Cats Win In Dominating Fashion
A week ago, the Kentucky football team got its first SEC win in over a year by beating Auburn on the road. Fast forward a week, and Mark Stoops’ club was trying for its first league home win in more than two years. Their opponent? The Florida Gators, who just happen to be the last team UK beat. To the surprise of many, the Wildcats administered a thumping on the Gators. Let’s break it down as Kentucky Breaks Home Streak In Style 38-7.
Turnovers Lead To Points
Florida took the opening kick with DJ Lagway leading them into Kentucky territory. However, if he’s had one big Achilles heel, it’s been interceptions. That happened here as Ty Bryant picked him off. The Wildcats’ drive stalled, but Jacob Kauwe was true from 39, and it was 3-0 Cats.
Brad White’s defense held on the next Gator drive. Unfortunately, as good as Kentucky’s special teams have been, punt returns have been an issue all year. Ja’Mori Maclin fumbled, giving Florida great field position at the Wildcat 13. Three plays later, Lagway hit Jadan Baugh, and it was 7-3 Gators.
A Huge Kentucky Run
Cutter Boley led UK on one of their best drives of the year. Using a great mix of run and pass, he found J.J. Hester on a 29-yard strike, and Kentucky was up 10-7. Another Florida fumble led to another Boley touchdown. The final 26 came on a pass to Jason Patterson, and just like that, Kentucky led by 10.
Rolling in the second quarter.
📺 – SEC Network pic.twitter.com/OzO4ld3YxQ
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 9, 2025
Seth McGowan’s two-yard run gave Kentucky a 24-7 lead at the intermission. The 21-second quarter points are the most scored in any quarter this season. In addition, they forced four Florida turnovers, a fumble, and three Lagway interceptions.
Keeping The Momentum
Kentucky picked up where they left off, going 75 yards in 13 plays. In the process, they ate up almost half of the third quarter. McGowan’s second touchdown run put UK up 31-7.
Interim coach Billy Gonzales benched Lagway in favor of Tramell Jones Jr. In previous years, backup signal callers have been Kentucky’s Kryptonite. However, it was not the case this night as the Gators turned the ball over on downs twice and were forced to punt on their other drive.
A 65-yard run from Dante Dowdell finished off the scoring from Kentucky. As we mentioned, Florida never really threatened. That was all she wrote as Kentucky breaks home streak in style, 38-7.
Looking Ahead
Kentucky is now 4-5 on the season and 2-5 in league play. Next Saturday, they step out of conference for the home finale against Tennessee Tech. If you haven’t been following the Golden Eagles, they are 10-0 and ranked fifth in FCS football. This one may not be as easy as most folks think.
As for Florida, they drop to 3-6 and 2-4 in the SEC. They hit the road again next Saturday when they travel to Oxford for a battle with sixth-ranked Ole Miss.
Let’s look at some stats and history as Kentucky breaks home streak in style, 38-7.
Final Thoughts
The Kentucky-Florida rivalry has been littered with Gator beatdowns over the years. It has to feel good for the BBN to see one go the Wildcats’ way. As we mentioned in the beginning, it’s the first conference home win since they beat the Gators by 19 back on September 30, 2023. One thing Stoops has done well over the last decade is knock off Florida.
Kentucky wins vs. Florida 1957-2017: 5
Kentucky wins vs. Florida since 2018: 5— Chris Fisher (@ChrisFisher248) November 9, 2025
In addition, it’s Kentucky’s first league win by 30 or more points since they beat Vanderbilt 55-17 back in 1998. On the other side of the ball, it’s the first time since 1970 that Florida has lost by 30 or more to an unranked team.
Boley had another solid game and put last year’s memories behind him, completing 18 of 23 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, he found 10 different receivers. If you tried to forget, he went 0-6 and had an interception returned for a touchdown.
In our game preview, we said it might be difficult for the Cats to run on the Florida defense. However, that was certainly not the case, and UK went for 233 yards behind 104 from Dowdell and 92 from McGowan.
A week after holding Auburn to 241 yards, the Kentucky defense held Florida to 247. Furthermore, they did a great job against both Lagway and Baugh, who ran wild last year.
Hot Seat Check
Two weeks ago, Stoops’ name was at the top of the list as far as coaching hot seats. You have to think about the way the team is playing, following back-to-back wins, that seat has cooled somewhat. Beat Tennessee Tech next week and then knock off either Vanderbilt or Louisville, and Kentucky’s going bowling again.
That’s something we’ll cover going forward, but for now, it’s a great win for the BBN. Kentucky breaks their home streak in style, 38-7 over Florida.
Main Image: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
