Kentucky football beat Florida for the first time since 1987, winning 27-16 in Gainesville to snap a 31-game losing streak.
Kentucky jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter before giving up their lead in the second quarter. They went into the half tied 10-7. Then, the Wildcats scored two touchdowns in the second half and never allowed Florida to regain the lead, ending a 31-game losing streak against the Gators.
Kentucky was led by quarterback Terry Wilson, who passed for 151 yards and rushed for 105 yards. He also was responsible for three of Kentucky’s four touchdowns, rushing for one touchdown and passing for two touchdowns. Running back Benny Snell Jr. rushed the ball 175 yards on 27 carries. Kentucky had a total of 303 rushing yards in the game.
Florida did not have as much success offensively, especially in the running game. Quarterback Feleipe Franks led the team in rushing with 44 yards on 11 carries. The next leading rusher was Lamical Perine with only 34 yards on four carries.
Other than the difference in total rushing yards, Florida actually had significantly fewer penalty yards than the Wildcats. Kentucky had 114 penalty yards from 12 penalties while Florida had only 55 penalty yards from six penalties.
Defensively, Florida was unable to slow down Kentucky on the final drive, leaving them with very little time at the end of the game to drive down the field. Unfortunately, Florida fumbled the ball and gave up another touchdown late in the game that extended their lead and made the score look not as close as the game was late in the fourth quarter.
This game provides a lot of momentum for Kentucky, who next plays Murray State before continuing a difficult SEC schedule that includes Mississippi State and South Carolina in back-to-back games.
Florida plays Colorado State next week before continuing conference play against Tennessee and then Mississippi State. Florida will certainly fall out of the rankings after this loss.