GAMEDAY: Cats Seek to Snap The Streak at The Swamp

by:Nick Roush•09/08/18•

@RoushKSR

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

Florida Athletics[/caption] The Streak. Most of you reading this post have never seen the Kentucky football team beat Florida. Since the last win in 1986, The Streak has taken a life of its own. The close calls are gut-wrenching and all too familiar. For many fans, the void left by last year's heartache has still not been filled. Today that can all change. The talent gap between the schools isn't much of a gap anymore. Three of the last four games have been decided by an average of four points. The Gators are breaking in a new coach, although Dan Mullen is a familiar face. He has plenty of returning talent across the board, but there are lingering questions at quarterback. Mullen settled on Feleipe Franks (who threw 5 TDs last week) after Terry Wilson spurned his advances. Terry Wilson did not live up to the "touchdown" nickname in week one. Despite his first three first half turnovers, the Cats overcame an early deficit to start the season with a win over a MAC school. Kentucky has been punched in the mouth this year. Florida has not. Florida was in cruise control after one quarter against an FCS, triple option running opponent, Charleston Southern. Florida has yet to face any adversity with Mullen leading the way. Will the trash-talkers be able to respond when Benny Snell lowers his shoulder, or will they fold beneath the pressure of The Streak? We'll find out tonight at 7:30 on the SEC Network.

Rain in the Forecast

It's going to be extra swampy in The Swamp. From 5:00-8:00 there's a 50 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms. Even though the temperature will drop to about 80 degrees, it's going to be a humid, sticky 80 degrees. Even if the rain is not a constant, ball security will obviously be an issue. Kentucky has an excellent run game to lean on through the elements, but it will not help turnover-prone Terry Wilson at all. Despite the practical concerns, I prefer to see the storms as a streak-snapping metaphor.

Salt

The Gators aren't ignoring The Streak. In fact, they're embracing the hype with a subtle jab at the Cats. Today they'll honor Steve Spurrier's 1993 SEC Champs. Danny Wuerffel's coming-out party was against Kentucky. His strike in the final seconds to Chris Doering is one of the most brutal losses in the 31-year streak. If karma is real, Florida doesn't stand a chance.

Let's. Go.

https://twitter.com/UKFootball/status/1037759118763851776 If that doesn't get you hyped, watch this one a loop. https://youtu.be/vPWqa2cqWM0

The Schedule

11:00 -- KSBar and Grille Opens
4:30 -- The KSR Pregame show begins on 630 WLAP
5:15 -- The Cat Walk near Gate 16 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
5:30 -- Countdown to Kickoff
7:30 -- Kickoff on the SEC Network

TV, Radio, Vegas

The Cats are 14-point underdogs at Florida. Tom Hart, Jordan Rogers and Cole Cubelic are on the call for SEC Network Saturday Night. If you're stuck on the road and can't watch, there are multiple ways to listen to Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro.

AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
FM: 98.1 WBUL
Satellite: XM-190 and Sirius-113
Online: iHeart Radio

Podcast Lineup

You'll have to wait quite some time before the KSR Pregame Show hits the WLAP airwaves. Until then, check out this week's slate of podcasts to prepare for Kentucky's road trip to Gainesville.

If you have't done so just yet, click on the links above and subscribe to each podcast's feed. It helps us in the ratings and ensures you will get every podcast first as we slowly faze a few off the regular KSR Podcast feed.

Another Watch List

It took only one week for Max Duffy to earn a spot on the Ray Guy Award Watch List. It only makes sense after he averaged 50 yards a punt against Central Michigan. If you believe in analytics (yes, they have those for kickers too), Duffy is the best punter in America who has booted it at least three times. He is the sixth Wildcat nominated for a postseason position award.

UK Hockey is Back

The Cats returned to the ice last night at midnight to beat Akron 8-1. To celebrate the occasion, the poster girl of UK Hockey dropped the first puck. Go behind-the-scenes to see how Kindly Myers created this year's popular poster. https://twitter.com/KindlyMyers/status/1038084308261658624 They'll run it back against Akron tonight at the Lexington Ice Center.