Déjà vu for Kentucky football fans hit on Saturday night at Kroger Field. In a season full of exciting moments, new faces and a hope for a postseason run, it all came crashing down in a disappointing loss to the Florida Gators in front of a black out crowd. The ‘Cats completely controlled the first half with few mistakes but were unable to make the most of their encouraging play. Following a questionable holding call that resulted in a safety to give the Gators their only points in the first half, it was all Philo and the Gators after the break. Florida QB Philo took 15 carries for 102 yards and a rushing touchdown in the game, while also contributing 119 yards through the air to lead the Gators to a road win over the No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats. The ‘Cats defense had absolutely no answers for Philo on the ground throughout the second half, as he orchestrated multiple long drives to bury the ‘Cats hopes. While Minchey was rolling in the first half, he took a step back after halftime. The ‘Cats offense could not get rolling in any facet in the second half, with the offensive line having trouble slowing down the Florida pass rush. The loss effectively ends the ‘Cats chances at any remaining hopes of a potential SEC championship appearance and more importantly, a playoff bid. Stein and the ‘Cats will continue the home stretch of their season next week as they take on the Missouri Tigers, followed by the final home game against the Louisville Cardinals Thanksgiving weekend. Finally, in the steps of an early season Will Stein quote, ‘Cats fans may want to “go to church” after one of the more disappointing Kentucky sports weeks in a long time.
The spread for Saturday’s matchup against Florida was – 2.5 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 52.5.
Game Recap:
First Quarter
The ‘Cats won the toss and deffered their possession to the second half. The ‘Cats booted the opening kickoff and the Gators took the opening kick to their own 21-yard line. The Gators were penalized for an illegal shift on the first play of the game. Philo found his top healthy receiver Wilson for a 11-yard gain. Philo found Stockton for a 12-yard gain and a first-down. Baugh took his first carry for a gain of 3-yards. Baugh dropped a screen-pass to force a 3rd-and-7. Philo found Jackson for a first-down gain of 8-yards. Philo tried to find Wilson on a deep pass but Sykes broke it up. Afari Jr. Executed a perfect open field tackle to force a Gator punt. The ‘Cats began their first drive on their own 14-yard line. Minchey connected with Darby on the first offensive play of the drive for Kentucky for a gain of 5-yards. Minchey split two rushers and gained a physical first-down on a 3rd-and-7. Minchey rushed again on a broekn flea flicker play for a gain of 6-yards. Baxter took a carry for a gain of 6-yards and a first-down. Minchey found DJ Miller for a big gain of 21-yards to push the ‘Cats into Gator territory. Skinner took a direct snap for a rush and a gain of 8-yards. Minchey then rushed to the corner for a first-down gain. Skinner got tackled on a hand-off for a loss of yards but then Minchey found Darby for a 13-yard gain. Minchey foudn Rodriguez for a first-down gain of 3-yards. Backup QB Ward entered and took a direct snap for a gain of 9-yards. Minchey foudn a wide-open Baxter for a 5-yard TOUCHDOWN KENTUCKY! The ‘Cats led 7-0 with 1:32-minutes to play in the first quarter following the PAT from Zouagi. A methodic 8:20-minute opening drive started things off right for the ‘Cats. The Gators began their next drive on their own 31-yard line after a solid kick-off return. Philo found Wilson for a gain of 5-yards. Clark took a carry through his blockers for a big gain of 21-yards. The ‘Cats led 7-0 after the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Philo fumbled the snap on the first play of the second quarter but fell directly on the ball to force a 3rd-and-12. The ‘Cats rushed Philo and Cowan converted a big sack to force another Florida punt. The ‘Cats began their next drive on their own 16-yard line. Minchey connected