Despite playing with a backup quarterback and without several key offensive players, Florida carved up Kentucky's No. 3 national defensive unit on Saturday in a 48-20 blowout at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

"Tonight, we took a butt-kicking," Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said flatly.

Freshman DJ Lagway, starting due to a season-ending injury to Graham Mertz last week, completed only seven passes on the night, but they went for 259 yards as the former 5-star prospect abused the Wildcats' secondary for one explosive play after another.

Most of the deep balls helped set up Florida reserve running back Jadan Baugh for a record-tying night. The freshman, filling in for an injured Montrell Johnson, scored five rushing touchdowns to go along with his 106 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Florida (4-3, 2-2 SEC) also got 148 yards receiving on only three receptions by senior wideout Elijhah Badger, who worked wide-open behind the UK defense for most of the night. Teammate Chimere Dike added 67 yards on only two catches.

"If you told me before the game that DJ would only complete seven passes, I would have told you I feel good about winning the game," Stoops said. "But not for 260 yards. I've never seen that happen.

"But he did a really nice job of running their offense, making some big plays."

Kentucky (3-4, 1-4 SEC) saw its three-game win streak over Florida snapped. The Cats were outgained 476-309 and committed three turnovers to just one by the Gators. UK was also stopped four times on five fourth-down attempts, including two in the Florida red zone.

While Lagway shined for Florida, another former 5-star prospect continued to struggle. Kentucky junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff completed just 12 of his 26 attempts for 165 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

"It's not just on Brock," Stoops said. "As a group, we could help him out and play a lot better."

Backup quarterback Cutter Boley saw his first action as a Wildcat in the fourth quarter but had his first collegiate pass picked off by Florida's Cormani McClain and returned 29 yards for a touchdown to put the icing on the Florida victory.

"We really worked hard this week, and the product didn't show it," Stoops said.

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss...

KEY MOMENT:

An ill-fated drive late in the second quarter set the tone for the rest of the game, as Kentucky running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye was stuffed by the Gators' defensive line on 4th-and-1 from the 2-yard line as it looked like the Cats may time the game at 13. Instead, Florida scored another touchdown to take a 20-6 lead and UK was playing catch-up the rest of the night.

GAME BALL:

DJ Lagway, Florida -- The young quarterback carved up the Cats for 259 yards through the air and 46 more on the ground to post the best game by an opposing quarterback against the stingy UK defense this season.

BY THE NUMBERS:

0 - Times scoring more than two touchdowns in an SEC game for Kentucky.

1st - Time this season Kentucky has been out-rushed by the opponent. Florida won the ground game 197-144.

4-for-13 - Kentucky's third-down conversion rate. The Cats were also 1-for-5 on fourth down.

5th - Kickoff return for a touchdown of his Kentucky career by junior receiver Barion Brown, a 99-yard return in the second quarter. He also had a 45-yard touchdown catch for the Cats.

7-for-7 - Florida's scoring on trips into the red zone, two field goals followed by five straight touchdowns.

34.9 - Yards per pass completion by Florida.

QUOTABLE:

"It felt like there was a big gap in the physicality tonight. Haven't felt that way in a long time." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action next week at Kroger Field against Auburn. The Tigers (2-5, 0-4 SEC) are coming off a 21-17 loss at Missouri.