Kentucky Hosts Florida in Eastern Division Showdown
SEC Nation will travel to Lexington this week as Kentucky hosts No. 9/8 Florida in an early SEC East showdown in Saturday primetime. The game is set for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff and will air on ESPN.
The Wildcats come into the contest riding a five-game winning streak dating to last season and are 12-3 in their last 15 games, tied for the second-best record among SEC teams behind Alabama’s 14-1 mark. They also ended a 31-game losing streak to Florida in 2018 when they knocked off the Gators 27-16 last September, catapulting the program to its first 10-win season in 41 years.
Through two games the Cats have delivered victories over a pair of well-regarded MAC teams, scoring 38 points in each. The running game found its groove against Eastern Michigan, churning out 239 yards on the ground and 6.1 yards per attempt. However, UK will have a new starting quarterback after Terry Wilson was lost for the season following an injury vs. EMU.
A defense looking for new stars to emerge after the departure of Josh Allen and the entire secondary has been solid as it incorporates a youth movement.
Cat Scratches: ‘Harsh Reality’ and Talk Aside, Cats Eager to Face Gators
The reality, as Mark Stoops put it, was harsh.
Kentucky, after Terry Wilson went down with a season-ending knee injury, would be without the quarterback that has led the Wildcats to more wins over the last 15 games than any other school in the Southeastern Conference, save Alabama.
That reality was clearly sinking in as the Cats shuffled into the locker room after a 38-17 win over Eastern Michigan last weekend.
“The coaches and the players, and everybody just understanding that we all feel terrible for Terry,” Stoops said, “and as I told the team afterwards, and I could tell just by being in the locker room after the game on Saturday that guys were disappointed, you know, and flat and really felt for Terry.”
That sympathy won’t fade until Wilson makes the complete recovery from a torn patellar tendon that he’s expected to, but the show goes on. That’s been proven time after time in recent seasons, as UK has absorbed blows ranging from season-ending injuries to other key players and cancer diagnoses for John Schlarman and Josh Paschal….Read More
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| Kentucky vs. Florida | ||
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| Sat., Sept. 14 – 7 p.m. ET Kroger Field Lexington, Ky. Game Notes: UK  | UF Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | Team Stats | UF |
| 2-0 | Record | 2-0 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 38.0 | Scoring/game | 34.5 |
| 441.5 | Total offense/game | 423.5 |
| 207.5 | Rushing yards/game | 140.5 |
| 234.0 | Passing yards/game | 283.0 |
| 24.8 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 26.0 |
| 11.3 | Punt returns (avg) | 3.7 |
| 50.4 | Punting (avg) | 46.0 |
| 31:53 | Time of possession/game | 27:36 |
| 48.0% | Third down conversion | 47.8% |
| 100.0% | Fourth down conversion | 83.3% |
| 20.5 | Points allowed/game | 10.0 |
| 366.5 | Total yards allowed/game | 247.5 |
| 115.0 | Rush yards allowed/game | 70.5 |
| 251.5 | Pass yards allowed/game | 177.0 |
SEC Nation Arrives
• The popular football road show SEC Nation hits Lexington for this week’s Eastern Division showdown.
• On Saturday, it will air live from 10 a.m. to noon ET on location at the William T. Young Library in the central part of UK’s campus.
• It is hosted by Marty Smith, Marcus Spears, Paul Finebaum and Tim Tebow.
• Fans are encouraged to attend the live recording and arrive early for a free SEC Nation t-shirt (200 available). Free food and gear will be available and fans will be eligible to win prizes. The visit will be SEC Nation’s fifth to UK in the last six seasons.
• Free non-permit parking for SEC Nation is available in Parking Structure #2, accessible from University Drive near the William T. Young Library.
Game Promotions/Florida
• It’s UK Athletics Hall of Fame weekend, where six Wildcat greats will be honored for their accomplishments on and off the field while in Lexington. The class is headlined from a football perspective by quarterback Andre’ Woodson (2004-07), who piloted the program’s impressive run while going to back-to-back bowl games in 2006-07. Woodson was a two-time team and Music City Bowl MVP, led a victory over No. 1 LSU in 2007 and finished his career with 9,360 yards and 79 touchdowns through the air.
• Woodson also is Saturday night’s honorary game captain.
• The Hall of Fame inductees also include DeMarcus Cousins (men’s basketball), Henri Junghanel (rifle), A’dia Mathies (women’s basketball), Vic Nelson (cross country/track) and Don Weber (cross country/track).
Scouting Florida
• Florida coach Dan Mullen is in his second season at Florida after a successful tenure at Mississippi State and previous stop in Gainesville as an assistant.
• The Gators are 2-0 on the season and 12-3 during Mullen’s time as head coach.
• Florida earned a 24-20 win over Miami in the season opener, renewing the Sunshine State rivalry in the process. The Gators followed that up with a 45-0 shutout of Tennessee Martin on Saturday night.
