The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
STILL UNBEATEN
UK shows it ‘can play against the best’ in win over Florida
LEXINGTON — Trevin Wallace grew up in Jesup, Georgia. But he never cheered for Georgia. He cast his lot with Georgia’s arch-rival, Florida; the Gators’ Gainesville campus is 60 miles closer to Wallace’s Jesup home.
His childhood allegiance to Florida went to the wayside Saturday.
For the second time in three seasons, Wallace — Kentucky’s superstar junior linebacker — victimized the Gators. Two years ago, he returned a blocked field goal 76 yards for a touchdown, which gave UK a lead it would not relinquish in a 20-13 win. During Saturday’s first quarter, he picked off Florida quarterback Graham Mertz and ran 21 yards before being brought down.
“I knew I wasn’t (going to score),” said Wallace, who had two tackles in the Wildcats’ 33-14 victory at Kroger Field. “I was like, ‘Man, I’m just going to go and get however much I can and then let our offense score.’”
Two plays later, the Wildcats did just that, as running back Ray Davis crossed the goal line on a 9-yard reception.
The three-play sequence symbolized Saturday’s game: Wallace and the UK defense held Florida in check (it permitted just one touchdown each half) while Davis cleaned up offensively (280 rushing yards and four total touchdowns) in a superlative showing. It added up to an easier-than-expected 19-point win to help Kentucky (5-0, 2-0 SEC) remain unbeaten in 2023.
Here are three things we learned from Saturday’s home victory over the Gators:
Beating Florida means a lot to those in Kentucky’s football program
UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen sheepishly admitted during his days as a football-obsessed youth growing up in the Northeast in the 1990s, he loved watching Florida play. The Gators, the SEC’s premier program at the time, had
it all. Quotable coach Steve Spurrier. Dazzling quarterback Danny Wuerffel. The “Fun ‘N’ Gun” offense racking up points like a pinball machine.
Decades later, Coen is now part of the Wildcats’ first three-game win streak over the Gators since Bear Bryant roamed the sideline for Kentucky in the years just after World War II concluded in 1945.
“To be a part of it is really cool, especially to do it twice in Lexington,” said Coen, who called plays for the Wildcats’ offense Saturday and in the 2021 victory over the Gators. “These two wins, you’re not going to forget these moments — and hopefully our kids won’t either.”
Coen’s defensive counterpart, Brad White, has been a member of the Kentucky coaching staff for all three wins over Florida, dating back to his first season in 2019.
“It’s awesome. It’s a huge accomplishment,” White said. “I’m just so happy for this fan base. I’m happy for our players. I’m happy for (head) coach (Mark) Stoops and those guys — (tight ends) coach (Vince) Marrow — who have been here from the beginning, waiting for this time.”
White compared it to the years he spent at Wake Forest, first as a player (2002-04), then as a graduate assistant (2006 and 2007). He never beat Florida State as a player, going 0-3. But he never lost to the Seminoles as a GA, winning both matchups.
“This is a good win,” White said. “We’re going to enjoy it and we’re going to celebrate it.”
The Gators still dominate nearly every aspect of the rivalry, from leading the all-time series 53-21 to holding a decisive edge in Lexington (22-12). Not to mention winning 31 games in a row from 1987 through 2017.
That history made Saturday all the more satisfying for the Wildcats.
“I don’t want to lose a game,” sophomore defensive tackle Deone Walker said. “But if I could pick one game to never lose, it would be against Florida. This rivalry is so big in Kentucky. It just feels great.”
Kentucky defensive lineman Deone Walker keeps finding ways to impress
Considered the Wildcats’ top NFL draft prospect, Walker had another stellar outing Saturday, tallying two tackles (0.5 for loss) and a sack.
His most noteworthy play, however, saw the 6-foot-6, 348-pound Walker drop into pass coverage in the first quarter. He combined with linebacker Keaten Wade on a hit of Florida tight end Arlis Boardingham that popped the ball into the air and into Wallace’s waiting arms.
“There’s going to be a lot more of me dropping into coverage,” Walker said with a laugh.
White said Walker has been “itching” for opportunities to step away from the line of scrimmage and into passing lanes.
“He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m going to make a play. I’m going to get a pick,’” White said. “And as soon as it happened (Saturday), he came running to the sideline and was like, ‘I told you! I told you!’ I said, ‘Listen, I’m not dropping you much, man. I like my job.’ … But that was a heck of a play.”
When he wasn’t dipping his toes into pass defense, he was excelling at his primary job: plugging up holes and wreaking havoc on the interior of Florida’s offensive line.
Kentucky’s win forces reevaluation of SEC East pecking order
Prior to the Wildcats’ 19-point triumph, the Gators were in the running to be the second-best team in the SEC East, a race that also included Tennessee (a team Florida trounced last month) and Missouri (which improved to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in SEC play after dispatching Vanderbilt).
UK’s thorough win Saturday serves as a strong argument that Stoops’ team is Georgia’s chief competition in the division.
Florida now has two losses. Tennessee lost, in convincing fashion, to this Florida club last month. South Carolina led Georgia 14-3 at the half before the Bulldogs rallied in the final two quarters. Missouri has one of the league’s marquee nonconference wins, knocking off then-No. 15 Kansas State on a game-winning 61-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis.
The Wildcats believe they established themselves in their most lopsided win over the Gators since a 31-3 victory in 1979.
“People were saying that we hadn’t really played anyone, (but) every team that we played is a good team,” Walker said. “They’re good in their own conference. Florida is a great team. The statement for today was that we can play against the best.”
Kentucky has a chance to prove that next week: It squares off with Georgia, the two-time defending national championship on a 22-game win streak after escaping with a 27-20 victory over Auburn.
Stoops is 0-10 against the Bulldogs, with UK’s last win in the series coming in 2009. Since then, Georgia has won 13 straight over Kentucky.