Tag: Kentucky Wildcats

How to watch Florida football at Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday

Everything you need to know to follow Florida football at Kentucky Wildcats on television, live stream and radio.

The Gators leave the state of Florida for the first time this season on Saturday, heading up to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats as the Southeastern Conference football schedule continues to roll along.

UF is coming off a strong home win against the Tennessee Volunteers while UK survived a scare on the road against the lowly South Carolina Gamecocks. However, the ‘Cats are expected to be one of the Gators’ more difficult opponents this year, behind the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs, so today’s game should be a good one.

Below, we have everything you need to know to follow Saturday night’s action as the Gators take on the Wildcats in Lexington.

Florida Football 2021 Opponent History: 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

Television: ESPN

Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen

Analyst: Dan Orlovsky

Reporter: Kris Budden

Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network

Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert

Analyst: Lee McGriff

Reporter: Tate Casey

Score Track:  FloridaGators.com, ESPN app

Game Notes:  FloridaGators.com

Follow the Action: Follow Gators Wire (@GatorsWire) on Twitter for live updates.

Composite Prediction: Florida 31, Tennessee 23

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Here’s what CBS Sports predicts for Florida at Kentucky on Saturday

Sallee sees the Gators winning by more than a score against the Wildcats on Saturday.

Florida fans know not to look past this game. Even when they’ve been overmatched in recent years, the Kentucky Wildcats have found ways to make these games anxiety-inducing for UF fans.

Mark Stoops has another good team in Lexington this year, and the ‘Cats are off to a 4-0 start. But the last couple of games have been a bit tough for them. They just barely got past a Football Championship Subdivision team in Chattanooga before scraping by a struggling South Carolina team last weekend.

The Gators come to town next week, and while this is a well-balanced Kentucky team that could certainly give them fits, UK will need to play a much more complete game this week to compete with Florida.

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee doesn’t see it happening. He thinks UF will roll in its first real road test of the season, predicting that the team will cover an 8.5-point spread.

Kroger Field will be hopping on Saturday night when the Gators roll into town, but they won’t get the kind of game that they’re expecting. The Wildcats offense has taken a significant step back over the last two games against Chattanooga and South Carolina, while the Gators defense has been on point since out-playing Alabama for the final three quarters of the 31-29 loss to the Tide two weeks ago. The evolution of Emory Jones will continue and the Gators will pull away in the second half to win by two or more touchdowns. Pick: Florida (-8.5)

Jones is coming off his best game as Florida’s starter against Tennessee last week, and he’ll look to have another solid game by avoiding turnovers again this time around.

Kentucky has a solid defense, but no one to this point has been able to slow down UF’s rushing attack, and it’s hard to imagine that a Wildcats team with an FBS-worst -9 turnover differential will play enough of a mistake-free game to be competitive at the end.

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Here’s the SP+ score prediction for Florida-Kentucky

SP+ has the Gators winning by two scores on Saturday.

Florida played arguably its most complete half of football in the final 30 minutes against Tennessee, scoring three second-half touchdowns and shutting out the Volunteers in the final two quarters. That performance certainly gives the Gators a lot to build off of heading into what could be their toughest remaining test outside of Georgia.

This is a Kentucky team that has given Florida headaches in recent years, and this looks to be one of the better teams coach Mark Stoops has constructed in Lexington. With UF heading on the road in the SEC for the first time this season (in a night game, no less), things could certainly get a bit dicey for it in this one.

But worry not, Gators fans. The math is on your side.

According to this week’s score predictions from SP+, the analytics system created by ESPN college football writer Bill Connelly, Florida has a 75% chance to beat the Wildcats on Saturday night with a predicted score of 34-23.

We know that the SP+ is very high on UF, which places fourth in the rankings this week. And the system thinks that the Gators will manage to cover the 7.5-point spread currently listed by Tipico Sportsbook.

SP+ predicts that the game will produce 57 total points, meaning that the 55.5 over/under listed by Tipico would hit.

All of Florida’s goals are still in front of it this season, but it has to avoid a slipup in a game like this. SP+ thinks that Florida will win fairly comfortably, though, and get to 4-1 on the season.

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Gators Wire’s staff predictions for Florida football at Kentucky

Our staff gives its predictions ahead of Saturday night’s college football affair between Florida and Kentucky in Lexington.

Florida football returns to action this weekend on the road in Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. While the Gators have dominated the series in recent decades having won 33 of the last 34 as well as 53 total times — the most among all-time UF foes — the ‘Cats come into this one with a bit of a more robust roster than in many past seasons.

The staff here at Gators Wire weighed in with their takes and predictions ahead of Saturday night’s tangle in Lexington. Here is a look at how we think things will go down after the opening kickoff.

Kentucky OT Darian Kinnard is dominating so far this season

Kentucky offensive tackle Darian Kinnard’s performance so far this season has his draft stock skyrocketing

If you’re looking for a prospect in the 2022 NFL draft class who has helped themselves the most so far this season, you won’t find a better candidate than Kentucky offensive tackle Darian Kinnard.

Kinnard has been a dominant force for the Wildcats so far this season, and is currently the only offensive tackle in the country with a grade above 85 in both pass blocking and run blocking from Pro Football Focus.

Alabama’s Evan Neal is still the clear-cut favorite to be the first offensive tackle off the board when next year’s draft rolls around, but Kinnard’s performance so far this season has planted him firmly in the conversation to be the next one selected.

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10 things you need to know ahead of Florida’s road game at Kentucky

Take a look at Pat Dooley’s list of 10 fun facts for the Florida vs. Kentucky game this weekend.

