Kentucky football earns first SEC home win in two years with blowout of Florida
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Gameday: Kentucky 38, Florida 7
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Florida football game at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky.
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For the first time in more than two years, Kentucky football has beaten a power-conference team in Kroger Field.
One week after snapping an 11-game losing streak against power-conference foes in any venue with a 10-3 win at Auburn, the Wildcats snapped their 11-game home losing streak against power-conference teams with a 38-7 blowout of Florida. The margin of victory was the largest for Kentucky versus Florida since a 40-6 win in 1950.
Two weeks after the Mark Stoops era at UK appeared to be on its last legs following a 56-34 loss to Tennessee, the Wildcats are now just two wins from bowl eligibility with three games remaining. If UK takes care of business against FCS Tennessee Tech next week, it would need to upset either Vanderbilt or Louisville to reach a bowl game.
Kentucky dominated a Florida team playing its second game since coach Billy Napier was fired throughout Saturday. The Gators’ only touchdown came on a possession that began at the UK 13-yard line after a muffed punt.
Running backs Seth McGowan and Dante Dowdell combined for 196 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Cutter Boley completed 18 of 23 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Boley did not attempt a pass in the fourth quarter.
UK’s defense forced four turnovers, leading to much-hyped Gators quarterback DJ Lagway being benched at halftime. Kentucky held its opponent to fewer than 300 total yards for the third time in four games.
The margin of victory could have been even greater if not for a bizarre sequence at the end of the first half that saw the two teams combine for four turnovers in a span of seven plays.
Turning point
Considering the number of ways Kentucky had found to lose during its 11-game home losing streak against power-conference foes, the Wildcat faithful at Kroger Field and watching the broadcast from home could be forgiven for thinking another debacle was coming when Ja’Mori Maclin muffed a punt in the first quarter that set up a Florida touchdown on a short field. But a team that has become characterized by its resilience bounced back again on the next drive.
The Wildcats marched 75 yards on nine plays using the type of no-huddle tempo rarely seen during the Stoops era. Wide receiver J.J. Hester gave the Wildcats the lead back with a 29-yard reception on which he just reached the ball over the goal line before falling out of bounds. Kentucky never trailed again in the game.
Player of the game
While Dowdell led Kentucky in rushing with 104 yards on seven carries, 65 of those came on one touchdown run with the outcome already decided. McGowan set the tone throughout with 92 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. He converted a fourth-and-1 and scored his second touchdown on direct-snap plays where Boley pretended he was going to receive the snap as normal. McGowan has now scored nine touchdowns this season.
Key stat
Kentucky lost 31 consecutive games to Florida from 1987 to 2017, but the Wildcats have now won four of the past five meetings with the Gators. With the victory, Stoops became just the second UK coach to beat Florida five times. The other is Bear Bryant.
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 10:39 PM.
