First Scouting Report: Can Kentucky run its ‘streak’ vs. Florida to three straight wins?

An early look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next football game:

The opponent

Kentucky (4-0, 1-0 SEC) will play host to SEC East rival Florida (3-1, 1-0 SEC) in the conference home opener for the Wildcats.

The game will kick off at noon (EDT) and be telecast by either ESPN or the SEC Network.

Coach Billy Napier’s Gators defeated Charlotte 22-7 Saturday in Gainesville.

Series history

Florida leads the all-time series with Kentucky 53-20.

However, after losing an embarrassing 31 games in a row against the Gators from 1987 through 2017, the Wildcats have now won three of the past five meetings and two straight against UF.

UK coach Mark Stoops is 3-7 vs. Florida.

Gators head man Billy Napier is 0-1 against Kentucky.

Most recent meeting

Kentucky intercepted Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson twice and turned both into touchdowns as the No. 20 Wildcats upset the No. 12 Gators 26-16 on Sept. 10, 2022, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

A Jordan Wright pick set up a 1-yard Will Levis touchdown run just before halftime to draw UK within 16-13 of the Gators. A Keidron Smith interception became a 65-yard pick six that put Kentucky ahead for good, 23-16, with 3:25 left in the third quarter.

The victory was the 61st for Mark Stoops as UK head man, pushing him past Paul “Bear” Bryant (60-23-5) as Kentucky football’s all-time coaching wins leader.

Know your foe

1. The matchup between transfer-portal quarterbacks, Kentucky’s Devin Leary and Florida’s Graham Mertz, carries subterranean intrigue. When Mertz departed Wisconsin, his name was strongly linked with UK — and he visited Lexington. However, Kentucky ultimately chose Leary, the former North Carolina State star, as its portal QB for 2023.

That left Mertz still available — and Florida scooped him up. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound redshirt junior has performed well so far for the Gators. He entered Saturday’s game with Charlotte completing a robust 75.3% of his passes — good for eighth in the FBS — for 695 yards and three touchdowns and only one interception.

2. What Florida fans hope was a season-transforming, 29-16 upset of No. 11 Tennessee in “The Swamp” was sparked by running back Trevor Etienne. A 5-9, 205-pound sophomore from Jennings, Louisiana, Etienne carried 23 times for 172 yards and a touchdown vs. the Volunteers.

Last year, as a freshman, Etienne ran nine times for 46 yards and a TD vs. Kentucky.

Along with Etienne, the Florida defense is the strength of the Gators’ team. Through the games of Sept. 16, UF was 10th in the FBS in total defense (allowing 256.3 yards a game) and 31st in average points allowed (15.67).

3. At Kroger Field, Florida will be seeking to reverse a negative road trend. Going back to the final two games of the 2020 season, Florida is 2-14 in its last 16 games played away from Gainesville.

The Gators are 1-6 in SEC road games since the start of the 2021 season.

Including UF’s season-opening 24-11 loss at then-No. 14 Utah this year, the Gators are 2-8 in all road games since the start of the 2021 campaign.

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