Tag: Kentucky Wildcats

Five takeaways: Breaking down Florida’s ugly loss to Kentucky

This team is far from title contention, the offensive line isn’t nearly as improved as we thought and other takeaways from Florida’s loss.

The night began with conference title and College Football Playoff hopes for Florida. It ended with Kentucky’s fans storming Kroger Field after beating the Gators for just the second time since 1986 (and first time at home since then).

None of Florida’s previous five coaches suffered a single loss against the Wildcats, but Dan Mullen has now given up two in four tries. Florida (3-2, 1-2 SEC) was dominated up front on both sides of the ball in this one as the Wildcats held on for a 20-13 lead.

The Gators held a slim three-point lead at the half, but a blocked kick returned for a touchdown in the third quarter gave UK the lead, and it never relinquished it.

After coming up just short against Alabama two weeks ago, it seemed like Florida had started to turn a corner. That was obviously an overreaction, and this team still has clear problems that are holding it back from national contention.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

Halftime takeaways: Kentucky proving to be a challenge for Florida yet again

Can Dan Mullen and company make the proper adjustments at halftime once again?

Florida leads Kentucky 10-7 at the half after both teams held each one another in check for the most part.

Anthony Richardson and Emory Jones worked together to get Florida down the field and in range for the leading field goal. Jace Christmann nailed the current difference-maker after it got pushed to a 51-yard kick on a penalty.

Wan’Dale Robinson broke a big play for a Wildcats touchdown early and nearly had another in the second quarter. Florida is once again without star defensive back Kaiir Elam and it is showing at times.

Zachary Carter got home for a sack and the defense looked good before Dan Mullen decided to let the clock go to halftime, so things could swing for Florida in the second half.

BREAKING: CB Kaiir Elam out for game against Kentucky

Florida’s defense will be without its best player on Saturday night.

UF’s secondary will be shorthanded for the second week in a row, as 2020 Second Team All-SEC cornerback Kaiir Elam will miss the game against Kentucky on Saturday night.

Elam injured his knee in the game against Alabama two weeks ago when he collided with his teammate while attempting to break up a pass. He missed last week’s game against Tennessee, and with him unavailable against the Wildcats, UF will likely turn to true freshman Jason Marshall Jr., who started against the Vols.

Texas A&M transfer Elijah Blades, who saw the most action he has all season last week, will likely be a part of the rotation as well.

Florida’s defense has been strong against the run so far this year, but it has shown some vulnerabilities in the secondary. And now, it seems that the Gators will have to slow down a talented Kentucky quarterback in Will Levis without their best player in the defensive backfield.

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The Gator Nation gets hyped up for Florida’s road game at Kentucky

Take a look at how fans are getting psyched up for today’s game against the ‘Cats.

Game time is creeping upon us and as the minutes before kickoff tick down the Gator Nation is getting amped up for the football team’s road matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington. The UF-UK game is almost always an entertaining one and this year’s promises to follow that trend.

Fans have taken to social media and shared their sentiments for their beloved Orange and Blue ahead of the first game played outside of the Florida state line. Below is a healthy sampling of the many tweets sent out in the hours preceding game time as the fanbase gets hyped. We will continue to update until game time.

Florida Football 2021 Opponent History: Kentucky Wildcats

How to watch Florida football at Kentucky Wildcats

Looking back on the weird and wild ways UK has lost to UF

A complete scouting report of Kentucky ahead of the game

10 things you need to know ahead of UF at UK

Gators Wire’s staff predictions for Florida football at Kentucky

Anthony Richardson at ‘100 percent’ ahead of Kentucky matchup

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Kentucky QB Will Levis apparently takes his coffee with mayonnaise

Wait, what…

Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis has some interesting eating habits, and when he shares them with the world, he tends to go viral.

Before the college football season started, Levis went viral for the unique way he eats bananas. He eats the whole unpeeled and particularly brown banana, and it blew fans’ minds.

