Resurgent Cats crush Florida, 38-7
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky football season once given up for dead has experienced a sudden — and stunning — resurgence.
The Wildcats (4-5, 2-5 SEC) picked up their second straight league win on Saturday, crushing Florida 38-7 at Kroger Field.
Coming on the heels of a 10-3 win last week at Auburn, it marked UK’s most lopsided victory over the Gators since Bear Bryant strolled the sidelines for the Cats during their storied 1950 season.
Kentucky posted 401 yards of total offense while holding Florida (3-6, 2-4 SEC) to just 247. The Cats also forced turnovers in their second straight dominant performance on the defensive side of the ball.
The Gators’ only points on a chilly night in the Bluegrass came after UK muffed a punt at its own 14-yard line in the first quarter.
“Just a very good victory,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. “Super-proud of this football team… The guys keep on working extremely hard, they care — they care about each other — and I feel like we’re improving in certain areas, and it continues to show up.”
Kentucky briefly trailed 7-3 entering the second quarter, but reeled off 35 straight points in the blowout.
Offensively, it was a balanced night for UK. Redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley completed 18 of 23 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. The ground game produced 233 yards, including a 104-yard effort from Dante Dowdell and a 92-yard, two-touchdown performance from Seth McGowan.
A third Kentucky back, Jason Patterson, chipped in with a 15-yard touchdown catch.
Defensively, the Cats picked off Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, who torched them for 259 yards last year in a 48-20 loss at Gainesville, three times and also forced a fumble. Ty Bryant, Daveren Rayner, and Quay’sheed Scott each had interceptions for UK.
Florida’s star running back, Jaden Baugh, was limited to 64 yards on 17 carries. Last year, he had 104 yards and five touchdowns in the Gators’ win over the Cats.
“Our intensity has been very high,” Bryant said. “Our practices are going great, and we come to work every day ready to bring that intensity. Then it shows up on Saturdays. We talk about it in the meeting rooms. The way you practice translates.”
It marked the first time that the Cats have allowed seven or fewer points in back-to-back SEC games since the 2020 season.
“With the effort and with the physicality and the toughness, thought we played really good again in all three areas. Great team victory,” Stoops said.
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In our regular postgame feature, Cats Illustrated touches on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…
GAME BALL:
Mark Stoops, Kentucky — The embattled head coach might be in the process of turning around the Wildcats’ season and rewriting his future at UK. While a majority of the fan base has been debating who should be his replacement at the end of this season, Stoops has continued to get a tremendous effort from the Cats on a weekly basis, and they are vastly improved on both sides of the ball in the second half of the season. It’s time to give him some props.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st – Game that Kentucky did not punt against an SEC opponent since Nov. 6, 2021, against Tennessee.
3 – Straight home wins by the Wildcats over Florida since a span of three games from 1950-55.
7 – Fewest points that UK has surrendered to Florida since holding the Gators to three on Nov. 15, 1986.
8/12 – Kentucky third-down conversions.
31 – Largest margin of victory for the Wildcats in an SEC game since Nov. 14, 1998, vs. Vanderbilt (38).
78% – Completion percentage for UK quarterback Cutter Boley, who completed 18 of his 23 passes.
QUOTABLE:
“I can tell you this: This team cares, and this team plays hard.” — UK head coach Mark Stoops on why his team has not quit since a 1-5 start in the first half of the season.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to Kroger Field next week for a 1:30 p.m. ET kickoff against Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles (10-0) are one of the top teams in the FCS this season. They are coming off a 21-9 win over Eastern Illinois and are riding a 15-game win streak.