this guy.’ That wasn’t the case. And then a couple of the deep balls – one on Jabari [Gorman] on their sideline, the one on Brian [Poole] on our sideline – were well thrown balls.”

Whether it’s easy to correct or not, the Gators can’t afford any more communication issues in the secondary, especially with games against Alabama and Tennessee looming.