Will Levis wins the battle of quarterbacks in Kentucky vs. Florida

Tonight’s game vs. No. 12 Florida was billed as the battle of the quarterbacks, Kentucky’s Will Levis vs. the Gators’ Anthony Richardson. Although both are projected first-round picks in next year’s NFL Draft, Richardson garnered most of the attention this week following his performance vs. Utah. ESPN’s broadcast was all-in on Richardson from the start, but it ended up being Levis who stole the spotlight in Kentucky’s 26-16 win.

On paper, neither stat line was that impressive. Levis finished 13-24 for 202 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Richardson was 14-35 for 143 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. Levis may not have had 300+ yards, but he did something only two other quarterbacks (Babe Parilli, Derrick Ramsey) in Kentucky history have: beat Florida in back-to-back years. And, he did it behind an offensive line that is still finding itself and a backfield down three running backs due to injury/suspension.

“He’s a tough — he’s a monster, man”

Levis showed off his skills in a variety of ways tonight — that 55-yard touchdown throw to Dane Key was impressive — but the thing that stood out the most was his toughness. In the first quarter, Florida’s Justus Boone slammed Levis to the ground, a play that was initially ruled targeting.

Even though the hit knocked his helmet off and scraped his face, Levis popped right back up. Afterward, he joked that he should have stayed on the ground to convince the refs not to overturn the call.

“My thing was, they took the targeting thing away. I feel like if I was laying down and kind of writhing in pain a little more, they would have kept it up but it was a good shot.”

“He’s a tough — he’s a monster, man,” Stoops said. “He’s a tough guy. He took one right on the chin earlier and bounced right up and didn’t miss a beat. Has the confidence to hang in there and make plays and this is a really hostile enviroment with a really good defense, as you know. This place is loud and gets rocking and that guy just keeps on playing. Throwing to freshmen, throwing to other guys and just making plays. I’m very, very grateful he’s on our football team.”

In the second half, Kentucky finally established a rushing attack, which helped the Cats take control of the game. The defense held Richardson, who rushed for over 100 yards and three touchdowns vs. Utah, to just four rushing yards. There were 22 NFL scouts and countless national media members at Ben Griffin Stadium tonight to see Levis and Richardson. Tonight’s game will surely be reflected in articles and mock drafts over the coming days, but the early returns favor Levis.

The game through Levis’ eyes

ESPN mic’d Levis up during warm-ups. We knew we were in for a special night when he shared that he’d watched Scarface the night before and was “jacked” for a big performance.

As the defense clamped down on the Gators on the final drive, Levis could hardly watch, instead turning around and putting his hands on Susan Lax’s shoulders:

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A post shared by Susan Lax (@slax00)

When it became clear the victory was secure, Levis couldn’t help but wave at the Gators fans in the stands.

Levis finds his mother in the stands

After the game, Levis ran into the stands. In the postgame press conference, he shared that he was looking for his mother, Beth.

“That was just my mom. She’s my hero. She’s come to every game this year and it just fired me up. She was telling me to come up there to go hug her. I love my momma so I’m going to go hug her when I can. That was a lot of fun. A very cool moment.”

The first of many, we hope.