THE QUICK SLANT
No. 9 FLORIDA 29, KENTUCKY 21
WHAT HAPPENED: Backup quarterback
Kyle Trask, summoned to duty for injured starter
Feleipe Franks, led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives and capped the second with a 4-yard run and go-ahead score with 4:11 remaining as the ninth-ranked Gators overcame a double-digit deficit and escaped with a stirring comeback win in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams at sold-out Kroger Field. The outcome could easily have gone the other way, as the Wildcats, after Trask's go-ahead score, marched 58 yards in nine plays, but
Chance Moore was wide right on a 34-yard field goal attempt with 54 seconds to play. UK tried to get the ball back by calling a couple timeouts, but wide receiver
Josh Hammond's electrifying 76-yard touchdown run iced it and gave the Gators their 32nd over the Wildcats in the last 33 meetings. There was no in-game update on Franks, who was trying to run for a first down on fourth-and-1 when he was hit hard and his torso awkwardly bent backward, with his legs appearing to be planted in the pile. The entire UF sideline emptied onto the field when Franks, who hit 12 of 17 throws for 174 yards, one touchdown and an interception in his 18th consecutive start, was carted away. Kentucky led 21-10 at the time. Enter Trask, who hit his first four passes on his way to going 9-for-13 for 126 yards and stealing the spotlight from UK first-time starter
Sawyer Smith, who hit 23 of 34 passes for 267 yards, two touchdowns and another rushing. Smith, though, turned the ball over four times, including a pair of second-half interceptions by junior safety
Shawn Davis that led to 10 points. The second of those Davis picks came with Kentucky leading 21-16 and 6:05 to play in the game. Florida needed just four plays to go 66 yards, but 30 of those came on Kentucky penalties, with Trask finishing things off with the go-ahead scramble up the middle.
WHAT IT MEANS: A road win to open the SEC slate, which is always big. Remember, the Gators started 0-1 in the league last season, courtesy of that home loss to the Cats that snapped the historic 31-game winning streak. As for the injury to Franks, the team's personality obviously will undergo a significant change. Read on.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: No one outside of the Florida football walls (maybe even Coach
Dan Mullen's office) knew for certain if the Florida backup quarterback was Trask or redshirt freshman
Emory Jones. Now, not only do we know a little more, but we're going to find out a lot more about Trask, the person/player, in the coming days/weeks. Now that there's high-leverage tape for opposing defensive coaches to break down, the 6-foot-5, 239-pound fourth-year junior from Texas no longer will have the element of surprise working in his favor, as he surely must have against the Kentucky defense.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators had 216 yards of offense through three quarters, but cranked out 222 in the fourth quarter alone, including TD drives of 66 and 80 yards with Trask in control.
UP NEXT: Florida (3-0, 1-0) will have its home SEC opener next Saturday against Tennessee (1-2, 0-0), which shook off its ugly two-game start Saturday by crushing Tennessee-Chattanooga 45-0 in Knoxville. The Gators have defeated the Volunteers 13 of the last 14 meetings, with UT's lone win along the way coming at home in 2016. Kickoff is set for noon.
