Five ways Kentucky’s win over Florida changes everything

Maybe Benny Snell is more than just a running back.

Maybe the junior has a little bit of fortuneteller in him, too.

In July at Southeastern Conference Media Days, Kentucky’s star was asked several times about the Cats wanting to end the 31-game losing streak to Florida.

As he usually does, Snell had a lot to say. But one thing in particular stands out in light of the Cats’ 27-16 upset over No. 25 Florida on Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium:

“Beating Florida is one of the things that’s going to change our season,” Snell said. “It’s going to be a season changer for us.”

Following Snell’s lead, here are five ways that this victory could change the trajectory of Kentucky’s season.

1. The Streak dies

It has spanned decades and generations, almost taking on its own personality and aura, earning capitalization: The Streak.

Because of the UK victory on Saturday at The Swamp, The Streak finally dies at 31 straight games, at 11,620 days. The Cats got their first victory since 1986 and their first at The Swamp since 1979.

It had become a heavy burden that each UK team had carried into Florida week for decades.

“First three or four years, I really wasn’t concerned about it,” Mark Stoops said about The Streak at Southeastern Conference Media Days. “I’m trying to build a culture at Kentucky and win games and get in position, but you do hear it. You can’t hide from the elephant in the room. It’s been a long time. We need to beat Florida.”

UK doesn’t have to hear about Top Gun being the top grossing movie the last time the Cats beat the Gators or see pictures of Stoops in his Iowa uniform that he was wearing in 1986 or hear that a gallon of gas used to cost 90 cents back then.

These Cats will be able to say they finally guided the elephant out of the room.

2. Mark Stoops needed this

Some of the Kentucky coach’s most memorable news conference moments have come after the last two losses to Florida, starting in 2016 with the: “We got our tails kicked on both sides of the ball.”

And then, on a night when UK didn’t get its tail kicked and instead made enough plays to win it, Stoops was disgusted by what he called a “breakdown in communication defensively” on two uncovered wide receivers.

“It takes away from the great passion and energy that the team, that our team played with,” the head coach said last season at Kroger Field after the Cats blew a 13-point lead in the second half. “We played winning football. We have to get those things fixed and I accept responsibility for those and we’ll get those plays fixed and do a better job.”

In many ways it felt like the fans lost some faith in Stoops and staff after that. And it was one of a handful of games that gave UK fans a chance to believe and then it ended in a deflating way.

3. Bigger goals still possible

While fans are fixated on ending decades of futility, Kentucky’s players talked about a potential Florida win in a much more pragmatic way, as a stepping stone toward their goals for the season.

“We look at it like our first SEC opponent we have to get over top of if we want to be in Atlanta this year,” middle linebacker Kash Daniel said this week of the Cats’ desire to be representing the SEC East in the championship game. “The streak obviously is not going to be forefront of your mind, but it’s not going to be out of your mind completely. It’s in the back there, but ultimately, we’re here to win an SEC East game and that will hopefully propel us into the national spotlight and get us to Atlanta.”

While beating Florida is “a little goal,” senior linebacker Josh Allen said, it’s not UK’s “ultimate goal.”

We want to make it to an SEC championship,” he said at SEC Media Days in July. “So that’s just one game on our radar.”

4. Changes national discussion

Kentucky fans were displeased with Florida star turned TV star Tim Tebow on Saturday morning when he mentioned that Kentucky can’t compete with other SEC teams in terms of facilities.

That might have been true a few years ago when Tebow was an eligible recruit, but since then UK has upgraded Kroger Field and the practice facilities and fields to the tune of $170 million.

With the win, maybe those facilities will get a little more notice. That, and a victory over a top 25 team also might get UK — which returns 17 starters — some votes in the Associated Press poll in the coming weeks.

A victory also helps end any chance of UK being on the wrong side of the nation’s longest consecutive losing streak. The Cats were only 13 more losses away from being Navy, which lost 43 in a row to Notre Dame from 1964 to 2006.

5. Could provide recruiting boost

Behind Eddie Gran and his decades of recruiting south Florida, Kentucky has made a serious push in the Sunshine State, including 19 players on this year’s roster from Florida.

Florida is a talent-rich state and not having an often discussed three-decade losing streak to one of its powerhouses couldn’t hurt.

“There’s just a lot of players playing football,” Stoops said this week about recruiting here. “They’re outside working. Some good players, good coaches, good programs.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2018 at 11:31 PM.