Know Your Opponent: Kentucky

Last Saturday the Gators finally ended their 330+ day drought without a college football victory. And it was in quite spectacular fashion. The Gators crushed the hopelessly over-matched Eastern Michigan Eagles 65-0. The 65 points scored by this team were the most of any Gators squad since the 2008 National Champions won 70-19 over The Citadel. The 65-point margin-of-victory was the greatest since the '97 Gators defeated Central Michigan 82-6. In addition, it was the largest shutout victory since the 1996 National Champions downed Kentucky 65-0. It is yet to be proven whether these Gators can match the success of such illustrious predecessors.

This week, the Gators face what is expected to be a more competent opponent. The familiar Wildcats of the University of Kentucky play the Orange and Blue for the 65th time Saturday night in the Swamp. The predecessor of the modern University of Kentucky, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, was founded in 1865 in Lexington, although the school moved to the current site of UK’s campus in 1878. The University of Kentucky now enrolls over 29,000 students (over 21,000 are undergrads). The school colors are blue and white.

Unusually, the biannual UF-UK basketball game may more
anticipated than the gridiron counterpart. Unlike football,
Kentucky has historically dominated this series. However,
the Gators managed to sweep the Cats with three wins
(Gainesville, Lexington, and Atlanta) in 2014.

Often overshadowed by the tremendous success of their basketball program, Kentucky’s football program has only had modest success throughout its long history. The first Kentucky football team played in 1881, although Kentucky did not regularly sponsor football until 1891. Kentucky was a charter member of the Southeastern Conference and has competed in the SEC since 1933. The 1950 Kentucky Wildcats, coached by Paul “Bear” Bryant, finished 11-1, beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and were the only Kentucky team to have won a regular SEC title. Kentucky also claims the national title for that year, although it is rarely recognized by other institutions. Kentucky is also credited with the 1976 SEC title due to the forfeiture of games by Mississippi State that season. The 1977 Wildcats finished with a 10-1 record and #6 ranking in the AP polls, but were ineligible for the SEC championship due to NCAA probation. The Wildcats play in Commonwealth Stadium, the newest stadium in the SEC and the largest stadium in Kentucky. Its official capacity is about 68,000, although the largest crowd on record was 71,024 in 2007 for the game against Florida (Kentucky lost, 45-37).

Kentucky’s history has not come without its fleeting moments of glorious victory. Kentucky has played 13 first-ranked teams in its history, and on three occasions the Wildcats were triumphant. The first was in 1951 against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, the second was in Jackson against Ole Miss, and the most recent was against the eventual national champions, LSU, in 2007.

The Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats have a long history playing another that dates back to their first meeting in 1917 (a 52-0 Kentucky victory). Florida has played Kentucky more than any other opponent other than Georgia and Auburn. For the most part, Florida has dominated this series, especially in recent decades, having triumphed 47 times in 64 games. Florida has more victories over Kentucky than any other opponent. Kentucky has only won 17 games against Florida and has not won against the Gators since 1986. The ongoing 27-game winning streak is the longest in SEC history and the sixth-longest in Division I's upper-subdivision history. In addition, Florida usually defeats Kentucky with relative ease. However, on occasion, the Wildcats have nearly managed to beat the Gators, only to lose in a heartbreaking fashion (for instance, in 1993, 2002, 2003, and 2007).