• The Gators’ offense has been excellent throwing the football with quarterback Feleipe Franks completing 78 percent of his passes for nearly 600 yards through two games. He’s also rushed for 45 yards and a score.
• Defensively, Florida has unleashed a ferocious pass rush. The Gators have tallied 26 tackles for loss and 15 sacks in just two contests. Fourteen players have been credited with at least a half a sack to this point.
• The defense has been stingy, allowing just 247.5 total yards per game and 70.5 on the ground.
Series vs. Florida
• Florida leads the all-time series 51-18, including 21-10 in Lexington.
• Kentucky won 27-16 in Gainesville last season, ending a 31-year losing streak to the Gators.
• Four of the past five meetings have seen the outcome in doubt deep into the fourth quarter.
• The last two meetings at Kroger Field have been decided by a total of six points: 14-9 in 2015 and 28-27 in 2017, both Gators wins.
• Kentucky outscored Florida 20-6 in the second half last season to score the victory.
• The Cats ran for 303 yards in the game, including 175 by Benny Snell Jr. and 105 by quarterback Terry Wilson.
• Wilson also threw for a pair of touchdowns, including a game-changing 54-yard strike to Lynn Bowden Jr. in the third quarter.
• UK linebacker Kash Daniel registered 11 tackles in the game.
Kentucky-Florida Connections
• Kentucky has 19 players from the state of Florida: DT Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald (Lakeland), WR B.J. Alexander (Miami Gardens), WR Josh Ali (Hollywood), DB Jamari Brown (Sunrise), DB Cedric Dort Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens), DB Stanley Garner (Fort Lauderdale), WR DeMarcus Harris (Vero Beach), DL Davoan Hawkins (Lauderhill), WR Akeem Hayes (Hollywood), OL Kenneth Horsey (Sanford), OT Nick Lewis (Jacksonville), WR Chance Martin (Ruskin), TE Nik Ognenovic (Fort Lauderdale), WR Bryce Oliver (Fort Lauderdale), OT Jake Pope (Fort Lauderdale), QB Nik Scalzo (Fort Lauderdale), QB Sawyer Smith (Cantonment), 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.
• Co-offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw is originally from Punta Gorda, Florida and was a standout quarterback at Central Florida from 1991-94. He set numerous school records for the Knights, finishing as the career leader in every major passing category, including yards (9,000) and TDs (82).
• Florida running backs coach Greg Knox coached at Ole Miss (1995-98) and Auburn (1999-2008) with Eddie Gran under head coach Tommy Tuberville. Gran was the special teams coordinator and running backs coach while Knox was the receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.
• Florida defensive line coach David Turner has had two tenures 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.
A UK Win Would…
• Give UK a second straight win over the Gators after a 31-year losing streak. It would be the first back-to-back wins over Florida since the 1976 and 1977 seasons.
• Be the Cats’ first win in Lexington over the Gators since 1986, a 10-3 victory.
• Make UK 6-3 in its past nine SEC games.
• Push UK’s winning streak to six games dating to last season.
• Push the Cats’ record over the last 16 games to 13-3, second-best in the SEC.
• Improve UK’s overall record at Kroger Field to 165-133-4 (.554).
• Improve coach Mark Stoops’ record at home to 29-17 overall and 15-21 vs. SEC East foes.
• Give the Cats four wins in the past five games against ranked foes. The Cats went 3-1 vs. Top 25 teams in 2018, including a win at No. 25 Florida.
Cats vs. The Ranked
• Kentucky has played 249 ranked teams in the Associated Press Poll in its history. The Cats are 44-200-5 in those games.
• UK went 3-1 vs. ranked teams in 2018 with wins over No. 12 Penn State, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 25 Florida. The Cats fell to No. 6 Georgia.
• The Cats are 5-4 against ranked teams since 2015. The wins were over No. 12 Penn State, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 25 Florida (2018), No. 11 Louisville (2016) and No. 25 Missouri (2015).
• Wins vs. UF and MSU gave UK consecutive wins over ranked foes for the first time since 1976-77.
Don Franklin Auto Countdown to Kickoff Show
All-Southeastern Conference defensive end Jeremy Jarmon and former quarterback Dusty Bonner will be alongside host Christi Thomas for the Don Franklin Auto Countdown To Kickoff, the two-hour pregame show that airs prior to each UK football game in 2019.
A live video broadcast of Countdown to Kickoff will air on UKAthletics.com, the UK Athletics mobile app and the Kentucky Football Facebook page.
For home games, Countdown to Kickoff will broadcast live in front of Nutter Field House outside Gate 1 of Kroger Field with special guests and giveaways. The set of the show is conveniently located near the Coke Fan Zone in Nutter Field House and the Cat Walk presented by Chevy.
