Gators overrun at Kentucky, suffer third straight loss to Wildcats

LEXINGTON, Ky. — When it comes to the Florida Gators, Kentucky is no longer just a basketball school.

Florida spent three decades distancing itself from the Wildcats in football with cold-blooded disregard for a school known for cutting down the nets in March but no-showing on the gridiron during the fall.

But the Wildcats’ one-sided 33-14 win on Saturday showed coach Mark Stoops’ program not only has closed the gap but has left the Gators in the dust. Any gains Billy Napier’s program made with a Sept. 16 upset of Tennessee went up in smoke.

UF’s margin of defeat was the largest against Kentucky since 1979.

The loss continued the Gators’ road woes under Napier, who is now 1-7 away from the Swamp, and was UF’s’ third straight during the longstanding series, a first since Bear Bryant was Kentucky’s coach more than 60 years ago.

Florida (3-2, 1-1 SEC) was manhandled on both lines of scrimmage and was undone once again by a killer special teams penalty. Shockingly, a much-improved Gators’ defense was run over by Wildcats’ tailback Ray Davis, who finished with 280 yards.

Standouts

Florida

Graham Mertz: The Gators’ quarterback went 25-of-30 passing for 244 yards and 2 TDS, but threw an interception and took 3 sacks.

Ricky Pearsall: A 33-yard touchdown was one of 3 catches for 62 yards for the senior receiver.

Shemar James: Sophomore linebacker had a team-high 7 tackles, including one for loss.

Kentucky

Davis: The Vanderbilt transfer running back’s 280 yards were the second-most ever against the Gators.

Maxwell Hairston: The Wildcats’ cornerback had 10 tackles.

D’Eryk Jackson: Kentucky’s middle linebacker had 5 tackles, 1.5 for loss (1 sack).

Noteworthy

– Davis became just the eighth player to crack 200 on the Gators. List includes Hershel Walker (twice), Marcus Lattimore and Willis McGahee.

— During Davis’ 2-yard touchdown run to push the Kentucky lead to 30-7, the Gators had 13 defenders on the field.

— The Gators’ have committed 6 special teams penalties, including 4 on punt returns. Officials flagged freshman defensive back Dijon Johnson for leaping over a Kentucky blocker on a punt return, leading to a 15-yard penalty and giving back the ball. On the first play, Davis ran 75 yards for a touchdown.

— Mertz’s 2 interceptions in 2023 each went off the hands off his receivers.

– Sophomore safety Kamari Wilson, the top-rated recruit in the Gators’ 2022 class, was not among the 74 players to travel with the team. Wilson In 2023, the league allowed an additional four players to go on the road. Making the trip was freshman tight end Tony Livingston, listed Wednesday as out with an upper-body injury.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com