Gators tailback Malik Davis (20) in action the last time UF played at Kentucky, back in 2017, when the Gators escaped with a 28-27 win.
Game Day: Florida at Kentucky, 7 pm (ESPN)
Saturday, September 14, 2019 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Get ready for it, Florida fans. Highlights a plenty are coming.
Make that lowlights.
The pregame platter for Saturday's Southeastern Conference opener between No. 9 Florida (2-0, 0-0) and Kentucky (2-0, 0-0) at sold-out Kroger Field will include heaping helpings of 2018 flashbacks. It was just over a year ago that the Wildcats snapped a historic 31-game losing streak against the Gators — the longest run by one FBS foe against another in the country, and the fourth-longest in history — by rolling into Gainesville and trampling the home team behind 303 rushing yards en route to a 27-16 upset victory. The moment, frankly, deserves to be replayed. It was an incredible night for UK football and an obvious pregame storyline.
But it won't take long, maybe a few snaps, for this one to stand on its own merit.
Both teams have plenty to play for, most notably a leg up on the other in the SEC East Division standings, which in Week 3 (in any week, actually) is significant.
[Read senior writer Scott Carter's "Opening Kickoff" breakdown here]
In losing the second game of the Dan Mullen era, the Gators found themselves in a rare early conference hole, but Mullen masterfully used the defeat as a teaching moment for his players in terms of preparation; specifically, the level of intensity needed at practice. The team embraced the lesson and, despite a two-game speed bump in the middle of the season, rebounded to win 10 games, including a New Year's Six rout of Michigan in the Peach Bowl, and eighth in the final Associated Press poll.
In winning that game, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops had his methods validated in a big way and the administration's patience in program-building plan rewarded. The Wildcats, like the Gators, also went on to 10-win season — their most since 1977, thus equaling the most in school history — and finished the year by beating Penn State in the Citrus Bowl and ranked 12th in the country.
The Kroger crowd will be jacked and expecting a seminal type moment on their home field, where UK has dropped 16 straight in the series and will be an 8 1/2-point underdog.
Kentucky wide receiver David Bouvier hushes the Florida Field crowd after his 29-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter of last year's streak-snapping Wildcats win in Gainesville.
Florida, with wins over Miami and FCS-classified Tennessee-Martin, is averaging 423.5 yards on offense (eighth in the league) and giving up just 247.5 (second). Fourth-year junior quarterback Feleipe Franks has completed 77.8 percent of his passes for 524 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, while senior tailback Lamical Perine, with 93 yards on 20 carries, has yet to really get into a running game rhythm.
Neither team will be at full strength, with Florida minus wingback Kadarius Toney (shoulder) and standout cornerback CJ Henderson (ankle), but confident that a replacement-by-committee approach should suffice at both positions. Kentucky, though, lost senior starting quarterback Terry Wilson, who riddled UF both running and throwing in last year's win, for the season to a knee injury. Enter fourth-year junior Sawyer Smith, a transfer from Troy, who completed five of nine passes in UK's 38-17 defeat of Eastern Michigan last week. Smith played only a quarter, but got some experience — and success — as a starter last year in the Sun Belt Conference.
Kentucky, with two wins over Toledo and EMU, is tied for sixth in the conference in total offense (441.5 yards per game) and 11th in defense (366.5 ypg). The Cats have two of the top 10 rushers in the league — Kaviosiey Smoke, who's averaging 9.4 yards per carry, and A.J. Rose, who leads the club with 33 carries.
It'll be a different sort of challenge against Florida — versus beating up on a pair of Mid-American Conference opponents — but the same can be said for the Gators, who have not gone into a Kentucky game coming off a loss in the series since 1987. That'll be very different.
For a few snaps.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN, with Steve Levy on play-by-play, Brian Griese and Todd McShay providing color analysis, and Molly McGrath working the sidelines. Replays will air Sunday at 4:30 a.m. on ESPN, 4 p.m. on ESPNU and 9 p.m. on SEC Network, plus against Tuesday at 1:30 a.m. on SEC Network and 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
Follow senior staff writers Scott Carter and Chris Harry on Twitter (@GatorsScott and @GatorsChris) for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content from the game Saturday night and fresh content Sunday, as well.