Well, Levis — who has a 65.3 completion percentage and a 7-5 touchdown-interception ratio — is turning heads again for how he apparently takes his coffee. Not with sugar, cream, milk or some milk substitute. No.

According to the latest video he posted on his TikTok account — one with nearly 250,000 views at the time of this post — the Wildcats quarterback drinks his coffee with… mayonnaise.

Now, this could be a joke, or perhaps it’s a gimmick ahead of Kentucky’s game against No. 10 Florida on Saturday or maybe it’s purely for the excellent, gross #content.

@w.lev

I have a very sophisticated pallet. @omgiaaa #fyp #TakeTheDayOffChallenge #BenefitOfBrows

♬ original sound – Will Levis

In the video’s caption, he wrote:

“I have a very sophisticated pallet.”

It’s entirely possible Levis usually takes his coffee in a more traditional fashion, but it appears that at least once, he drank it with mayonnaise. And…

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Here are The Athletic’s staff picks for Florida-Kentucky

Here’s what The Athletic’s staff expects to happen on Saturday night.

Florida hits the road in conference play for the first time on Saturday, and they face a Kentucky team that is off to an undefeated start, though it wasn’t particularly inspiring in wins over Chattanooga and South Carolina the last few weeks.

The Wildcats have a top 10 defense, and the Gators will hope they can continue the positive offensive trend from the last few weeks, both in terms of running the ball and seeing progress from quarterback Emory Jones.

UF is the favorite in this one, but this game has proven to be tricky in recent years. Here’s how the staff of The Athletic sees this one playing out, starting with Gators beat writer G. Allan Taylor.

I’m not sure the Kentucky offense we’ve seen the past two weeks against UT-Chattanooga and South Carolina can keep pace. Florida 33-23

Here’s what Georgia writer Seth Emerson had to say.

But if the Cats pull off the upset, then suddenly it’s them and Georgia, with the Gators out of it. I could see it happening … but I won’t predict it. Florida 27-20

Meanwhile, writer Josh Kendall expects a much more lopsided victory for the Gators in Lexington.

I thought the Wildcats and their new quarterback and new offense could potentially be a problem for the Gators at the start of the season, but Gators QB Emory Jones played better last week and the Gators’ other QB, you know that guy, is rounding back into shape. Florida 40-20

Senior writer Sam Khan Jr. also expects to see a Florida win, but he’s less bullish in his prediction than Kendall is. He predicts a win more in line with Taylor and Emerson’s projections.

The Gators have yet to be held to under 244 rushing yards in a game this season; their 1,290 yards are the most they’ve had through four games in 56 years. Florida 34-24 

Alabama writer Aaron Suttles is familiar with the Gators, as he saw them take the Crimson Tide to the wire just two weeks ago. He expects a comfortable Florida win, as well.

They’re proving to me they’re consistent enough to win the games they’re supposed to win. They’re supposed to win this game. Florida 28-17

It would have been unanimous in UF’s favor if it wasn’t for LSU writer Brody Miller, who doesn’t see it. He went for the bold upset pick, predicting that UK will pull off the big-time upset at home.

I think Kentucky’s run defense makes life difficult, and I think Kentucky’s offense — while still flawed — has enough spark to move the chains and make life difficult. Screw it. Kentucky 24-21

Other than Miller, the Gators have a consensus among The Athletic’s staff, and most of them expect that UF will win by at least a touchdown margin. Florida will look to move to 4-1 on the year and 2-1 in conference play against the Wildcats.

Composite score prediction: Florida 31, Kentucky 21

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No changes on depth chart for Florida’s matchup with Kentucky

With no new major injuries and a nice win last week, Florida is leaving the depth chart unchanged this week.

After handling Tennessee last week with relative ease, Dan Mullen has opted to leave the Florida depth chart untouched for a road game at Kentucky.

