Halftime analysis: The 3 things UK must do to upset No. 6 Florida
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Game day: Florida 34, Kentucky 10
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Florida football game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
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With Kentucky trailing Florida 14-10 at halftime at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, here are the three things that will determine whether or not the Wildcats can pull a stunning upset:
1. Finish drives. Kentucky moved the ball into the Florida red zone on three of its four first-half drives, but has only 10 points to show for it. UK’s first drive reached the UF 20, but was foiled by a pair of sacks that cost the Cats even a field-goal chance.
Terry Wilson hit Keaton Upshaw on a 4-yard touchdown pass to cap the third UK drive. On the Cats’ fourth possession, they marched from their own 8-yard line to the UF 5.
However, the Florida defense forced Wilson to have to throw the ball away twice and the Wildcats settled for a 23-yard Matt Ruffolo field goal.
2. Keep the chains moving. Other than not taking full advantage of scoring opportunities, the Kentucky offense did exactly what it needed to do in half one to give the Wildcats a chance at what would be a massive upset.
UK controlled the football for a whopping 23:23 of the 30-minute first half. That kept Heisman Trophy candidate Kyle Trask and explosive weapons Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney on the sidelines with Gators Coach Dan Mullen for most of the first half.
3. Tighten up the special teams. A week after foibles with its field-goal team really hurt UK in a crushing loss at No. 1 Alabama, the Wildcats had Florida stopped on the Gators’ first offensive possession only to see UF extend its drive with a 15-yard run on a fake punt by upback Dameon Pierce.
Two plays later, Trask hit Pitts with a 56-yard touchdown pass.
Even worse, with Kentucky forced to punt from the shadows of its own goal posts in the final minute of the first half, Florida’s Toney returned the kick 50 yards for a touchdown that denied UK a halftime lead.
Special teams have killed UK the past two weeks..
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 1:33 PM.