Not everyone is going to agree with this premise, but here goes anyway – the Alabama game wasn’t that big a deal for Florida.

Yes, Florida showed it can play with the No. 1 team in the country and the crowd was incredible. That big-game feel was something that used to happen around Gainesville all the time. I get all of that.

But this season is all about October.

And it starts Saturday. At Kentucky. At LSU. Against Georgia in Jacksonville. There’s no point mentioning the home game at Vanderbilt, except that it’s Homecoming.

This is the toughest month on the schedule and how Florida performs will define its season. Kentucky was a game that a lot of people pointed to this summer mainly because the last two times the Gators went to Lexington, they probably should have lost.

Somehow, they won those games and the road streak lives. You know that the crowd will be fired up. You can almost smell the bourbon from here.

So, let’s talk Kentucky:

KENTUCKY (4-0, 2-0 IN SEC)

A complete scouting report of Kentucky ahead of Florida’s road game

Here’s everything you need to know about Kentucky’s roster this season.

Death, taxes and anxiety-filled games against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Florida may dominate this rivalry series over the last few decades, winning 33 of the last 34 contests against its division rival, but in recent years, it’s been much more competitive.

In 2014, it was the controversial delay of game no-call on a play that kept Florida alive in overtime in an eventual win. The 2017 game, of course, saw the “don’t cover receivers in the end zone” incident while in 2018, Kentucky ended UF’s 31-game winning streak. The last time Florida traveled to Lexington in 2019, Kyle Trask led a comeback in replacement of the injured Feleipe Franks and never relinquished the starting job.

This rivalry series has become much more intense, and this year’s UK squad is likely one of Florida’s toughest remaining regular-season tests outside of Georgia. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Looking back on the weird and wild ways Kentucky has lost to Florida

You all know most of the stories because they are part of the Gator DNA. Still, a quick look back at the craziness of a crazy series.

There is one stat, one piece of historical knowledge, that should tell you everything you need to know about Florida’s series against Kentucky in football.

And it is this – Florida has beaten Kentucky more times than it has beaten any other team.

The Gators have won 53 times against the Wildcats, almost all of them on one of the campuses.

That’s more than Florida has defeated Georgia (44), Vanderbilt (42), Auburn (39) or Florida State (36).

But to simply point to the Gators winning 33 of the last 34 games would be a disservice to a team that has often given Florida all it could handle before falling away in a pool of Big Blue misery.

Florida-Kentucky is a weird series, which is why the older you are as a Gator fan, the more trepidatious about Saturday’s game and at the same time wondering how Kentucky will screw it up.

There was a time when the Wildcats could go into this game with a chance to win and certainly one would think they have a chance in this one. Way back when we only had one game to watch each Saturday, Kentucky stayed right with Florida, actually having the lead in the series 16-14 after taking four of six in the late 1970s.

But then Charley Pell happened. And then Galen Hall. And it just kept getting worse.

But, see, you can’t tell the story of this series without talking about the magical way Florida has been able to win some of those games and the way Kentucky has been — for four decades — the gift that keeps on giving.

You all know most of the stories because they are part of the Gator DNA. Still, a quick look back at the craziness of a crazy series.

SEC Roundup: How the conference fared in week two action

A look at how the rest of the SEC performed in week two action.

The LSU Tigers were able to get their first win of the season as they defeated McNeese 34-7. Meanwhile, around the SEC saw a conference matchup between the Missouri Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats. Which team got the upper hand in the SEC East standings?

Plenty of ranked teams were in action with Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Auburn taking part in the week two slate of games. The Aggies got a scare in Denver from an old foe, the Colorado Buffaloes.

Overall the conference went 12-2 in their games, only Tennessee would fall in the nonconference slate as they hosted Pitt of the ACC. A huge matchup with future SEC implications took place in Fayetteville as Arkansas welcomed the Texas Longhorns.

Would the Longhorns get the last laugh or would the Razorbacks show them what SEC football is all about?

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Let’s go around the SEC as we check in on each game from the conference.

Former Penn State QB wins starting job at SEC school

Former Penn State QB Will Levis has been named the starting quarterback at Kentucky for the 2021 season

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Will Levis entered the transfer portal this offseason looking for an opportunity to find a more prominent role in an offense in 2021. He found it with the Kentucky Wildcats. On Sunday, Kentucky named Levis its starting quarterback for the 2021 college football season.

Levis apparently gelled very quickly in his new surroundings in Lexington this summer. Once he decided to transfer to Kentucky, it was widely believed he would have an excellent chance to be named the starting quarterback for the Wildcats. And now, he has. Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops confirmed the decision on Sunday, noting how efficient the offense has been running with Levis at the helm.

“I’m so incredibly blessed to be given this amazing opportunity,” Levis said in a message posted on his Twitter account on Sunday. “Words can’t describe how excited I am to lead this group of guys!”

Levis will look to provide much-needed juice to the Kentucky offense. The Wildcats were last in the SEC in passing offense in 2020 with an average of 121.5 passing yards per game (only one other SEC school averaged fewer than 200 passing yards per game, South Carolina). Kentucky also had just seven passing touchdowns in 11 games, once again the fewest in the conference (for the sake of comparison, Alabama had 42 touchdown passes, Florida had 46).

Levis was the primary backup to Sean Clifford at Penn State the past two seasons, although Levis had his moments to provide something to the offense. Last season, Levis started one game in place of a struggling Clifford, although Clifford ended up replacing Levis as the game unfolded. Levis completed 60.0% of his pass attempts in 2020 for 421 yards and a touchdown. Levis was also used as a running option for the offense. He accumulated 260 rushing yards and three touchdowns last fall.

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