You don’t need me to tell you how awful that was. Coming off an error-ridden loss to Vanderbilt, Kentucky embarrassed itself once again, this time with a 48-20 loss to Florida in the Swamp. The score is pretty insulting, but it gets even worse when you dive deeper into the numbers.
476: Yards of Total Offense for Florida
Kentucky’s offense was a clear weak spot coming into this game, but tonight, the defense let the Cats down as well. Brad White’s unit entered the game allowing only 251.5 yards of total offense, which ranked No. 3 in the country. Florida surpassed that figure by halftime. When all was said and done, the Gators nearly doubled that average, finishing with 476 yards of offense.
13-6: Florida’s “big plays” to Kentucky’s
Most upsetting was the number of “big” plays the Cats gave up. Kentucky allowed seven passing plays of 15+ yards and six rushing plays of 10+ yards to a Florida team that was without its starting quarterback and starting running back. Not great.
Kentucky had three passing plays of 15+ yards and three rushing plays of 10+ yards. Only two of those six plays came in the second half, on Kentucky’s first drive of the third quarter, nonetheless.
7 & 259: DJ Lagway’s completions and passing yards
Backup quarterbacks used to strike fear in the hearts of Kentucky Football fans. Just when it looked like we’d moved past that in the Mark Stoops era, DJ Lagway entered the chat. Taking over for Graham Mertz, whose season is over due to injury, the true freshman was fantastic, slicing and dicing UK’s defense in giant chunks. Lagway finished with 259 yards on only seven completions, an average of 37 yards. Meanwhile, Brock Vandagriff finished 12-26 for 165 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Lagway did not have a touchdown tonight, but he clearly won the battle of the signal callers.
5: Touchdowns by Florida’s Jadan Baugh
All five of Florida’s touchdowns came on the ground from one ball carrier: Jadan Baugh. The true freshman had zero touchdowns coming into tonight. The Cats had no answer for him.
8.1 to 4.6: Florida’s Yards Per Play to Kentucky’s
Florida averaged 8.1 yards per play to Kentucky’s 4.6. Further proof of how easily the Gators moved the ball tonight.
14.5: Points Per Game Kentucky allowed before tonight
Kentucky ranked No. 9 in the country in scoring defense coming into tonight, averaging 14.5 points per game. Florida, a team averaging 28 points per game, which ranked No. 71 nationally, scored 48. What happened to Brad White’s unit?
5: Games Left
This number isn’t specific to tonight’s performance, but the loss drops Kentucky to 3-4 on the season. To extend the school-record bowl streak to nine, the Cats must win three of the final five games.
Taking care of business in the Swamp really would have helped. Now, Kentucky has to win out at home and/or pull off upsets at Tennessee and Texas, both of which will probably be ranked in the top ten. Given Kentucky’s performance tonight and abysmal record at Kroger Field, it’s hard to have faith that will happen, especially considering the season finale is against Louisville, which looked impressive vs. No. 6 Miami today. Ugh.
Kentucky vs. Florida Box Score
