Kentucky Returns Home to Take on Top 10 Florida
After notching an SEC road win at South Carolina, the Kentucky Wildcats return home to play host to the Top-10 ranked Florida Gators. Game time is 6 p.m. EDT and it will air on ESPN.
UK is seeking a 5-0 start for the first time since 2018 and just the fourth time in the last 70 years (2018, 2007, 1984).
The Cats’ new offense is under the guidance of coordinator Liam Coen, who came to Lexington after a successful tenure on the staff of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, piled up more than 500 total yards in each of the first two games of the season for the first time in school history. With a deep, veteran offensive line bookended by All-American Darian Kinnard and LSU transfer Dare Rosenthal, the power running of Chris Rodriguez Jr. and a wide receiver corps that features Josh Ali and Wan’Dale Robinson, the Cats showed the hallmarks of an explosive group.
Defensively, the Cats are mixing a youth movement with productive seniors Yusuf Corker, Marquan McCall, Josh Paschal, DeAndre Square and others. The unit ranks ninth nationally and has shown a knack for coming up with critical plays with the game in the balance.
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| Kentucky at South Carolina | ||
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| Sat., Sept. 25 – 7:00 p.m. ET Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, S.C. Game Notes: UK | SC Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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TV: ESPN2 |
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| UK | Team Stats | SC |
| 4-0 | Record | 3-1 |
| 2-0 | Conference Record | 1-1 |
| 31.0 | Scoring/game | 36.0 |
| 443.8 | Total offense/game | 540.8 |
| 204.5 | Rushing yards/game | 322.5 |
| 238.5 | Passing yards/game | 218.3 |
| 17.3 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 12.4 |
| 3.3 | Punt returns (avg) | 10.6 |
| 42.9 | Punting (avg) | 46.6 |
| 32:07 | Time of possession/game | 32:06 |
| 54.4% | Third down conversion | 50.0% |
| 00.0% | Fourth down conversion | 50.0% |
| 17.8 | Points allowed/game | 19.8 |
| 260.0 | Total yards allowed/game | 351.5 |
| 87.5 | Rush yards allowed/game | 110.0 |
| 172.5 | Pass yards allowed/game | 241.5 |
Stoops, Cats Preparing for Challenge of Florida
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops knows all about it. He’s heard it ever since he’s been in Lexington. About how Florida has dominated Kentucky in football since well before Stoops was coaching the Cats.
But Stoops also knows that, since he arrived at UK nine years ago, the gap between the two programs has nearly disappeared. Stoops is 1-7 against Florida but that number could easily be at .500 or better. If a handful of plays over the years had gone the other way, the discussion about the rivalry between the SEC East foes would be entirely different.
Consider this:
– In 2019 against Florida, Kentucky had a field goal attempt with 58 seconds to play that would have given the Cats the lead. It missed wide right.
– In 2017 against the Gators, UK attempted a 57-yard field goal as the final horn sounded. That attempt came up just short and Florida prevailed 28-27.
– In 2015 against UF, the Cats had two possessions late with a chance to win against the Gators, only to come up short in a 14-9 loss.
– And in 2014, Florida needed triple overtime, and perhaps a favorable call from the officiating crew, to top the Cats in Gainesville, 36-30.
While the losses are frustrating, Stoops also knows that his team can take some solace in defeat…Read More
Series vs. Florida
• Florida leads 53-18 overall, including 22-10 in Lexington.
• UK’s last win over the Gators in Lexington was Nov. 15, 1986 (10-3).
• Last time Florida came to Lexington in 2019, the Gators erased a second-half deficit and stunned the Cats, 29-21, in Lexington.
• In 2018, Kentucky won 27-16 in Gainesville, ending a 31-year losing streak to the Gators
• Five of the past seven meetings have seen the outcome in doubt deep into the fourth quarter
• Biggest UK win: 52 (52-0 in 1917)
• Biggest Florida win: 66 (73-7 in 1996)
• Games decided by eight points or less: Florida leads 16-7
• UK coach Mark Stoops is 1-7 vs. Florida during his tenure.
A UK Win Would…
• Make UK 5-0 for the first time since 2018 and just the fourth time in the last 70 years (2018,2007, 1984).
• Move UK to 3-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2018, just the second time since 1977 and only the fifth time in school history.
• Give head coach Mark Stoops 27 SEC victories at UK, extending his school record after passing Fran Curci last week.
• Give Stoops 54 career victories at UK, putting him just six wins shy of tying Paul “Bear” Bryant for the school’s all-time winning coach.
• Give UK its first win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 10 South Carolina in 2010, 31-28, in Lexington.
• Snap a two-game losing skid to Florida overall and a 16-game losing skid in Lexington.
• Be the Cats’ first win in Lexington over the Gators since 1986, a 10-3 victory.
Kentucky vs. The Ranked
• Kentucky has played 257 ranked teams in the Associated Press Poll in its history. The Cats are 46-206-5 in those games.
• Since 2015, the Cats are 7-10 against ranked teams. The wins were over No. 23 NC State (2020), No. 18 Tennessee (2020), No. 12 Penn State, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 25 Florida (2018), No. 11 Louisville (2016) and No. 25 Missouri (2015). UK is 4-34 vs. ranked Florida teams.
• UK’s last win over a ranked Florida team came in 2018 in Gainesville when the Cats won 27-16 over No. 25 Florida.
• UK’s last win over a ranked SEC team was at No. 18 Tennessee, 34-7, on Oct. 17, 2020 in Knoxville.
• The Cats’ last win over a top-10 ranked team was vs. No. 10 South Carolina in 2010 in Lexington (31-28).
Kentucky-Florida Connections
• Kentucky has 11 players from the state of Florida: DT Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald (Lakeland), OLB Sam Anaele, WR Josh Ali (Hollywood), DB Cedrick Dort Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens), WR DeMarcus Harris (Vero Beach), OL Kenneth Horsey (Sanford), WR Rahsaan Lewis (Orlando), OT Jake Pope (Fort Lauderdale), QB Nik Scalzo (Fort Lauderdale), WR Clevan Thomas Jr. (Miami) and LB Jordan Wright (Fort Lauderdale).
• Florida does not have a player on its roster from Kentucky.
• Coach Mark Stoops spent six seasons as an assistant coach in the Sunshine State, including three years each with Miami (Fla.) and Florida State. During his time with the schools, they went a combined 64-13. Stoops also spent a year in 1996 on the South Florida coaching staff, helping build the Bulls in the start-up of the program before the 1997 kickoff.
• Florida defensive line coach David Turner has had two terms at Kentucky. He spent three seasons in Lexington from 2010-12, as well as the 1993 and 1994 seasons, helping the Wildcats advance to the 1993 Peach Bowl and 2010 BBVA Compass Bowl.
• Florida secondary coach Wesley McGriff is in his first year with the Gators but has extensive ties to Kentucky. He was on the Wildcats staff in 2001-02, coached at Eastern Kentucky in 2000 and was at Kentucky State from 1995-99. He also coached with Jon Sumrall at Ole Miss in 2018.
Last Meeting vs. Florida
• Kentucky fell in Gainesville, 34-10, in the second-to-last game of the 2020 regular season.
• The Wildcats had a severely limited roster due to injuries and Covid-19 protocols.
• Despite that, the Cats trailed only 14-10 at halftime and actually were ahead inside the final minute of the half until Florida got a 50-yard punt return for a score to change the momentum.
• UK out-rushed the Gators 159-104 and that total was even higher without the 20 yards of sack yardage taken off the total.
• The Cats forced and recovered a pair of fumbles, had 5.0 tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries in the game.
