"They wasn't that good for real." JJ Weaver says Florida wasn't ready for Kentucky

ZGeogheganKSR

Kentucky linebacker JJ Weaver holds a 3-1 record when he takes the field against the University of Florida, including three consecutive wins from 2021-23, the most recent one coming on Saturday. The redshirt senior knows nothing but how to beat the Gators. While Kentucky fans have suffered through decades of misfortune when it comes to Florida, the tides have clearly changed in the last half-decade.

What used to be chalked up as an automatic win for the Gators has now turned into a complete shift in the power balance of the Southeastern Conference. Weaver has experienced it firsthand, playing a significant role in Kentucky’s recent domination against Florida. It’s gotten to the point where the Wildcats aren’t phased by the name on Florida’s jersey anymore. Kentucky has won four of the last six meetings.

“Florida is a good team, but they wasn’t that good for real, to be honest with you. They wasn’t,” Weaver said after the win. “I trust my guys. We watch film. We was on in practice all week, flying around, being dominant. So at a point, I already knew Florida wasn’t ready for us.”

Kentucky finally recorded a win against a quality opponent, but JJ Weaver doesn’t think Florida is that good.

“I already knew Florida wasn’t ready for us.” pic.twitter.com/1kYnlrY9D5
— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) September 30, 2023

Florida came into Saturday’s game at Kroger Field with a No. 22 national ranking and a recent upset win over Tennessee. Money was on the Wildcats, but the public perception was that Florida entered as the slight favorite. That being said, it was nothing but Kentucky from the opening kick. The ‘Cats took a 16-0 lead into the second quarter and were only truly given a scare in the fourth quarter before Alex Raynor‘s 50-yard field goal sealed the deal. UK won 33-14, the program’s largest margin of victory over UF since 1979.

Weaver was especially locked in. He finally recorded that elusive sack he’d been searching for and the defense as a whole stuffed Florida’s rushing attack from start to finish. The Gators ran for just 69 yards against UK after rattling off 180 in their win over Tennessee a couple of weeks ago.

“Coach (Brad) White kept telling me it’s coming. It’s coming all year,” Weaver said of landing just his second sack of the season. “I’ve been just so down on myself with disappointment because I didn’t get what I wanted. But today, I just got off the ball every time, every chance I get, I knew it was gonna come.”

Heading into a road showdown against top-ranked Georgia next weekend, this type of win was exactly what Kentucky was looking for.

“We needed it for sure,” Weaver said. “Coach White was just talking about stay at this level all game. And I think we did that on the defensive side, we just stayed at the level instead of going up and down, up and down, up and down, we just stayed there. Being consistent at everything we was doing. We just dominated all day.”