Cats Come Up Just Short Against Florida
The Kentucky football team dropped its first game of the year on Saturday night, falling to Florida 28-27 at Kroger Field.
The Wildcats had a chance to win on the game’s final play, but Austin MacGinnis came up just short on a 57-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
Stephen Johnson connected on 17 of 25 through the air for 196 yards and three touchdowns for Kentucky, while Sihiem King rushed five times for 64 yards, and caught two passes for 22 yards in the game.
Florida outgained Kentucky 395-340 in a game that saw only one turnover (a Darius West interception of Florida’s Luke Del Rio).
After the teams traded punts to start the game, Kentucky got the scoring started on its second drive. The Wildcats marched 75 yards in eight plays, culminating with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Blake Bone. MacGinnis nailed the point after to give Kentucky a 7-0 lead.
The Wildcats took that lead into the second quarter, but that’s when Florida scored its first points. The Gators went 58 yards in just four plays, with Kadarius Toney rushing 36 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 with 14:16 left in the second quarter.
Kentucky regained the lead later in the second quarter, when Johnson connected with Garrett Johnson on a nine-yard fade in the corner of the end zone to make it 14-7 UK.
Florida answered later in the quarter when, on fourth down and three from the 45 yard line, quarterback Feleipe Franks found a wide-open Tyrie Cleveland to tie the score 14-14 with 3:16 left in the half.
The Wildcats had a chance to take the lead into the locker room right before the half, but MacGinnis’ 48-yard field goal glanced off the right upright with 16 seconds remaining, and the score remained 14-14 at the break.
Florida received the second-half kickoff, but went three-and-out, as the Wildcat defense forced a punt. Kentucky took over on its own 38 and went 62 yards in just four plays. And when Johnson hit tight end C.J. Conrad with a 23-yard scoring pass, the Cats grabbed a 21-14 advantage.
Kentucky extended its lead later in the quarter on a 42-yard MacGinnis field goal, giving the Wildcats a 24-14 lead with 5:51 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, MacGinnis added to the lead with a season-long 50-yard strike, giving Kentucky a 27-14 lead with 11:33 left in the game. It was MacGinnis’ 58th career field goal, breaking the Kentucky record of 57 previously held by Joe Worley.
But Florida was not done. The Gators took the ensuing kickoff and marched 80 yards in seven plays, keyed by a Toney end around pass to Cleveland for 50 yards. Brandon Powell finished the drive with a six-yard rush out of the wildcat formation to cut Kentucky’s lead to 27-21 with 7:58 left in the game.
After a Kentucky punt, the Gators mounted what turned out to be the game-winning drive. Florida assembled a 13-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a Luke Del Rio five-yard scoring pass to Freddie Swain. Eddie Pineiro nailed the extra point to give Florida a 28-27 lead with just 43 seconds remaining.
Kentucky was able to drive the ball into Florida territory on its final possession of the game. And with three seconds left, MacGinnis’ attempt came up just short, ending the game.
