Florida Gators lay down in Lexington as Kentucky romps
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Florida’s will to fight ran out as the Gators quit and coaches gave up on quarterback DJ Lagway during a 38-7 loss Saturday night at Kentucky.
A week after going toe-to-toe with rival Georgia, the Gators (3-6, 2-4 SEC) looked like a team with nothing left to play for against the Wildcats (4-5, 2-5).
Any hopes of Florida slipping into a lower-tier bowl with six wins all but ended during their third consecutive loss in Lexington and fourth loss in five games to a program UF beat 31 straight times from 1987-2018.
A Gators’ team in a free fall would now need a three-game winning streak, beginning Saturday at No. 6 Ole Miss against Lane Kiffin — the coach virtually everyone in Gator Nation is counting on to come save a once-proud program. UF would have to beat the Rebels (9-1, 5-1) with an interim coach who’s seemingly lost his team and amid a quarterback controversy.
Lagway’s sophomore slide continued during a three-interception night that led interim coach Billy Gonzales to replace him with true freshman Trammel Jones Jr.
By then it was too late.
UF trailed 31-7 as a defense that had been UF’s backbone all season was overrun by an offense among the SEC’s least talented and explosive. A 21-point second quarter by Kentucky marked the most points during a quarter this season for an offense with 14 points or fewer during four of the past five games.
Before the Wildcats’ onslaught, a 10-yard touchdown pass to tailback Jadan Baugh gave Florida a brief 7-3 lead and served as Lagway’s only highlight on a miserable night. He finished 11-of-19 for 83 yards.
Lagway’s interception on UF’s opening series up a 39-yard field goal by Jacob Kauwe for a 3-0 Kentucky lead. Kentucky answered Lagway’s touchdown throw with a 75-yard drive on nine plays, culminating with a 29-yard hook-up between true freshman quarterback Cutter Boley and graduate transfer J.J. Hester guarded by true freshman cornerback Ja’Vari Flowers.
A fumble by backup tailback KD Daniels led to another Wildcats’ score, this time on a 15-yard pass from Boley to redshirt freshman tailback Jason Patterson.
After a Gators’ three-and-out, Kentucky drove 54 yards on five plays, including completions of 25 and 17 yards by Boley to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Seth McGown, who had 92 hard-earned yards on 22 carries.
Two of the SEC’s worst offenses promptly traded turnovers on four consecutive possessions, two of them Lagway interceptions, as the half ended with UF trailing 24-7 and Gators’ season having officially hit rock bottom.
It was Florida’s worst loss to Kentucky since a 40-6 rout in 1950 — when Bear Bryant coached the Wildcats.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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