5 Things You Need to Know About the Florida Gators

Admittedly, the Kentucky Football program is in a bit of a weird place right now. It had been over a calendar year since the Wildcats won a Southeastern Conference football game. Therefore, last Saturday’s 10-3 victory at Auburn deserves to be celebrated. However, first of all, it wasn’t exactly a pretty game. Secondly, the win sets up a potentially more difficult decision as to the future of Coach Mark Stoops in Lexington. A very vocal portion of Big Blue Nation has long ago made up their mind about what needs to happen at the end of the year (or sooner). Winning Southeastern Conference football games will never be a bad thing, but it does put the program into an area of uncertainty moving forward. That would become even more true with a win on Saturday night over the Florida Gators at Kroger Field.

While Coach Stoops’ future at Kentucky is murky at best, the Gators already made a move away from Coach Billy Napier. Despite winning against Mississippi State, Coach Napier was let go on October 19th with the Gators sitting at 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. He was 22-23 overall in his three plus seasons in Gainesville. Coach Billy Gonzalez is serving as the interim head coach and is coming off of a 24-20 loss to Georgia in Jacksonville. Despite losing 31 straight games to Florida from 1987 to 2017, the ‘Cats have now won back-to-back matchups at Kroger Field and will be searching for their fourth win in the last five matchups against the Gators. Kentucky has a chance to build some legitimate last season momentum with a win under the lights on Saturday night.

As always, Kentucky Sports Radio’s football experts Nick Roush and Adam Luckett have spent the week providing in-depth breakdowns of the Wildcats’ opponent. 11 Personnel and the KSR Football Podcast have you covered as well if you prefer preparing for Saturday’s game via audio. However, for those looking for a more surface level preview you have come to the right place. Here are five things you need to know about the Florida Gators.

Sputtering Florida Offense Has Struggled to Move the Ball

Things have not been pretty on the offensive side of the football in Gainesville. The Florida Gators are scoring under 20 points per game in SEC play. They also lost 18-16 to South Florida and put up just seven points in a loss at Miami. We could be in for a rock fight in Lexington on Saturday night.

Florida ranks 107th overall scoring 22.1 points per game on the season. They also rank outside of the Top 100 in points per drive, EPA per play, yards per non-sack rush, third down conversion rate, and explosive plays. If Kentucky’s defense can play like they did last weekend at Auburn they will have a chance to really limit the Gators. We could be in for a very low scoring affair at Kroger Field.

Disappointing Year Two for DJ Lagway

A five-star prospect out of Texas, DJ Lagway stepped in as a true freshman and shined in spurts for the Florida Gators. He was one of the best deep ball throwers in college football completing 19 of 36 passes of more than 20 air yards. On the season, Lagway threw for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns. Expectations were high for Lagway coming off of an 8-5 season as he returned for his sophomore campaign. However, things have not gone particularly well.

Ball security remains issue number one for Lagway. He has thrown nine interceptions and fumbled the ball four times in eight games. The nine interceptions is the most in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky could benefit from some opportunistic turnovers on Saturday night. Additionally, the downfield accuracy hasn’t been there like it was last season. Lagway is just 10-30 on passes of more than 20 air yards and has been picked off five times on such throws. The ‘Cats will need to make sure they don’t get beat over the top like they did against Tennessee. However, there could be opportunities for interceptions when Florida does go long. The sophomore quarterback enters Saturday’s game having thrown for 1,679 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Injuries Have Hit the Wide Receivers’ Room

Eugene Wilson III sure seems to like playing against Georgia. As a true freshman, he caught 11 balls for 75 yards and a touchdown. Then, last week, Wilson III hauled in nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown against the Bulldogs. However, despite coming off the best performance of his career, he will not be available against Kentucky. It was announced that the Florida Gators’ go-to receiver will miss the rest of the season with a lower leg injury. Meanwhile, true freshman Dallas Wilson is also out while fellow true freshman Vernell Brown III is questionable. DJ Lagway will need someone to step up out of the wide receiver room for the Gators.

UCLA transfer J. Michael Sturdivant will likely emerge as a go-to target on Saturday night. He caught two passes for 21 yards last weekend against Georgia. On his career, Sturdivant is closing in on 2,000 receiving yards. TJ Abrams and tight end Hayden Hansen are two more names to know. Having so many guys out certainly does not help an already struggling Florida Gators’ offense.

Expect a Heavy Dose of Jadan Baugh

Coming into this matchup the Florida Gators have thrown the ball 53.08% of the time. That is the second most pass-heavy offense in the SEC. Between some consistent struggles through the air and the amount of wide receivers out it would make sense to see that shift on Saturday night. Expect to see a steady dose of running back Jadan Baugh. He has rushed for 683 yards on 132 carries with five touchdowns this season. His 43 broken tackles and 3.52 yards after contact show that he is one of the most elusive runners in college football.

Similar to the wide receiver room, the Gators depth at running back has been hit hard by the injury bug. Ja’Kobi Jackson and Treyaun Webb are both out for Saturday’s contest at Kentucky. That will force the ball into the hands of Baugh even further which could end up being a good thing for Florida. Getting Baugh on the ground will be priority number one for the ‘Cats.

Returning Talent Leads the Defensive Line

Expectations were pretty high for this Florida Gators defense. 12 of 20 primary rotation players from last season returned, but once again injuries have been a factor. Redshirt senior Caleb Banks was expected to be the units best player, and one of the best in the SEC, but he has played just one game. However, the depth behind him has stepped up and been solid.

Tyreak Sapp is back at defensive end after recording 47 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, and 26 pressures last season. The numbers haven’t been as good this year, but Sapp is still a threat to put pressure on the quarterback. Kamran James and true freshman Jayden Woods have been solid as well. Meanwhile, George Gumbs Jr. has emerged as Florida’s best pass rusher in 2025. He collected nine tackles including a sack and tackle for loss last weekend against Georgia. Gumbs Jr. has 7.5 sacks in his two seasons at Florida.