How No. 20 Kentucky and No. 12 Florida match up — with a game prediction
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Preview: No. 20 Kentucky at No. 12 Florida
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Florida football game at 7 p.m. at Gainesville, Fla.
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How the No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 SEC) and No. 12 Florida Gators (1-0, 0-0 SEC) match up at each position — with a game prediction:
Quarterbacks
▪ Kentucky senior Will Levis completed 21 of 32 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in UK’s 37-13 season-opening win over Miami (Ohio). It was the fourth 300-yards-plus passing performance in 14 games at UK for the 6-foot-3, 232-pound product of Madison, Conn. Afterward, Levis said he felt his decision-making had been good but the accuracy on some of his throws could have been better. In Kentucky’s 20-13 win over Florida last season, Levis had a rough go, completing seven of 17 passes for 81 yards with a TD and a pick.
▪ Florida’s Anthony Richardson has been drawing comparisons to Vince Young and Cam Newton after directing the Gators to a 29-26 upset of No. 7 Utah last week in “The Swamp.” The 6-4, 232-pound sophomore ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and completed 17 of 24 passes for 168 yards. Against UK in 2021, the Gainesville product played a spot role behind starter Emory Jones; Richardson completed his only pass attempt for 8 yards and ran five times for 25 yards.
Advantage: Even.
Running backs
▪ With Kentucky star Christopher Rodriguez (2,739 career rushing yards) still unavailable for publicly undisclosed reasons, senior Kavosiey Smoke is expected to make his second-straight start. The 5-9, 209-pound senior from Wetumpka, Ala., was UK’s leading rusher in the win over Miami with 32 yards on seven carries. Injuries to Ramon Jefferson and JuTahn McClain against Miami have cleared room for redshirt freshman La’Vell Wright. Against Miami, the 6-foot, 219-pound redshirt freshman from North Hardin ran three times for 10 yards and made a physical blitz pickup in pass protection that allowed UK to complete a 38-yard pass.
▪ Newcomers were the story for Florida at running back in its opener. True freshman Trevor Etienne ran for 64 yards on only five carries and also caught a pair of passes for 9 yards. Montrell Johnson, who followed new Gators Coach Billy Napier from Louisiana, ran for 75 yards and and TD and also caught a pass for 14 yards. Holdover Nay’Quan Wright ran for 39 yards on 10 carries. Wright carred five times for 7 yards vs. Kentucky in 2021.
Advantage: Florida.
Wide receivers
▪ The Kentucky debut of Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson earned boffo reviews. The 5-11, 187-pound senior caught six passes for a career-high 136 yards. True freshmen Dane Key, a former Frederick Douglass High School star, and Barion Brown, a Nashville product, also had memorable debuts. The 6-3, 194-pound Key had four catches for 53 yards and a TD. Brown, a 6-1, 166-pound speedster, had three receptions for 45 yards. Redshirt freshman Chauncey Magwood caught his first college TD pass, an 8-yarder, vs. Miami.
▪ A transfer from Arizona State, Florida’s Ricky Pearsall had a team-high 67 receiving yards on four catches vs. Utah. Xzavier Henderson led the Gators in catches last week with six, which went for 41 yards. Former Penn State wideout Justin Shorter, a fifth-year senior, had two catches for 25 yards.
Advantage: Even.
Tight ends
▪ Kentucky senior Brenden Bates, a 6-5, 264-pound Cincinnati product, put UK’s first TD of the season on the scoreboard on a 6-yard reception. Redshirt freshman Jordan Dingle, the former Bowling Green High School star, had two catches for 11 yards. Both Keaton Upshaw and Izayah Cummings had possible TD catches vs. Miami go awry via interception and drop, respectively.
▪ Florida’s Dante Zanders started his career with the Gators as a tight end, switched to defensive line for two seasons, and is now back at his original position. The 6-5, 262-pound redshirt junior had no catches vs. Utah. Senior Keon Zipperer had one catch for 7 yards vs. Utah and now has 26 receptions for 316 yards and three TDs in his career.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Offensive line
▪ After a shaky 2022 debut for the new Big Blue Wall that saw UK surrender four QB sacks and rush for only 51 yards, Kentucky is shifting veteran left guard Kenneth Horsey, a 6-3, 304-pound senior, to left tackle. “What we’re looking for is getting our best five (offensive linemen) on the field,” UK Coach Mark Stoops said. That leaves Frederick Douglass High School product Jager Burton, a 6-4, 301-pound redshirt freshman, as the starting left guard. “Jager made one mistake that gave up a pressure (vs. Miami), but, outside of that, he played a really good football game,” Stoops said.
