How Kentucky has turned the tide in rivalry with Florida under Mark Stoops

For many years, Florida had the luxury of crossing Kentucky off as a win in the annual rivalry game, but that’s no longer the case. The Wildcats were in the midst of a 26-game losing streak against the Gators when coach Mark Stoops arrived in Lexington in 2013 and desperately looking for a change.

It didn’t come immediately, as UK went on to lose its first five games against Florida under Stoops. But in the 2018 season, the Wildcats did the unthinkable, walking into The Swamp and earning a 27-16 victory, their first against the Gators since 1986.

That marked a turning point for Kentucky both as a program and in the rivalry. It went on to finish that season with 10 wins for just the third time in school history, and later again reached double digit victories in 2021. It was the start of reversing the trend against Florida, as the Wildcats have won three of the pasting five meeting, including in each of the past two seasons.

Kentucky Sports Radio‘s Nick Roush joined On3‘s Andy Staples on Tuesday to explain how painful it was to endure that 31-game losing streak and just how much the rivalry has changed in five years.

“I got my heart ripped out so many times,” he said. “Steve Spurrier, he was the bane of our existence as Kentucky football fans. Jared Lorenzen, up 21-3 going into the fourth quarter and they lose 24-21. Bad things happened when Kentucky played Florida. It was in 2018 when they snapped that streak. I thought my body was going to self-combust. There was just so much commotion and really, getting rid of this streak, it explains all of Kentucky’s success under Mark Stoops.”

Snapping that streak against Florida seemed to be the push Kentucky needed to take the next step forward. The Wildcats started that season 5-0 and earned their first AP poll ranking in 10 years, rising as high as No. 11.

Since then, they’ve had just one losing record and are off to another 4-0 start this season. No longer is Kentucky considered an easy win for the Gators, and it’s led to a much more hyped game as the teams prepare to face each other in Week 5.

“There was so much just hanging over their head on their shoulders,” Roush continued. “(Stoops) didn’t think it was fair to his players. Now in August when we’re doing all the preseason talk, Kentucky fans, it’s like they forgot that happened. They just expected this to be a win. They’re like, ‘That’s a win in the schedule. Florida’s gonna be terrible.’ It’s like woah, woah, woah, guys. I know this has been fun as of late and this could be four in six years, but you don’t just write a W when you’re playing Florida. That’s not how this works.”

The Wildcats won 26-16 in Gainesville last season, but both teams look a lot different. They each have new quarterbacks and earned wins in their respective SEC openers, so there’s plenty to get excited about as they prepare to meet.

Staples pointed out that it’s not just Kentucky fans who have seen their perception of the rivalry change. Florida has also had to get used to the idea that this will be a more competitive contest than it has in the past.

“It’s been an adjustment for the Florida people as well because, in their heads, they’ve just automatically clocked that as a win every single year,” Staples said. “Now you can talk to somebody and it’ll catch on ’em. Like, ‘OK, and Kentucky. Oh wait, Kentucky’s not a guaranteed W. That’s a toss up at best.’ This one looks like a lot of fun because Kentucky’s better than they were last year.”

Florida and Kentucky are set to kick off this year’s version of the rivalry at noon ET on Saturday in Lexington.