Kentucky at Florida: The Storyline

I understand the outcome of this series over the last several seasons, but this is not the same Kentucky team. Even with a TRFR QB for the Gators, Florida should have no issues beating Kentucky in The Swamp. This is a game Florida cannot afford to drop.

The players 100% believe in what they are doing and believe they can win games the second half of the season.

Florida Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC) vs Kentucky Wildcats (3-3, 1-3 SEC)

October 19 // 7:45 p.m. ET // Gainesville, Fla.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field (88,548)

Week 8 marks the 75th all-time meeting between Florida and Kentucky including the 36th matchup in Gainesville. The Gators wield a 53-21 record against the Wildcats including a 29-6 mark at home. Florida has won 33 of the last 37 meetings in the series including wins in 20 of the last 22 in The Swamp.

Prior to Florida’s home losses in 2018 and 2022, the Gators had not lost to Kentucky in Gainesville since 1979. Florida won 19-consecutive home games vs. Kentucky from 1981 to 2016. Since 2018, Florida is just 2-4 against Kentucky. The wins came in 2019 in Lexington and in 2020 in Gainesville.

The Gators are 7-4 vs. UK since HC Mark Stoops took over in 2013, with the losses coming in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Those are Florida’s only four losses in the head-to-head series dating back through 1987. From 1987-2017, the Gators claimed 31-consecutive games in the series against the Wildcats.

Week 8 is Florida’s 2024 Homecoming game. Last season, the Gators defeated Vanderbilt, 38-14, to win its fifth straight HC matchup. The Gators are 29-5 across their last 34 HC games and own a 71-26-2 all-time record on HC.

This is the third meeting (0-2) between HC Billy Napier and UK’s Stoops as head coaches.

Across the last three games, QB Graham Mertz and QB DJ Lagway have gone a combined 69-of-87 passing (79.3%) with 729 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception for a 170.2 rating.

Mertz and Lagway represent one of just two FBS QB duos with 700-plus passing yards apiece (alongside Texas). Led by first-year senior analyst Joe Houston, Florida ranks fifth in the FBS in punt return average (19.63), ninth in net punting (43.86), and 34th in kick return average (22.86), and has been inside the top 13 all season in ESPN’s SP+ metric.

WR Chimere Dike ranks first in the SEC and second in the FBS in yards per punt return (19.6), owning a long of 35 yards.

Florida enters Week 8, ranking 19th in the FBS in passer rating (161.3) and 39th in passing offense (261.0).

C Jake Slaughter grades No. 8 in the FBS in pass blocking (85.2) and No. 21 overall (73.9) out of 290 FBS centers.

The Gators have allowed just eight sacks on the season, which ranks t-40th in the FBS and fifth in the SEC.

Since the 2018 season, Napier has been tied for 13th in the FBS, with 54 total victories, alongside Lane Kiffin and Mike Gundy. He has more wins than Mario Cristobal (53), Mike Norvell (51), Sonny Dykes (50) and Mark Stoops (50) in that time.

The Gators have won 15 of their last 21 games in The Swamp (including 10 of 15) but are 3-17 in their last 20 contests outside The Swamp and 3-13 in their last 16 true road games.

Florida boasts a 361-117-13 (.748) all-time record at The Swamp, holding the third-highest home winning percentage in the nation since 1990 with a 180-38 (.826) record. The Gators have outscored opponents 8,123 to 3,570 in 218 games inside The Swamp since 1990, putting the average outcome at 37.3 to 16.4 (20.9 points).

Florida has scored in 454 consecutive games dating back to 1988 - an NCAA record and 54 games longer than any other college football team in the history of the sport (TCU, 400-straight games, active streak).

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