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The Kentucky Wildcats are on the road to play the Florida Gators on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 7:45 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
Kentucky (3-3, 1-3 SEC) is coming off a stunning home loss to Vanderbilt. Florida (3-3, 1-2 SEC) is coming off a 23-17 OT loss on the road to Tennessee.
Kentucky vs Florida Preview
Kentucky is a two-point favorite to defeat Florida on Saturday with the over/under set at 42.5 points.
Kentucky's defense has been stellar this season. The Wildcats allowed just 17 points to Ole Miss and 13 points to Georgia, but the offense has been an issue.
Wildcats coach Mark Stoops said, via Sea of Blue:
"It’s hard, it’s frustrating because you obviously need to get the ball in the end zone. That’s very frustrating. But we’re trying to get shots, and again, a lot of teams, and them in particular, they’re really trying to make us earn all of those yards.
"We had 23 first downs if I’m not mistaken, and that’s efficient. Just got to punch it in. We punch it in and get those scores, and it’s a different feeling sitting right here. But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts every day would be, yeah.”
Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff has thrown for just 951 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye has rushed for 380 yards and four touchdowns.
On defense, the Wildcats are led by J.J. Weaver who has four sacks, while Jamon Dumas-Johnson leads the team with 29 tackles.
Florida, meanwhile, played well against Tennessee as the Gators led 10-0 but fell apart in the second half. Florida scored a touchdown with less than 30 seconds to go and had a chance to go for two and the win.
But coach Billy Napier decided to kick the extra point and go to OT, where the Gators lost.
In the game, QB Graham Mertz was injured and DJ Lagway had to take over. Lagway will start against Kentucky.
"We're in a lot better place than maybe we would have been if Graham didn't get injured earlier in the year, and then obviously he's played in each game, so, yeah, I mean, I think there's also some benefit to taking every rep with the first team," Napier said, via 247Sports.
"And then I think the challenge is for every part of our team to kind of raise their level of play, knowing that we're going to be playing with a rookie quarterback. Obviously's showed that he's very capable, very talented. And I think, again, like I've said many times, he's going to continue to get better. With the more reps he takes, the better he'll get."
The Gators defense has also been solid all year. Saturday's game should be a low-scoring affair with both offenses strugglingthis season.
Kentucky should be able to edge out a road win, as the Wildcats' defense is slightly better and will likely get a key turnover or two to seal the win.
Prediction: Kentucky 17, Florida 14.
Kentucky vs Florida: Betting Tips
Tip 1: Kentucky -2 (-110)
Tip 2: Under 42.5 (-110)
Tip 3: Brock Vandagriff over 181 passing yards (-125)
Tip 4: Kentucky +0.5 first half (+100)
