It looked very ugly for the Florida Gators in Lexington, Kentucky. The Florida Gators were down 21-10 and had just lost their starting quarterback Feleipe Franks due to a serious ankle injury. Backup quarterback Kyle Trask gets in the game as does the unthinkable. The former three-star recruit led the Gators to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Florida defeated Kentucky 29-21. The defense also came in the clutch as they forced three turnovers and only allowed three points in the second half. Franks will likely miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season as they blew an 11 points lead. Quarterback Sawyer Smith looked good in the first half but started to struggle in the second. Smith completed 23 out of 35 for 267 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Smith also had the only rushing touchdown for the Wildcats on a QB sneak. Kavosiey Smoke led Kentucky in rushing as he had 16 carries for 81 yards. Ahmad Wagner and Lynn Bowden Jr. both had great receiving game for the Wildcats. Wagner had three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Bowden had seven receptions for 70 yards. Keaton Upshaw’s only catch in the game was a 13-yard receiving touchdown.
The Kentucky defense was very solid up until Trask came into the game. Kentucky forced two turnovers as Tyrell Ajian picked off Franks on Florida’s first drive. Kordell Looney had the only sack in the game as it was also a strip sack. Senior Kash Daniels led the Wildcats in tackles with ten sacks including a tackle for loss. Calvin Taylor had five tackles in the game and a tackle for loss. Marquan McCall and Jamar Watson both had a tackle for loss against the Florida Gators.
Florida Gators
What a finish for the Florida Gators as they comeback and beat the Kentucky Wildcats in their house. Franks completed 12 out of 17 for 174 yards with a touchdown and an interception before the injury. Trask came in the game and was picked apart the Kentucky defense. Trask was 9 out of 13 passing attempts for 126 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Florida rushing attack was nowhere to be found once again as Lamical Perine leading the running backs with 27 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. Van Jefferson led the way for Florida in receiving as he had six catches for 93 yards. Tight end Kyle Pitts also play a big role in the offensive with four receptions and 63 yards. Freddie Swain caught four pass for 57 yards and a touchdown. Josh Hammond put the nail on the coffin with a 76-yard rushing touchdown.
On defense, the Florida Gators struggled in the first half but were lights out in the second. The Gators forced four turnovers in the win including three interceptions. Senior linebacker David Reese led both teams in tackles with sixteen. Jon Greenard had the only sack in the game and also had 1.5 tackles for loss. Ventrell Miller had seven tackles in the game including five solo. Miami native Shawn Davis had a coming out party with two interceptions in the game. True freshman Kaiir Elam also had an interception as Kentucky’s QB threw a Hail Mary on the final play. Brad Stewart also recovered a fumble on the first drive on the game for the Kentucky Wildcats. The Gators came up big when they needed to even without Jabari Zuniga and C.J. Henderson.
What’s Next?
The Florida Gators will be back home for one of their most hated rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers. The Volunteers come into this game with a 1-2 record after blowing out UT-Chattanooga 45-0. This will be Kyle Trask’s first collegiate start. You can watch this game on Saturday at noon. The channel of the game as not been announced yet.
