Should be a tight game in The Swamp
The Kentucky Wildcats will now begin to turn their attention to the Florida Gators after another brutal home loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday night.
Sitting at 3-3 (1-3 SEC) on the year, I think it is fair to say this season has been fairly disappointing outside of the upset over Ole Miss. Despite that battle, this matchup against the Gators could get the fanbase bought back in despite the current state of the Florida program.
What seemed to be somewhat of a matchup that could be relatively uncompetitive earlier in the season has shifted to one that could be a coin flip come kickoff on Saturday night, especially with the current state of the Kentucky offense heading into Gainesville.
Over the course of this season, we have seen the UK offense struggle to consistently score points. Look no further than the matchup against Vandy, in which the Cats got inside the 30-yard line four times yet only scored 13 points.
Now, compare that with a Florida defense that has become fairly stingy, including an impressive outing on the road against the No. 10 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night.
With plenty of kinks to work out, the Cats will need an impressive game from Brock Vandagriff. We have seen this unit put it together under the Georgia transfer quarterback. Now, let’s hope Mark Stoops and Bush Hamdan can get the ship back up right before the trip to The Swamp.
Florida also comes into the matchup at 3-3 and came very close to knocking off the Vols in Knoxville its last time out. At one point this season, it seemed that the Gators would have an interim coach in this matchup, but that will obviously not be the case as Napier hopes to get the big home victory over a Kentucky team that has had the Gators’ number as of late.
Florida will be without starting quarterback Graham Mertz following his season-ending injury last week, paving the way for true freshman DJ Lagway to get the start. Lagway is more of a dual-threat option who showed some nice flashes last week, nearly leading the Gators back in Knoxville before falling in overtime.
As the opening line has been revealed, the Cats currently sit as 1.5-point underdogs for Saturday night’s game, according to FanDuel. That seems about right for how this game should play out.
It’s going to be a huge game for both programs. Let’s see if the Cats can respond and get a bounce-back victory or continue to dive deeper into obscurity.
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Florida Gators
Date & Time: Saturday, October 19th at 7:45 PM ET
Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville (FL)
TV Info: SEC Network
Online Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro
Odds: FanDuel has the Gators -1.5 with an over/under of 42.5.
Early Predictions: OddsTrader has the Gators winning 25-20. Dimers is going with a 22-21 Florida victory. DRatings actually has the Cats winning 23-20.