Another exciting weekend of college football left the Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals with different results. Big Blue came up on top in an SEC showdown against No. 10-ranked Florida at Kroger Field, but the Cards fell to Wake Forest on the road thanks to a late field goal.
Here's a recap of the Cats and Cards' matchups.
Kentucky rallies past No. 10 Florida 20-13 in SEC showdown
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — On the verge of falling further behind No. 10 Florida, Kentucky quickly swung momentum with several gut-check plays and held on for a memorable victory.
Not to mention, an important one for a Wildcats team with expectations of contending.
Trevin Wallace returned a blocked field goal 76 yards for the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter, Chris Rodriguez Jr. had a 9-yard scoring run early in the fourth and Kentucky made a final defensive stand to hold off Florida 20-13 on Saturday night.
The Southeastern Conference East Division showdown was more of a slog than a slugfest for much of the night, and the Gators (3-2, 1-2) were poised to add Jace Christmann’s 48-yard field goal attempt to their 10-7 lead.
Kentucky defensive end Josh Paschal got a hand on the low kick that sent the ball fluttering behind the line to Wallace, who jetted past a tackler on the left sideline and cut back through a small seam to race for the game-changing TD with 6:36 remaining in the third.
“My job is to play like the safety back there in case anything goes wrong,” the freshman said. “The ball got tipped and it came right to me. ... I knew what to do when I got the ball. I felt one lineman’s hand brush off me and I knew I was gone.”
Added Paschal: “They gave me some room for me to get inside and jump and make a big play, and Trevin made a bigger play.”
The Wildcats (5-0, 3-0) soon made another to build on their lead.
They turned it over on downs at the Florida 34 to start the fourth quarter but quickly created another opportunity when linebacker J.J. Weaver intercepted Emory Jones’ pass for a first down at the Gators 29. That set up Rodriguez’s 9-yard TD for a 20-10 cushion with 11:32 remaining.
Florida kept fighting and got within seven on Christmann’s 33-yard field goal with 6:23 left before getting the ball again a couple of minutes later and driving to the Kentucky 5. A 4-yard loss on a pass play and false start penalty moved the Gators back to the 14, but they still had a final chance from the 8 before Jacquez Jones swatted away Jones’ fourth-down pass with 18 seconds left to seal the win.
Fans stormed the field to celebrate as Kentucky beat Florida at home for the first time since 1986 and took another step toward potentially challenging No. 2 Georgia in the East. The Wildcats are 5-0 for the first time since going 10-3 in 2018 and just the fourth time in the past 70 years.
“Never been a part of a team that had fans storm the field,” said Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, a Penn State transfer. “The fans were awesome.”
The Wildcats won despite being outgained 382-211, but got a 41-yard TD pass from Levis to Wan’Dale Robinson in the first quarter and 99 yards rushing on 19 carries from Rodriguez.
Eight false starts comprised more than half of Florida’s 15 penalties for 115 yards. Jones completed 23 of 31 passes for 203 yards, but the Gators were held way below their average of nearly 541 yards that ranked ninth coming in.
“I mean, you’re not going make all the mistakes we made in the course of a game and expect to win,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said. “You’re not going to win in the SEC doing that.”
Sciba’s kick lifts No. 24 Wake Forest past Louisville, 37-34
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Nick Sciba was ready when Wake Forest set him up with the shot at a winning field goal. He capitalized, just like the rest of these 24th-ranked Demon Deacons sitting atop the Atlantic Coast Conference race.
Sciba hit from 29 yards with 22 seconds left to help Wake Forest beat Louisville 37-34 on Saturday, keeping the Demon Deacons unbeaten while ending a two-game skid against the Cardinals.
Sam Hartman threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense for the Demon Deacons (5-0, 3-0), who got a huge boost late from Justice Ellison with several chain-moving runs on the go-ahead drive.
They had won each of their first four games by comfortable margins, but handled a close game just fine.
“We expect to go the distance with almost every team we play,” said receiver Taylor Morin, who had six catches for 122 yards and a 42-yard touchdown. “I think that mentality and that type of preparation pays off.”
On the last drive, Ellison ran seven times for 41 yards. And Hartman connected with Jaquarii Roberson (six catches for 135 yards) on third down for 12 yards to keep the Demon Deacons moving to give Sciba his shot — on his 22nd birthday, no less.
“Of course I want us to do our best possible, and that would’ve been getting in the end zone,” Sciba said. “So I was obviously cheering for that. But I was just staying ready in case my number was called, and it was. And luckily I made it.”
Louisville (3-2, 1-1) got a final drive with no timeouts, but the Cardinals’ desperate, lateral-filled play never got across midfield before Wake Forest’s Rondell Bothroyd recovered the loose ball to end it.
Malik Cunningham had a big day for the Cardinals, throwing for 332 yards and two scores while running for two additional TDs. Louisville rallied from a 27-17 deficit entering the fourth quarter and 34-27 late, with Cunningham making his biggest throw in a frenetic final few minutes that had seen Wake Forest take a 34-27 lead on Hartman’s 7-yard throw to A.T. Perry with 3:52 left.
Cunningham went over the middle to Tyler Harrell, who turned the corner and down the left sideline, breaking away from four black jerseys in pursuit for a 75-yard touchdown that tied the game at 34 with 3:01 left.
“We made some plays,” Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said. “We still left some plays out there on the field.”