Florida leads the all-time series with Kentucky 53-21 and won 31 games in a row over the Wildcats from 1987 through 2017. UK, however, has now won three straight and four out of the past six meetings with the Gators.
As Kentucky coach, Mark Stoops is 4-7 on the field vs. Florida.
Davis rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries and also scored on a 9-yard pass from Devin Leary.
The Kentucky defense held the Gators to 313 total yards — only 69 of those on the ground.
Pride of the program
Stephen Orr Spurrier starred at Florida as a quarterback in the mid-1960s, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1966.
From 1990 through 2001, Spurrier coached his alma mater to a transcendent era, winning six SEC championships and the 1996 national title.
As a quarterback from 1964 through 1966, Spurrier directed Florida to a 23-9 record while playing for coach Ray Graves. While a senior in 1966, Spurrier led the Gators to a 9-2 mark that ended with a 27-12 win over No. 8 Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
For his college career, Spurrier threw for 4,848 yards with 36 touchdown throws vs. 31 interceptions.
Serving as Florida coach, Spurrier made the Gators mighty, leading UF to SEC championships in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2000.
The 1996 Gators, quarterbacked by Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, beat archrival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl to claim the national championship.
After 12 seasons, Spurrier departed Florida with a 122-27-1 record as head coach.
Three things to know
1 . Like Kentucky, Florida has been playing two quarterbacks. However, after veteran Gators QB Graham Mertz suffered a lower left leg injury in the loss at Tennessee that has left his playing status unclear, true freshman DJ Lagway could be “the guy” for UF vs. UK.
A 6-foot-3, 239-pound product of Willis, Texas, Lagway was ranked the top quarterback prospect in the class of 2024 by 247Sports. Lagway chose Florida over scholarship offers from a bevy of schools with big football brands, including Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas A&M and USC.
As a true freshman, Lagway has appeared in all six Florida games. He is completing 65.3 percent of his throws and has thrown for 765 yards and five touchdowns. The frosh has been a tad interception prone, however, having thrown four picks.
Most of Lagway’s statistical output came from his starting in place of an injured Mertz in Florida’s second game of the season vs. FCS foe Samford. In a 45-7 Florida rout, Lagway threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns and completed 18 of 25 passes.
A 6-3, 216-pound senior who began his college career at Wisconsin, Mertz has completed 76.6 percent of his throws this season and thrown for 799 yards and six touchdowns with two picks.
Last season, in Florida’s 33-14 loss at Kentucky, Mertz completed 25 of 30 passes for 244 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
2 . It is likely bad news for Kentucky’s pass protection — which has struggled to block edge pass rushers — that Florida has two players who are good at pressuring QBs from the flanks.
Tyreak Sapp , a 6-3, 272-pound redshirt junior from Fort Lauderdale, leads the Gators with 3.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries.
George Gumbs Jr ., a 6-4, 249-pound junior who transferred from Northern Illinois, has added three sacks and a hurry.
After going 40-12 in four seasons (2018 through 2021) as Louisiana head man, Napier was named to replace Dan Mullen as Gators coach.
It has not gone well. Through two and a half seasons running the Florida program, Napier stands 14-17 overall, 7-12 in the SEC.
Under Napier, Florida has been significantly better at home than on the road. In games played at “The Swamp,” Napier is 11-6. Away from Gainesville, Napier is 3-11.
After Kentucky, Florida will finish with a brutal five-game stretch of Georgia on a neutral field in Jacksonville, at Texas, LSU, Mississippi and at Florida State.
Beating UK probably does not guarantee Napier survives as UF head man. However, it is hard to imagine any realistic path to job retention for Napier if he drops to 0-3 vs. Kentucky.
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