Florida vs. Kentucky odds: Early point spread released on Gators, Wildcats

Kentucky is set to host Florida for an annual early-season SEC East bash, with the folks at FanDuel confident the Wildcats will narrowly pick up their third straight victory in the series.

According to FanDuel’s opening line, Kentucky is a 2.5-point home favorite in next Saturday’s noon kickoff vs. the Gators, while the over/under for the contest is set at just 44.5.

Kentucky comes into the game at 4-0 thanks to a breeze of a first third of their schedule. The ‘Cats knocked off Ball State, Eastern Kentucky and Akron in a trio of snoozefests before riding a pair of pick-sixes to a blowout victory over the Commodores in the construction zone that is Vanderbilt’s football stadium. Meanwhile, Florida is blemished with a loss at Utah, but also has a win to hang their hat on after toppling Tennessee at home.

The ‘Cats and Gators have found themselves in tight battles over the last five to six years and FanDuel is predicting yet another contest between these intra-divisional rivals to come down to the wire, with Kentucky getting the slight edge for being at home.

Recent history in Kentucky-Florida

Fans of both clubs know well that these two programs used to have a relationship which resembled that of a golf ball to a driver. As in: Florida was teeing off and smashing the ‘Cats for decades, literally. Florida won 31 straight contests between the two teams from 1986 to 2018, when some dudes named Josh Allen, Terry Wilson and Benny Snell turned the rivalry around on one rainy and fateful night in Gainesville back in September of ’18.

Allen strip-sacked Feleipe Franks on the final play of that 27-16 win to end a lifetime of heartbreak at the hands of the Gators. Every single normal-aged University of Kentucky student who watched that game witnessed the first Wildcat victory over Florida in their lifetimes. It is one of the moments UK fans can point to as a sign of their rise to a legitimate program under Mark Stoops.

Now, Kentucky is victors in three of the last five contests, including the last two, with the 2022 victory once again occurring in The Swamp. So, with the ‘Cats undefeated and Florida a bit more up and down, given the recent history of the series, Vegas has faith in Kentucky to pull it out, but they’re still pretty cautious, not even making the ‘Cats field goal favorites at home.

With Georgia and Tennessee not looking quite as strong as they were a year ago, if one of these two clubs wants to make a surprise SEC East push, a win next Saturday is a must.