▪ Florida returned four offensive line starters from 2021, and added one of the most-sought-after guards in the transfer portal. The interior of Florida’s front with center Kingsley Eguakun, a 6-3, 301-pound redshirt sophomore, and right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, a 6-5, 347-pound junior who also transferred from Louisiana, is stout. As a college player, Torrence has yet to allow a single quarterback sack.
Advantage: Florida.
Defensive line
▪ Kentucky ends Tre’vonn Rybka, a 6-4, 275-pound sophomore, and Kahlil Saunders, a 6-5, 288-pound redshirt freshman, each drew praise from Mark Stoops for their play vs. Miami. “Tre’vonn Rybka played better, and we need him to,” Stoops said, “and Kahlil did some good things.” True freshman tackle Deone Walker, a 6-6, 330-pound Detroit product, had four tackles last week in his college debut.
▪ Florida end Gervon Dexter, a 6-6, 312-pound sophomore, had five tackles and a QB hurry in the win over Utah. End Princely Umanmielen, a 6-4, 245-pound sophomore, made three stops and had a hurry vs. the Utes.
Advantage: Florida.
Linebackers
▪ Kentucky MLB Jacquez Jones was named Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week last year for his performance vs. Florida. The Ole Miss transfer broke up an Emory Jones pass at the UK goal line with 18 seconds left to preserve last season’s Cats win over the Gators. The 6-foot, 233-pound, Tuscaloosa, Ala., product also had nine tackles, one tackle for loss and one QB hurry. WLB DeAndre Square had a team-high seven stops in the win over Miami. OLB/rush end J .J. Weaver had five tackles and a sack vs. the RedHawks.
▪ A transfer from Georgia, Florida OLB/rush end Brenton Cox is one of the most disruptive players in the SEC. In the victory over Utah, Cox, a 6-3, 252-pound redshirt junior, had 10 tackles, and shared in a TFL and a QB hurry. He now has a hurry in seven straight games and a TFL in six straight. ILB Amari Burney sealed the win over Utah with a diving interception in the end zone with 17 seconds left. The 6-1, 228-pound senior also made seven tackles. Against Utah, ILB Shemar James became the first true freshman to start an opener for Florida since 2017. James made four stops and had a QB hurry.
Advantage: Even.
Defensive backs
▪ Kentucky broke in two new nickel backs last week and each played well. True freshman Alex Afari, a 6-2, 203-pound Cincinnati product, made six tackles and had a sack and 1.5 TFL. Andru Phillips, a 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore, had five tackles plus a pass defended. Cornerback Keidron Smith, a 6-2, 204-pound super-senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., set up a UK touchdown last week when the Ole Miss transfer recovered a fumble and returned it to the Miami 8-yard line.
▪ Florida safety Trey Dean made a career-high 12 tackles vs. Utah and now has 190 career stops. The 6-2, 207-pound senior had eight tackles and a pass defended vs. UK last season. Safety Rashad Torrence had seven tackles against the Utes, while CB Jason Marshall broke up a Utah pass.
Advantage: Florida.
Special teams
▪ Kentucky special teams were stellar in the season opener. True freshman Barion Brown returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson averaged 12.5 yards on two punt returns. Place-kicker Matt Ruffolo hit three of three field goal attempts and matched his career long with a 50 yarder. J.J. Weaver blocked a Miami punt. Punter Colin Goodfellow had one good kick (of 47 yards) and one that was less so (23 yards).
▪ Florida place-kicker Adam Mihalek, a redshirt freshman, made his college debut vs. Utah and hit all three PATs he attempted. He did not get to try a field goal. Sophomore punter Jeremy Crawshaw, an Australian product, had a good day vs. the Utes, averaging 40 yards on three kicks and twice pinning Utah inside its own 20-yard line. Xzavier Henderson did not get a chance to return a punt but averaged 16.3 yards on three kickoff returns.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Prediction
Florida 27, Kentucky 24.
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 6:30 AM.
