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Who has the edge (UK-UF)?

C.J. Conrad (UK Athletics)
C.J. Conrad (UK Athletics)

As we do every week, Cats Illustrated is breaking down Kentucky's matchup from a variety of angles.

We've already compared UK and UF players as recruits and looked at how position units stack up against one another.

But who has the edge when UK has the ball? Or the Gators?

WHEN KENTUCKY HAS THE BALL

UK pass game vs UF pass defense

It's hard to look at this matchup and see it any other way: For now, Florida appears to have a sizeable advantage, and that's even given some questions on the back end of its defense that some believe will ultimately be exploited. Kentucky's three interceptions and one touchdown pass last week aren't likely to inspire much confidence against a Gator defense that has some talent, as usual, in the secondary. UF's corners are talented and UK's receivers have to prove they're going to be incorporated into the offense better than last week.

Terry Wilson must play much more sound than he did in Week 1 because Kentucky can't survive the kind of flurry of turnovers we saw against Central Michigan. Key to this game will be UK hitting on some deep passes and Mark Stoops has said that holding blocks a split-second longer will be important.

Advantage: FLORIDA

UK run game vs UF run defense

Kentucky rushed for 299 yards against Central Michigan. Florida allowed 222 yards on the ground to Charleston Southern. Simple? Not quite. Central Michigan has better than average front seven talent for a Group of Five school, but we're still talking about a big leap in competition when it comes to Florida's front seven (with or without David Reese and/or Cece Jefferson). And Charleston Southern is a triple-option team, and those teams tend to get their yards on the ground regardless.

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