LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky enters the SEC gauntlet this week when it hosts the No. 22 Florida Gators at Kroger Field this Saturday. It’s on the front end of a trifecta of ranked conference opponents that includes a road trip to No. 1 Georgia in Athens and then a home game against No. 23 Missouri.
The Wildcats (4-0,1-0) will play their Southeastern Conference home opener at noon in front of a sold-out crowd Saturday. It marks UK’s first ranked matchup of the season. Despite a 6-34 all-time record against ranked-UF teams, the Wildcats have snagged back-to-back wins against ranked-Gators teams for the past two seasons, and won three of their last five meetings. The game could determine which team emerges as the No. 2 team in the East Division behind top-ranked Georgia.
It’s Kentucky’s first chance for a three-game win streak over Florida since 1948-51.
UK is coming off a big road win to open SEC play, where they handled Vanderbilt, 45-28. Breaking a pattern of slow starts, the Cats came out firing. Big Blue scored 24 points in the first half, more first-half points than their last two outings combined.
They were helped by a pick-six from Maxwell Hairston early in the first quarter. Hairston wasn’t done, picking off Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann a second time late in the fourth quarter, and running it back 54 yards for a second defensive touchdown. Hairston’s standout play garnered him SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The Cats showed some improvement over their nonconference play, where penalties and miscues stalled their offense. A late rally by the pertinacious Commodore offense made the final tally a lot closer than it felt for much of the game. Other than that, it may have been their most complete game to date.
Quarterback Devin Leary continues his steadfast play, with 1,060 passing yards on the season, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. The starting signal caller has worked to distribute the ball to all of his explosive playmakers. Barrion Brown, Tayvion Robinson, Dante Key and even tight end Josh Kattus have all snagged touchdowns from QB 1.
Anchor running back Ray Davis continues to lead the rushing attack. The transfer back hit the end zone twice against Vanderbilt, with 78 rushing yards for the game.
The Gators (3-1,1-0) stumbled right out of the starting gate for their season, dropping a 24-11 road loss to then-No. 14 Utah. They’ve recovered quickly, powering through their next three opponents, including an impressive 29-16 upset of then-No.11 Tennessee, en route to a Top-25 ranking.
Florida looks equally impressive on both sides of the ball. They average 412 offensive yards per game to UK’s 396 yards and are allowing opponents just 245 yards per game to UK’s 293. The Gators are the SEC's stingiest defense, allowing just 13.5 points per game.
The offense has some room to grow in finding the end zone. They settled for five field goals — four in the red zone — in last week's 22-7 home win over Charlotte.
Quarterback Graham Mertz, who’s thrown for 951 yards with four touchdowns against one interception, said he wants his squad to adopt a “road-warrior mentality.” They’ll need every bit of that mentality to defy recent history. Florida has lost 14 of its 16 games away from The Swamp.
That’s on trend for head coach Bill Napier, who is on a five-game skid in road or neutral-site games.
Still, Kentucky will have to bring it all together if they want to beat Florida. Despite the recent string of wins for UK, Florida has dominated the Cats historically. The sportsbooks may favor Kentucky, but fans know many a UK team that’s lost to even mediocre Florida squads.
If both teams come out of the gate fast, fans may be in for an epic battle. Limiting mistakes will be a difference-maker, as both squads struggled with penalties and miscommunication early on. Also, be on the lookout for who can capitalize on opportunities. Florida continues to struggle on special teams, which might open up some unexpected scoring potential. The game may very well come down to mistakes, and how strong UK’s defense can hold up.
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