Kentucky Wins Second Straight by Dismantling Florida 38-7

Kentucky WR Kendrick Law runs past a Florida defender at Kroger Field, Dr. Michael Huang, KSR

Another week, another streak snapped by the Wildcats. Kentucky led by three scores in the first half, before demoralizing Florida on the ground in a 38-7 victory over the Gators.

It was the first SEC victory at Kroger Field for Kentucky since the Gators’ last trip to Lexington in 2023. Kentucky has now defeated Florida in four of the last five years, and five of the last eight. The last time the Gators lost three straight in Lexington was between 1950-1955.

Damn it feels good to beat the Gators.

Cutter Boley was exceptional, dropping dimes to the sideline whenever the Cats needed to get out of a jam. He was 18-23 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. His only errors were in the final minutes of the first half, when he committed a pair of turnovers that ultimately didn’t cost the Cats in a feel-good rout at Kroger Field.

First Half Turnovers Spark Kentucky

The Kentucky defense has done a lot of things well at times this year, but creating turnovers is not one of them. They entered the game with a -5 turnover margin. The Cats caught three of DJ Lagway‘s passes in the first half before the former five-star phenom was benched.

On the opening possession, Daveren Rayner tipped a pass to Ty Bryant, setting up a Kentucky field goal. Rayner got a pick of his own just before halftime. The Kentucky linebacker is playing his best football. He finished the night with five tackles, a sack, and a pass break-up to go with the interception.

Lorenzo Cowan forced a fumble that was recovered by Cam Dooley, and Quay’sheed Scott returned an interception 65 yards. JQ Hardaway almost tallied another pick for the Cats, but could not haul in the incredible catch near the sideline.

Offensive Tempo Changed the Game

Even though the final score was lopsided, the game was very much hanging in the balance at the end of the first quarter. A muffed punt by Ja’Mori Maclin gave Florida an easy opportunity to take the lead. The Gators had momentum and the lead when Mark Stoops did something I’ve never seen him do: play tempo.

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On third and long, Boley hit Willie Rodriguez for a first down. The Cats hurried to the line of scrimmage. Florida’s wheels were spinning. Boley connected with Law for a gain of eight, Dante Dowdell had a big gain, then DJ Miller, and before you knew it, JJ Hester was mossing a Gator in the end zone. From that point on, it was all Cats, everything.

What a grab and what a TOUCHDOWN for @JJHester_8 👏

📺 – SEC Network pic.twitter.com/2pZD7KxhiS
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 9, 2025

Demoralizing Third Quarter

Kentucky led 24-7 at halftime. A touchdown would completely take the Gators out of the game. The Cats wanted more than that. They wanted to rip out Florida’s soul.

Boley completed another pretty pass on the sideline to move the sticks on third and long. That’s when the Cats put the game on the backs of the Big Blue Wall. Kentucky ran it seven straight times until Seth McGowan punched it into the end zone. The 13-play drive took 7:26 off the clock and effectively ended the game.

It felt like a dagger, but Dante Dowdell wanted more. He ripped off a 65-yard touchdown to kick off the fourth quarter and it turned into a celebration at Kroger Field, one Big Blue Nation desperately needed.