LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Thirty-five years of "ifs" and "buts" and "almost" and "coulda shoulda woulda" came to a reckoning on Saturday night at Kroger Field.
Led by a stellar defensive effort, a big special teams play, and just enough offense, Kentucky delivered its raucous home fans a 20-13 victory over No. 10 Florida, the Wildcats' first win over the Gators in Lexington since 1986.
The UK defense came up with two red-zone stops late in the fourth quarter, holding the high-powered Florida offense to only a field goal on those drives. The Cats turned away seven "and goal" plays on the final possession to preserve the win.
Linebacker Jacquez Jones broke up a fourth-and-goal pass into the end zone by the Gators' Emory Jones with 18 seconds remaining to touch off a wild celebration by the 5-0 Wildcats. Fans stormed the field after their team ended the last of its longstanding negative streaks and moved to 3-0 in SEC play for just the fifth time in school history.
"That was a thing of beauty tonight," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "Looking forward to celebrating the win for a few hours, then punching the clock and getting back to work tomorrow morning."
It was a workmanlike effort by the Cats, who had just 211 yards of total offense, but got 99 yards rushing and a touchdown from Chris Rodriguez and a 41-yard touchdown pass from Will Levis to Wan'Dale Robinson.
Kentucky's other points came via a blocked field goal by defensive end Josh Paschal in the third quarter. The ball was scooped up by freshman linebacker Trevin Wallace, who raced 76 yards for a touchdown that gave the Cats a 13-10 lead and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
"I was just thinking, "Go!" Paschal said of watching Wallace streak toward the end zone. "I knew Trevin was fast, he's an athlete, and that boy just went."
"When I caught the ball, my whole body went into running back mode," said Wallace, who chose UK over Florida as a prized recruit in the Class of 2021. "I knew it was time to go. My natural instinct will always be to go into running back mode.”
The energy from the crowd was almost overwhelming, Wallace noted. "I’m not going to lie, I was nervous. I’m just not used to that kind of environment.”
"Craziest game I've played in all my life," Paschal added.
That crowd helped force eight Florida false start penalties on the night. The Gators were flagged 15 times for 115 yards in losses.
“In the SEC you can’t make the mistakes that we made tonight and win a game," Florida head coach Dan Mullen said. "It’s a good football team, Top-25 team, playing a Top-25 team on the road in the SEC. Great crowd. Mark Stoops has built up the program. They are a Top-25 team here, year end and year out. You have to give them credit, you know. They have great energy, their guys played hard, made plays.”
In a showdown between the nation's ninth-ranked offense and the nation's ninth-ranked defense, the UK defense held the Gators to 382 total yards, ending an FBS-best streak of 14 straight games over 400.
Florida (3-2, 1-2 SEC) was held 151 yards under its season rushing average of 322.5, which ranked fifth nationally entering the game.
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In this Rapid Recap feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory ...
GAMEBALL:
Josh Paschal, Kentucky - The senior defensive end said he came back for another season with the Wildcats to play in games like this. And did he ever deliver tonight. Paschal had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and blocked a Florida field goal that got returned 76-yards by teammate Trevin Wallace for a touchdown that helped seal the UK victory.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Time in school history that Kentucky has won four straight games by seven or fewer points.
2nd - Win for UK over a Top 10 Florida squad. The other coming in 1974.
7 - Game win streak for the Wildcats dating back to last season. It's the fifth-longest streak in program history.
12-2 - Kentucky's record in its last 14 home night games.
13 - Career-high tackle night for UK senior linebacker DeAndre Square.
QUOTABLE:
"I'd like to start by saying thank you to the BBN. That's for you. They really showed up in a big, big way today and had an impact on the game. They affected the football game in a very positive way. I really can't thank you enough. I've been working hard for a long time to provide that type of team. But that's what we need it like every week. We could recruit players when our stadium is like that. Our players will play hard and it affects the offense as it did tonight with some of those pre-snap penalties... really a big shout-out to you." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops on the raucous atmosphere.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky will face LSU on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Kroger Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 ET on the SEC Network. The Tigers (3-1, 1-0 SEC) are playing at home against Auburn tonight.
