Kentucky has been strong underdog against Florida

by: Adam Luckett6 hours agoadamluckettksr

Kentucky s Trevin Wallace recovers the fumble against Florida Saturday afternoon. Sept. 30, 2023. (© Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Kentucky and Florida will meet for the 76th time in football on Saturday night at Kroger Field. The Gators own a commanding 54-21 series lead highlighted by a 31-game winning streak from 1987-2017. However, the Cats have recent turned this series and will be looking for its fourth victory in five meetings on Saturday.

Under Mark Stoops, UK has consistently played one of its best games of the season against the Gators. The Cats have been a live dog in this matchup ever since the dean of SEC head coaches arrived on campus.

Game Date	Spread	Result
9/28/2013	No. 20 Florida at Kentucky (+11)	Gators 24, Cats 7
9/13/2014	Kentucky (+18) at Florida	Gators 36, Cats 30 (3OT)
9/19/2015	Florida at Kentucky (+3)	Gators 14, Cats 9
9/10/2016	Kentucky (+16) at Florida	Gators 45, Cats 7
9/23/2017	No. 20 Florida at Kentucky (+2)	Gators 28, Cats 27
9/8/2018	Kentucky (+13) at No. 25 Florida	Cats 27, Gators 16
9/14/2019	No. 9 Florida at Kentucky (+8)	Gators 29, Cats 21
11/28/2020	Kentucky (+24) at No. 6 Florida	Gators 34, Cats 10
10/2/2021	No. 10 Florida at Kentucky (+7)	Cats 20, Gators 13
9/10/2022	No. 20 Kentucky (+6) at No. 12 Florida	Cats 26, Gators 16
9/30/2023	No. 22 Florida at Kentucky (-1)	Cats 33, Gators 14
10/19/2024	Kentucky (-2) at Florida	Gators 48, Cats 20

Kentucky had been a dog in every matchup against Florida under Stoops until the last two seasons. UK split those games. Before that, the Cats were 5-3-2 against the spread (ATS) with outright upset wins as six-plus point dog in 2018, 2021, and 2022. Florida has not covered in Lexington since 2015 when Will Grier was the starting quarterback for first-year head coach Jim McElwain. The Cats are 4-0-2 ATS in the last six games in this series as a dog.

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The Gators enter Saturday’s contest with a 3-9 ATS mark in their last 12 games as a road favorite. The Cats are 12-7 ATS as a home dog since 2016. Florida is currently a small three-point favorite at BetMGM. This will be the third year in a row where this spread is a field goal or less.

Can the Cats continue their strong play against the Gators or will another Florida winning streak in this series get rolling? We will find out at Kroger Field.