Losing senior linebacker Ventrell Miller forced the only major shake-up on Florida’s depth chart this year. Mohamoud Diabate has not only assumed Miller’s starting position but he’s taken over the leadership role left empty after the injury as well.

Florida was without another defensive leader last week as Kaiir Elam sat due to injury. He was listed as the starter and scratched hours before the Tennessee game, but Elam should be good to go for Kentucky. Going against  Kentucky receiver Wan’Dale Robinson should provide one of the better cornerback-receiver matchups of the weekend.

Although it wasn’t listed last week, kicker Jace Christmann got the opportunities Chirs Howard normally gets against Kentucky. He performed well, and Howard’s last mistake proved to be costly against Alabama. “Howard OR Christmann” is the official listing on this week’s depth chart, but it will be interesting to see how Mullen plays things against a team that should keep the score closer than last week.

Anthony Richardson hasn’t been left off the depth chart since tweaking his hamstring against USF, but he hasn’t played in a game since either. Mullen has said that Richardson is 100% now and he should see some playing time to complement starter Emory Jones.

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Here’s USA TODAY Sports’ staff picks for Gators at Wildcats

The staff at USA TODAY Sports unanimously picks the Gators to win over the Wildcats on Saturday.

Coming into Saturday’s meeting between the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, the road team has held a firm grip on the series for as long as many UF fans can remember — yours truly included. Despite the decades of dominance, this matchup has historically given Gators fans a great deal of angst as the ‘Cats often seem to cause trouble but almost always fall short.

However, there have been some whispers among the sports media that this current Wildcats team might be able to topple their SEC East Division foe. At the very least, most expect the matchup to be a good one — even one of the top five games of the weekend — that will result in Florida escaping with the win.

The USA TODAY Sports staff consisting of seven contributors submitted their picks for Saturday’s games from the Coaches Poll top 25 and unanimously picked the Gators over the Wildcats.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT at Kroeger Field and can be watched on ESPN or heard on the Gators Sports Network.

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Looking for a good game? USA TODAY Sports has Florida-Kentucky among best in Week 5

Florida at Kentucky is one of the five-best games today, according to USA TODAY Sports.

The Florida Gators get set to take on the Kentucky Wildcats on the road on Saturday evening in a college football clash between two Southeastern Conference foes. Florida has dominated the series over the past few decades but the series has featured no shortage of near-misses and wild finishes, and the prognostications ahead of this year’s tangle predict another close affair.

USA TODAY Sports’ Eddie Timmanus published his five top games to watch on Saturday and included the UF vs. UK matchup. Here is what he had to say about the Week 5 game.

Why watch: The Wildcats are off to a solid start in the SEC East. But to compete for the league title, they have to get past the Florida-Georgia duo that has owned the division in recent years. That quest begins with this home opportunity against the Gators, who must avoid a second conference setback prior to their showdown with the afore-mentioned Bulldogs next month. Gators’ QB Emory Jones directs one of the nation’s most effective rushing attacks. But he could have his hands full against LBs DeAndre Square and Jacquez Jones, anchors of the UK defense that is surrendering a mere 2.89 yards per rush attempt.

Why it could disappoint: Wildcats’ QB Will Levis has been picked five times through just four games. The Gators secondary has only snared one interception, but there could be chances for more if Kentucky RB Chris Rodriguez is contained.

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Gators Wire’s complete coverage of Florida football at Kentucky

Looking to get up to speed on this Florida’s first SEC road game of 2021? Here’s everything you need to know.

The days are getting shorter, the sun is not quite as bright as it was and the mercury is slowly dropping, which means that we are entering the thick of college football season as the old gridiron game returns to action on Saturday. Of the many teams in action, the Florida Gators head north for their first game outside of the Sunshine State for a Southeastern Conference matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington.

Below, we have everything you need to know about Saturday night’s game, from how to follow the action to the history between the two teams to scouting reports. We will continue to update this page right up until kickoff, including a depth chart update as well as a look at the pregame hype. Go Gators!