Both Teams Need A Win
It’s a battle of teams with 3-3 records when Kentucky and Florida meet in Gainesville under the lights Saturday night. In addition, they are coming off games where both had plenty of chances to win. For the Wildcats they’ll try to accomplish something not done in over 70 years. We’ll tell you what that is, look at both teams, and give you a prediction as Kentucky heads into the swamp.
Finish What You Started
There were many puzzling things about Kentucky’s bad loss to Vanderbilt. Among them was the inability to get the ball in the end zone. Penalties and a dropped snap on a field goal kept the Cats from scoring on one drive. An unsportsmanlike flag essentially ended another drive while a fumble ended a third.
Heading into Saturday UK ranks 67th in the nation in first downs a game with 21. However, they are a lowly 98th in red zone percentage at 55 percent. Throw in the fact the Cats rank 109th in plays over 20 yards and 123rd in plays over 30 yards with six. In Kentucky’s win over Ole Miss, a 60-yard strike from Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown led to the winning score.
The rushing game has been solid but again lacking big play capability. This led to one of the more interesting comments ever from Mark Stoops’s Monday press conference. In talking about freshman running back Jamarion Wilcox, who’s shown big play potential, the UK head man said the following. “Here’s a simple thing, tie your shoes. He doesn’t tie his shoes, so he runs it but his shoes fall off, so he’s got to come out. That would help.” Yep, that’s a thing that happened.
Running back Chip Trayanum could see his first action of 2024 as he’s listed as questionable for Saturday. He hasn’t played this year after breaking his hand near the end of fall camp. Getting him back could go a long way towards some big plays. Let’s now look at Florida as Kentucky heads into the swamp.
Moving On Without Mertz
Billy Napier’s Gators nearly pulled off a huge upset last week at Tennessee. In the game, Florida jumped out to an early 10-0 lead only to see the Vols run off 17 unanswered. A touchdown pass with 29 seconds left sent it to overtime. However, in the extra frame, the Gators missed a field goal and a Dylan Sampson run gave UT the win.
As the headline says Florida will be without their starting quarterback Graham Mertz for the remainder of the year. The senior tore his ACL in the Tennessee loss and his college career is now over. His number one goal now is to mentor new starter DJ Lagway. Appearing in every game the five-star freshman has completed 65 percent of his passes for 765 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately, he does have four interceptions.
Montrell Johnson is the leading rusher with 373 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, he’s caught 13 passes tying him for fourth on the team. Although, he’s listed as questionable for Saturday. The combination of Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike has 38 catches for 729 yards and four scores.
Defensively Florida has been pretty good the last few weeks, holding the high-powered Vol offense to only 312 yards. Before that, they held Central Florida to 13 in a win. Safety Jordan Castell leads the way with 30 tackles, a sack, and four passes defended.
Now that we’ve looked at both teams it’s time to look at the rivalry as Kentucky heads into the swamp.
Series History
Overall the history of the series is slanted heavily in favor of the Gators. Saturday marks the 75th meeting between the two schools with Florida holding a 53-21 lead. Ultimately, fortunes have shifted the Wildcats’ way recently as UK has a three-game winning streak and four of the last six.
In 2018 the Cats finally ended a 31-game losing streak by winning in Gainesville. Now heading into Saturday UK has won three in a row and going for a fourth. If they win on Saturday it will be the first four-game winning streak against Florida since 1948-1951.
A season ago it was the Ray Davis show in an easy Wildcat win. Davis rushed for 280 yards, third most in school history, and three touchdowns in a 19-point win. Furthermore, he hauled in a receiving touchdown meaning he had a hand in all four of the Wildcats scores.
It’s now prediction time as Kentucky heads into the swamp.
Who Wins On Saturday?
Both teams need a win as the Wildcats’ bowl hopes are hanging by a thread. On the other side of the ball, the Gators have arguably the toughest schedule in the nation coming down the stretch. Kentucky’s certainly turned the tide in the series with the BBN going from thinking there’s no chance to feeling pretty confident.
In order for Kentucky to win they must make some big plays, cut down on penalties, and have no special teams errors. While Florida’s only given up nine plays of 30 yards or more this season.
Look for a close game going down to the wire with the Cats picking up back-to-back wins in Gainesville.
Kentucky 24-21
Thanks for checking out our preview as Kentucky heads into the swamp. We’ll be back after the game with a complete recap.
