Florida and Kentucky will square off on Saturday night in Lexington, Ky., with their head coaching positions either interim or tenuously held amid swirling rumors.
In a losing effort last Saturday in a season that has already seen the firing of coach Billy Napier, the Gators (3-5, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) started fast in their yearly battle with standout Georgia. They led twice before yielding a late touchdown in a 24-20 setback to the Bulldogs.
Under interim coach Billy Gonzales’ guidance, Florida kept Russ Callaway as offensive coordinator but elevated quarterbacks coach Ryan O’Hara to the role of play-caller.
As for Kentucky (3-5, 1-5), its seven sacks in a 10-3 win over Auburn served as an eye-opener.
“Up front, they’ve always been big, and (coach Mark Stoops) has recruited length on the outside and edges,” Gonzales said on Monday. “They’ve been very aggressive. … It’ll be a great challenge for our offensive line, who didn’t give up a sack (last week).”
Sophomore DJ Lagway has completed 65.0% of his passes for 1,679 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Jadan Baugh leads with 683 rushing yards on 132 carries (5.2 per rush) and has five of the squad’s six scores on the ground.
The Wildcats notched their first conference win on the road last Saturday in an ugly tussle that resulted in Auburn coach Hugh Freeze’s firing the next day.
But a win is a win, one that the Wildcats and Stoops — on the hot seat after an 0-5 start in the SEC — found to be desperately needed.
“It’s the same thing this week (as Auburn), playing Florida,” Stoops said. “I know Billy’s not there, but Billy’s assembled a very good football team, very talented, a very physical, good team, and it’ll be another great challenge for us and another opportunity.”
Freshman Cutter Boley has completed 65.8% of his passes for 1,376 yards with 10 TDs and seven interceptions. Seth McGowan has rushed for 529 yards on 114 carries with seven scores.
Kentucky has won three of the past four meetings, but its 20-13 victory in 2021 was expunged after the school vacated its wins due to NCAA violations.
