Streak talk

Florida is playing at Kentucky on Saturday, which means this week has been filled with talk about the Gators’ winning streak against the Wildcats.

That’s what happens when one SEC team beats another 30 consecutive times. Kentucky last beat Florida 10-3 on Nov. 15, 1986.

Mark Stoops is only 0-4 against Florida as Kentucky’s coach, but he understands the weight of the streak.

“It’s not like you can hide it,” Stoops said. “They know what’s going on. But I have great confidence in our team that it won’t affect us at all.”

Stoops said he doesn’t use the possibility of ending the streak to pump up his players.

“Honestly, I haven’t addressed that before,” he said. “It’s never been my approach. These guys haven’t been here for 30 years. We’ll see. I’ll go with my gut on how much we’ll talk about that or if at all.”

Florida Coach Jim McElwain, 2-0 against Kentucky, said he’ll leave talking about the streak to the media.

“Every year it’s different,” McElwain said. “You’ve got two different teams playing, so right now it’s 0-0.”

Gators sophomore receiver Freddie Swain has an idea about how the Wildcats must be feeling as they prepare to play Florida.

“This is probably like their Super Bowl,” Swain said. “If I lost to a team that long, I mean, I’d try to win, too. That would be a big win.”

Stoops said he understands what ending the losing streak would mean to Kentucky’s alumni and fans.

“I care about our fan base. I do care about the history,” he said. “I want to make our people happy and supportive of our team.”

Florida’s 30-game winning streak against Kentucky is the fourth longest behind Notre Dame’s 43 games over Navy (1964-2006), Nebraska’s 36 games over Kansas (19692004) and Oklahoma’s 32 over Kansas State (19371968).