with DJ Miller for a gain of 18-yards on first-down. Minchey connected with Rodrigeuz on an amazing throw on the numbers for a gain of 13-yards. Minchey found Darby for a short 4-yard gain. Ward was stopped on a QB run to force the first Kentucky punt of the game. The ‘Cats cover team almost downed the ball at the 1-yard line but it was deemed a touchback. The Gators began their next drive on their own 20-yard line. Philo took a QB run for a 5-yard gain. Philo was nearly picked by Gates but dropped the ball. Philo connected with Mays but was short of the first-down. The play was reviewed and deemed an incomplete pass to force a 4th-and-5 from the Florida 25-yard line with 8:45-minutes to play in the half. Kentucky began their next drive on their own 45-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Patterson took a carry for a 5-yard gain. Minchey found Rodriguez on an out route for a gain of 7-yards and a first-down. Minchey was called for an intentional grounding penalty and followed it with an incomplete pass. The ‘Cats were forced to punt once again. The Gators began their next drive on their own 17-yard line with 6:20-minutes to play in the half. Baugh took a first-down carry for a gain of 12-yards. Florida converted a 3rd-and-short to continue their drive. Sykes and the ‘Cats defense forced a 3rd-and-7. Philo could not find Wilson, defended by Nichols to force another punt. Florida punted the ball 52-yards to the ‘Cats 4-yard line. Baxter took a carry for a 3-yard gain. Minchey rushed for a 1-yard gain to force a 3rd-and-6. Minchey found Rodriguez for a big first-down gain but the ‘Cats were called for a holding penalty that resulted in a safety. The ‘Cats punted the ball to the Gators with 2:06-minutes left, leading by a score of 7-2. The Gator returner caught the kick-off and fell to the ground at the 8-yard line. Philo scrambled to the Gator 35-yard line after a couple first-down gains. The Gators were called for a holding penalty that forced a 2nd-and-16 at the Florida 30-yard line. The ‘Cats defense held strong and forced a Florida punt with 32-seconds to play in the half. The ‘Cats began their drive on their own 20-yard line. The ‘Cats ran out the clock to end the half with a 7-2 lead. They will received the ball to begin the second half.
Halftime: Kentucky 7 – Florida 2
Third Quarter
The ‘Cats received the opening kickoff for a touchback. They began their first drive of the second half at their own 25-yard line. Minchey connected with DJ Miller for a gain of 12-yards on first-down. Minchey was stripped and sacked and the Gators recovered the fumble for the first turnover of the game. The Gators took over on the Kentucky 35-yard line. Philo connected with Stockton for a gain of 10-yards and a first-down. The ‘Cats defense forced a 3rd-and-7 led by Barnes. Philo scrambled for a first-down. Baugh carried the ball to the Kentucky 1-yard line. Baugh carried the ball into the end-zone to give the Gators a 8-7 lead. Florida attempted a two-point conversion following the touchdown. Philo carried it up the middle for the conversion to make it 10-7 Florida with 10:06-minutes to play in the third quarter. Florida attempted an onside kick on the following kick-off and the ‘Cats recovered the ball. They began their drive on the Florida 45-yard line. Patterson carried the ball for a 4-yard gain. Patterson caught a short pass and took it for first-down yardage of 8-yards. Minchey found a running Rodriguez for a huge gain of 25-yards to the Florida 8-yard line. Patterson took a direct snap for a gain of 5-yards. Patterson then took another direct snap up the middle for a 3-yard gain after being ruled short of the touchdown. Minchey took a QB sneak up the middle for a 1-yard TOUCHDOWN KETUCKY! The ‘Cats led 14-10 after the PAT with 7:20-minutes to play in the third quarter. The Gators began their next drive at their own 20-yard line. Philo broke free and scrambled for a massive 28-yard gain on first-down. Philo again broke free for a big gain of 9-yards on the ground. Philo floated a pass over the defenders head for a gain of 6-yards to push the ball to the Kentucky 26-yard line. The ‘Cats defense held the Gators on defense and forced a field goal attempt after a solid Florida drive. Durkin hit a 37-yard field goal to make the score 14-13 Kentucky with 3:16-minutes to play in the third quarter. The ‘Cats began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. Barnes took a carry up the middle for a gain of 3-yards. Barnes took another carry for a gain of 3-yards to force a 3rd-and-4. Darby dropped a difficult catch and the ‘Cats were forced to punt. The ‘Cats punted the ball 44-yards to the Florida 32-yard line. Philo took another carry up the middle for a solid first-down gain of 7-yards. Baugh gained first-down yardage at the Florida 44-yard line. The ‘Cats led 14-13 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Philo connected with Jackson for a big first-down gain. The Gators were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play. Baugh carried it for a first-down gain on a 3rd-and-short. The ‘Cats defense forced a 3rd-and-6. Philo carried it once again up the middle for a big gain and first-down yardage to the Kentucky 14-yard line. Philo took another carry for short-yardage. The ‘Cats defense forced another 3rd-and-4. Philo took a carry for a first-down to the Kentucky 2-yard line. Philo took another carry up the middle for a tuchdown for Florida to make the score 19-14 Gators. The Gators attempted another two-point conversion. The Gators converted the two-point attempt to make the score 21-14 with 9:08-minutes to play in the game. It was a 7:30-minute drive from the Gators that featured just one pass play. The ‘Cats began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. Minchey found a wide-open Rodriguez for a 15-yard gain. Minchey connected deep down the field with DJ MIller for a big 29-yard gain to the Florida 26-yard line. The ‘Cats were forced into a 4th-and-9 attempt and the Gators blizted their way into an incomplete pass from Minchey to Darby. The ‘Cats turned it over on downs with 5:29-minutes to play in the game. Baugh carried it up the middle for a first-down gain of 6-yards. The ‘Cats stopped Baugh short on the 2nd-down run. Baugh carried it up the middle for first-down yardage. The ‘Cats defense forced a 3rd-and-3 on the Florida 43-yard line with 2:43-minutes to play in the game. Philo found a wide-open receiver for a gain of 12-yarda and a new set of downs. Philo took another carry for a gain of 7-yards. The ‘Cats defense forced a 3rd-and-1 and took their second timeout of the half. The ‘Cats defense held firm and forced a stop on 3rd down. Florida ran a play on 4th-down and were tackled at the line to gain. The ‘Cats defenseive held firm and forced a turnover on downs. The ‘Cats offense took over on the Kentucky 35-yard line with 1:43-mintues to play. DJ Miller dropped a pass and Minchey missed an open Rodriguez to start the drive. Minchey threw four consecutive incomplete passes to effectively end the game. The Gators took back over and kneeled the remaining clock out. The Gators defeated the No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 21-14.
Final: Kentucky 14 – Florida 21
Game Stats:
Total Yards:
Kentucky – 242 (181 Passing, 61 Rushing)
Florida – 330 (119 Passing, 211 Rushing)
Turnover Differential:
Kentucky 1 – Florida 0
Time of Possession:
Kentucky – 25:58 minutes
Florida– 34:02 minutes
Notable Player Stats:
Offense:
QB Kenny Minchey – [(15 comp – 26 att) (181 yds) (1 passing TD) (0 INT) (8 car) (1 rush yds) (1 rush TD)]
RB CJ Baxter Jr – [(8 car) (21 rush yds) (1 rec) (1 rec TD)]
TE Willie Rodriguez – [(5 rec) (62 yds)]
WR DJ Miller – [(4 rec) (80 yds)]
WR Kenny Darby – [(4 rec) (25 yds)]
Defense:
Grant Godfrey – [(13 totTk) (8 solo)]
Bo Barnes – [(9 totTk) (6 solo) (1 TFL)]
Jordan Castell – [(8 totTk) (7 solo)]
Lorenzo Cowan – [(4 totTk) (3 solo) (1 sacks) (1 TFL)]
Upcoming Game:
The ‘Cats (7-3, 5-3 SEC) will head to Columbia, Missouri next week to take on the Missouri Tigers (6-4, 3-4 SEC) on Saturday, November 21. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
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