The series between Kentucky and Florida has been lopsided. The Gators dominated for decades before Mark Stoops turned the tables.
Candidly, there was a time in my life when I thought I’d never see Kentucky win a football game against Florida. Now they’ve won four in the last six years, and three straight. Saturday night in The Swamp, the Wildcats will try to win four straight in the series for the first time since 1948-51. Before we turn our complete attention to the matchup between Brock Vandagriff and DJ Lagway, let’s use this Flashback Friday to look back on memorable moments from Stoops’ four victories over the Gators.
2018: The Streak was Snapped on the Ground
If I live 50 more years, I don’t think I will ever experience a more satisfying Kentucky football win. The Wildcats exorcised decades of demons by running the ball through the heart of the Florida defense in The Swamp.
Benny Snell and Terry Wilson each passed the century mark on the ground as Kentucky ran the damn ball for 303 yards. The biggest play of the game was the best pass of Wilson’s career, a 54-yard bomb to Lynn Bowden that put Florida at arm’s length.
The Gators rallied late, but Josh Hines-Allen made an incredible PBU on a two-point conversion to stop the momentum. The exclamation point was a strip sack on the final play. Stoops celebrated with a Gatorade bath and by giving the game ball to John Schlarman, an image that live in UK lore for the rest of time.
2021: An All-Time Kentucky Field Storm
Most of Mark Stoops’ biggest wins happened away from Kroger Field. In 2021, he delivered an unforgettable moment for 60,000 fans in the stands.
Wan’Dale Robinson got the party started by knifing through the Florida defense for a 41-yard score. On the brink of falling behind six points, Josh Paschal took matters into his own hands. He blocked a field goal and Trevin Wallace returned it 76 yards for a touchdown, creating one of the loudest crowd pops in Kentucky football history.
The Kentucky defense secured the 20-13 victory with an outstanding finish in the red zone. The Gators ran 10 plays inside the 20-yard line before Jacquez Jones forced an incompletion on fourth down, opening the floodgates for fans to rush the field.
2022: Kentucky Stuffs Anthony Richardson into a Locker
Anthony Richardson had a coming-out party in Billy Napier’s first game as the Florida head coach. He was billed as the future No. 1 overall pick after his heroics in a Top 25 victory over Utah, set to face off against another NFL quarterback prospect, Will Levis. The latter was victorious, in large part thanks to a 55-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Dane Key, but the story of the game was the Kentucky defense.
Richardson was seeing ghosts after Jordan Wright made a jaw-dropping one-handed interception that put Kentucky in the red zone. A few series later, Keidron Smith jumped a route and returned the interception 65 yards for a score to knock off the 12th-ranked Gators 26-16.
2023: Ray Davis Runs Wild
Like every Mark Stoops win in this series, Florida was a Top 25 team when the Gators traveled to Kroger Field for a late September showdown. Kentucky had a tenuous 10-0 lead when Ray Davis opened up a can of whoop-ass.
A Florida special teams penalty erased a punt and gave Kentucky a fresh set of downs. On the next play, Davis went untouched for a 75-yard score. Liam Coen fed him the rest of the day and No. 1 ate until he was stuffed.
Davis scored four touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air, on his way to 280 rushing yards. It’s the third-most in Kentucky football history, trailing Lynn Bowden (284 vs. Louisville in 2018) and Moe Williams (299 vs. South Carolina in 1995). It was an absolute beatdown at Kroger Field, one of the most demoralizing and embarrassing losses in recent Florida football history.
What’s your favorite moment from the wins over the Gators? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board.
