Kentucky football has won consecutive games over Florida for the first time since 1976 and 1977.
The No. 20 Wildcats rode a stellar defensive performance to a 26-16 upset of the No. 12 Gators to make an early statement in the SEC East race. After losing 31 consecutive games to Florida between 1986 and 2018, Kentucky has now won three of the last five games in the series.
Quarterback Will Levis shined with the national spotlight pointed at him by completing 13 of 24 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception despite facing consistent pressure behind a rebuilt offensive line and a getting little help from an anemic rushing attack for the entire first half.
Kentucky finally found some rushing success in the second half, totaling 68 yards after just gaining two yards on 15 carries before intermission. The ability to control the clock while Kentucky’s defense kept Florida at bay kept the Wildcats in control despite scoring only three points in the fourth quarter.
As the run game struggled mightily for the second consecutive week and Levis was sacked three times in the first quarter, Kentucky struggled to gain any positive momentum on offense early in the game.
That changed when Levis hit freshman wide receiver Dane Key for a 55-yard pass with 11:36 left in the second quarter. Florida answered with a field goal to pull within one point at 7-6 before another pressure on Levis led to an interception on a ball tipped into the air as he was being sacked.
That sequence set up a short field for Florida’s first touchdown of the game, an 11-yard run from Trevor Etienne. The game looked on the verge of spiraling out of control when a bad snap on a punt on the ensuing Kentucky drive resulted in a safety, but Wildcats outside linebacker Jordan Wright, who returned from a one-game suspension earlier this week, intercepted a pass and returned it to the Florida 6-yard line to set up a 1-yard Levis touchdown run just before halftime.
Kentucky’s rushing attack finally started to find some success on the second drive of the third quarter, but the Wildcats were forced to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Matt Ruffolo to tie the game at 16.
The Wildcats took a 23-16 lead when cornerback Keidron Smith returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Kentucky iced the game with a 26-yard Ruffolo field goal with 1:24 remaining.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: UK DEFENSE
Levis shined with the spotlight pointed on him, but Kentucky’s defense as a whole deserves the honor here. With a second-half shutout of the Gators, UK’s defense managed to reduce the pressure on Kentucky’s offense to score. Even when Kentucky to turn on a fourth-quarter fourth down stop in Florida territory into points, the Wildcat defense answered by stopping the Gators on fourth down again, this time at the Florida 24-yard line. The two interceptions from Wright and Smith led to two of UK’s three touchdowns.
TURNING POINT
Things could not have gone much worse for Kentucky during a four-minute sequence midway through the second quarter. First, Levis threw an interception when the ball popped into the air while he was being tackled at the UK 34-yard line. Five plays later, Florida scored a go-ahead touchdown. A three-and-out for UK on the ensuing drive was compounded when the punt was snapped through the back of the end zone.
Just when Florida looked poised to take control, Wright stalled the Gators’ momentum with an interception at the Florida 24-yard line. He returned the interception to the 6-yard line, setting up a Levis touchdown run four plays later. Florida did not score again.
KEY STAT
A week after Anthony Richardson became a national media darling by throwing for 168 yards and rushing for 106 yards in Florida’s upset of Utah, Kentucky limited the Florida quarterback to four rushing yards on six carries. He completed 14 of 35 passes for 143 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
