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The Kentucky win streak against Florida is over.
The Gators (4-3, 2-2 SEC) dominated the Wildcats (3-4, 1-4) on Saturday at The Swamp for a 48-20 win.
Business taken care of!
Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/d8nnHkxR8J
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 20, 2024
Florida finally looked on all cylinders in snapping UK’s three-game win streak. The defense was suffocating, the offense explosive and the special teams was consistent.
Freshman running back Jadan Baugh was a highlight. He carried 22 times times for 106 yards and scored on runs of 7, 10, 1, 1 and 1 yard.
Freshmen Stars
It was the first time in Gators history that a freshman started at quarterback and running back.
DJ Lagway got his second start of the season in place of Graham Mertz, who went down with a season-ending ACL injury last weekend against Tennessee.
Baugh got his first collegiate start in place of running back Montrell Johnson Jr.
“They stepped up in a major way,” UF coach Billy Napier said. “Both were elite players coming out of high school.”
A record-tying performance by the freshman @1vibesjay pic.twitter.com/Hq9ziwWKR1
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 20, 2024
Lagway and Baugh played like anything but true freshman. Baugh scored five touchdowns to tie a school record: Tim Tebow’s five in 2007 against South Carolina and Trey Burton in 2010 against Kentucky.
“Hats off to Montrell, he brought me in and put his arms around me and told me I’m a good player,” Baugh said. “I just need to keep working … him being a leader in that room just makes me better.”
Defensive Energy
The Gators defense struggled in the first four games of this season. The past two games against then-No. 8 Tennessee and Kentucky have shown a new level to the Florida defensive unit. It has looked consistent and disciplined.
The Gators defensive line only allowed Kentucky to go 4-of-13 on third down and 1-of-5 on fourth-down conversions.
The defensive stop of the game came when the Gators stuffed the Wildcats on fourth-and-2 on the UF two-yard line.
Keep it going defense!! pic.twitter.com/hhXrmOJHKy
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 20, 2024
The secondary for the Gators produced three picks. Cormani McClain secured the last interception and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.
Enjoy these highlights from our 48-20 win before bed! pic.twitter.com/6N2IMClSFh
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 20, 2024
First Half
First Quarter
The Gators were the first on the board with a 29-yard field goal by Trey Smack. This field goal continued the Gators’ streak of 455 consecutive games with a score.
The highlight of this quarter and for much of the game was the Florida defense and freshmen.
Lagway looked confident as he stepped out onto this field for the first half. On the first play of the game, Lagway ran the ball for 13 yards to the Florida 40 and the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium crowd just erupted.
Momentum continued as George Gumbs Jr. batted the ball out of the air on third down. The Gators defense showed much of that this quarter. Attention to detail, consistency and grit.
Second Quarter
The second quarter brought so much action.
The highlight of the show was Baugh, who ran for three touchdowns in the quarter.
Smack nailed a field goal for the Gators to put them up 6-0. The next possession Kentucky fought back with a touchdown when Brock Vandagriff threw a 45-yard TD pass to Barion Brown. Kentucky missed the extra-point kick.
Lagway showcased more of his throwing ability with a beautiful 50-yard bomb to Elijhah Badger to the Kentucky 7. Baugh then to ran for his second touchdown on the next play.
The next possession resulted in an interception from Trikweze Bridges. The ball bobbled through the air off the hands of Kentucky players until it landed in the hands of Bridges.
Just a couple minutes later, another Baugh touchdown after a beautiful connection between Lagway and Badger for 58 yards.
To add to Baugh’s impressive resume for the night, with 1:44 left in the half, he ran 1-yard for his third touchdown.
Kentucky responded with a dagger when Brown had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to make it 27-13 with 1:30 to go in the half.
Second Half
Third Quarter
The Gators had a pretty solid lead for most of the game. However, the Wildcats got in range when they scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half that made it 27-20.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter started with a strong stop on fourth-and-5 on the Florida 22 for the Gators.
Baugh’s last touchdown of the night came again after a bullet from Lagway to Badger for 40 yards to the Kentucky 17. The pass was placed beautifully in Badger’s hands by Lagway.
Next play of the game was the nail in the coffin for Kentucky. The Wildcats brought out reserve quarterback Cutter Boley and his first pass was the pick-six by McClain that put the Gators up 48-20.
https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1847837720699425277
Up Next
The Gators, who have a bye this week, play at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 2 (ABC, ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF) in Jacksonville against the Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1), who also have an open date Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated No. 1 Texas 30-15 in Austin on Saturday night.
Kentucky hosts Auburn next weekend at 7:45 p.m.
