Florida, Kentucky Set for 75th Meeting in Historic Rivalry

After 108 years of playing the Kentucky Wildcats, the Florida Gators are headed back to Lexington this Saturday for their 75th battle with the Wildcats. 

It’s a longstanding matchup and the history favors the Gators in the series (54-21). They have played every year since 1967, and Florida held a 31-game winning streak from 1987 until 2017. 

While the Gators have had their way against the Wildcats, recent history shows a mix of results. They are 6-4 in the past 10 matchups. The last time the Gators claimed a victory on Kentucky’s home turf was in 2019. 

On the road, the Gators are 22-12 at Kroger Field, scoring an average 24 points per game against Kentucky’s 19.8 points. At home, the Gators score an average of 28 points per game. 

This won’t be quarterbacks DJ Lagway and Cutter Boley’s first time meeting. Last season, Boley made his college-debut in the fourth quarter against the Gators. In his first collegiate-throw, Boley tossed a pick-six straight to Cormani McClain, who made his debut for the Gators that day.

Lagway had his second career start and led the Gators to a 48-20 win, breaking Kentucky’s three game win streak, which was Kentucky’s first three straight win streak against the Gators since 1951. 

Currently, both teams are 3-5 this season. The Wildcats struggle to defend their home turf, having lost 11-consecutive games. Kentucky is coming off a road win against Auburn, 10-3, breaking their ten-game SEC losing streak. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was fired after the result of this game.

Florida is coming off a loss against Georgia, 24-20, in interim coach Billy Gonzales’ debut. It was Florida’s closest game against Georgia since they last won in 2020. 

While it wasn’t a win in the win column, fans saw improvement on the field and a glimpse of hope has found its way back into Gainesville. Gonzales wants to continue to grow that spark with a hopeful win against the Wildcats.

Category: Gators Football