Mark Stoops has the recruiting part of coaching down. Ever since coming to Kentucky, he’s taken college football — particularly Ohio, his main stomping ground — by storm in his ability to recruit, and he’s brought a level of athlete to Lexington that is normally reserved for UK’s basketball team. Now comes the tougher part ... winning.
How to watch Kentucky vs. Florida: Game guide, TV/streaming, odds
Can Kentucky have a premature breakthrough or is Florida for real?
After going 2-10 in his first season with the Wildcats, Stoops has already matched that total through the first two games this season, and there’s been noticeable improvement on both sides of the ball. It doesn’t really mean all that much at this point, but UK ranks sixth nationally in scoring defense, and the offense has far more playmakers than it ever did last year. Now comes a much tougher challenge ... facing Florida in Gainesville.
After a miserable 4-8 season a year ago, the Gators look like they’ll rebound and have a respectable season. But where is this team on the scale of mediocre to SEC East contender? A game against Kentucky will tell us a lot more than the blowout of Eastern Michigan did.
How to witness
TV: 7:30 pm ET, SEC Network
Online streaming: WatchESPN
More from our team sites
The numbers
Rankings and records: Neither team is ranked, but Florida is the fourth team out of the AP Poll in the “others receiving votes” category and the third team out of the Coaches Poll. Kentucky did not receive votes in either poll.
Vegas: Florida began as a 17-point favorite and is now an 18-point favorite. The over/under for the game is 51 points.
Two things at stake
If Florida is really going to have a bounce-back season (and if Will Muschamp is really going to keep his job), the Gators can’t lose this game. And for anyone to have a lot of confidence in this team going forward, they have to win pretty convincingly.
For Kentucky, there isn’t a lot to lose with a loss, since nobody expects a lot out of the Wildcats this year. However, in order to keep making slow progress as a program, UK has to avoid being blown out. A win would be a huge boost for Stoops’ rebuilding project.
One big matchup
Kentucky has improved its offense, but will probably still struggle to score against Florida’s defense. The question is whether the Wildcats can keep the Gators off the board. Is the defense for real, or has it benefited from playing some pretty bad opponents?
Florida has a re-tooled offense designed by new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, and it looked pretty good in the Gators’ 65-0 beatdown of Eastern Michigan. However, as Team Speed Kills writes, EMU “is a truly terrible football team.” Kentucky’s defense will at least be much more formidable than the threat the Eagles posed. Is the offense for real? We’ll find out more on Saturday, and it could determine whether the Wildcats can pull the upset.
Further reading
Check out A Sea of Blue for Kentucky coverage and Alligator Army for Florida coverage.
See More:
