These Gators Keep it Interesting Until Very End

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In the annals of the streak, what transpired late Saturday night at Kroger Field has to rank near the top of closest calls the Gators have escaped unscathed.

There have been others – Wuerffel to Doering in 1993, triple-overtime in 2014 – but perhaps none draped in as much disbelief before, during and after as this one.

Before: Kentucky entered the game undefeated following a win at South Carolina and had won 10 of its last 14 games, creating a sense around the Bluegrass State and beyond that this was the year its 30-game losing streak to the Gators would end.

During: Wildcats kicker Austin MacGinnis' 50-yard field with 11:33 in the game put Kentucky up by 13 points as more than 60,000 rabid fans smelled victory in this rivalry for the first time since 1986.

After: Did that really happen? How was Gators receiver Freddie Swain so wide open when Luke Del Rio threw the ball to him for a 5-yard go-ahead touchdown with 43 seconds left? And what must Kentucky coach Mark Stoops be thinking as he frantically tried to call a timeout before the play?

Following a few deep breaths, the end result was the same as it always is when the Gators and Wildcats get together: Florida 28, Kentucky 27. The streak lives to reach 31 in a row.

A deflated Stoops, trying to explain a pair of blown coverages on two of Florida's four touchdowns – Swain's game-winning score and Tyrie Cleveland's 45-touchdown in the second quarter – called them "sore spots" that are certainly to linger on UK message boards for a while.

45358 — Florida head coach Jim McElwain improved to 9-1 at UF in one-possession games. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Meanwhile, the bearded Del Rio, considered dead by many Gator fans who believed Feleipe Franks or Malik Zaire were better fits at quarterback, took a seat in a small interview room in the stadium bowels to discuss his uprising.

Del Rio replaced Franks late in the third quarter and threw an interception on his third attempt. A fourth-year junior, Del Rio brushed off the pick and finished 9 of 14 for 74 yards and a touchdown. On the throw to Swain, who desperately waved his arms above his head on the winning score to make sure Del Rio saw him, the steady Del Rio felt a sense of calm with the game on the line.

"You know, usually when a guy is like 'wide open,' you kind of just want to hand it to him. I don't know, maybe I was in the rhythm of the game,'' Del Rio said. "It felt pretty easy. When I first threw it, I thought, 'Oh God, I hope it wasn't over his head.' It ended all working out."

The No. 20 Gators pulled off a miracle for the second consecutive week, leaving some to nickname them "The Cardiac Kids" in the postgame scrum as the team prepared to depart for home atop the SEC East standings (2-1, 2-0) and Vanderbilt coming to town on Saturday.

In the aftermath of another last-second win – Kentucky's MacGinnis missed a 57-yard potential game-winner at the buzzer – the Gators know what their critics are saying. Yes, they have plenty of room for improvement.

"A win's a win, but honestly, we'd like to just dominate so people can go home,'' said defensive lineman Taven Bryan, who had six tackles and a sack. "But I ain't complaining. I'll take it."

Bryan's teammate on the defensive front, CeCe Jefferson, had two sacks and five tackles on Saturday. It was the defense that limited more damage after Del Rio's interception to force the Wildcats to go three-and-out on the ensuing possession.

The defense kept the game close in the pivotal fourth quarter as UF rolled up 150 yards of total offense and the Wildcats managed just 42.

"We knew we weren't going to lose. We just knew," Jefferson said. "But it's huge momentum. This is our second conference game, 2-0 in the conference, getting ready for a good Vanderbilt team next week. So just taking it day by day, getting our bodies right, recover and start preparing for Vanderbilt. This is a huge, huge momentum shifter for us. I'm proud of this team."

The Gators open preparation for Vanderbilt with several questions, the biggest of all being whether Franks will start or is Del Rio now atop the depth chart?

Gators head coach Jim McElwain wasn't ready to answer that one shortly after the game. That's what a week of preparation is for. McElwain did like the way Del Rio responded, none more than Del Rio's fourth-and-3 pass to running back Mark Thompson to keep the winning drive alive.

"That fourth-down play obviously was a veteran move, a guy keeping the play alive," McElwain said. "They had good coverage on [it]. That was a good play. It's one of those that you never throw across your body late inside, right? But it worked."

It was business as usual for Del Rio, who started six games a year ago but had not played since a loss last season at Arkansas. He underwent a pair of shoulder surgeries and knee surgery in the offseason and is finally healthy.

While fans on social media often target Del Rio with their venom over what woes the Gators, he continued to focus on another opportunity he expected to come.

"I had a feeling that I would have to play sometime this year,'' he said. "We saw last year. Multiple guys have played every year that I've been in college besides one, multiple guys have played. So, I practice as if I'm going to play. I support Feleipe like he was the starter and helping him every way that I could. I treat people like you would want to be treated in that situation. Don't be bitter about not playing."

There was no bitterness in Florida's locker room afterward. The bitterness inside Kroger Field had emptied into the parking lots around the stadium, where UK fans had to wonder how what looked like a victory turned into a defeat over the game's final 11:33.

"We didn't want to lose,'' said senior running back Brandon Powell, whose 6-yard scoring run out of the wildcat trimmed the lead to 27-21. "That showed up in the fourth quarter. We have a lot of fight."

McElwain saw it for the second consecutive week. Instead of a Hail Mary like against Tennessee, it was a short pass to a wide-open Swain.

The Gators will take it. They turned what looked like a loss waiting to happen – one that would have outraged the critics beyond reason – into a win.

"I never saw them get into that funk," McElwain said.

The Wildcats were the ones in a funk after this one.

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These Gators Keep it Interesting Until Very End

Players Mentioned

Taven Bryan

Tyrie Cleveland

Luke Del Rio

Feleipe Franks

Brandon Powell

Freddie Swain

Mark Thompson

Malik Zaire

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These Gators Keep it Interesting Until Very End

Players Mentioned

Taven Bryan

Tyrie Cleveland

Luke Del Rio

Feleipe Franks

Brandon Powell

Freddie Swain

Mark Thompson

Malik Zaire

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