Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The question wasn't whether Florida would beat Kentucky not so long ago. It was by how much.

But four years ago at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the Gators' 11,620 consecutive days of bragging rights in the series finally came to an end when the Wildcats snapped a 31-game losing streak. The streak was the fourth-longest in NCAA history for an uninterrupted series and longest in the history of the Southeastern Conference.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, in his 10th season, has recharged the program and built it into a consistent winner the way first-year Florida head coach Billy Napier is trying to do. The Wildcats have won two of the last four against Florida, including their first home win over the Gators since 1986 last season in Lexington.

Napier, fresh off a win over No. 7 Utah in his UF debut, expects another difficult matchup on Saturday night when the No. 20 Wildcats visit The Swamp in the SEC opener for both teams.

"They know who they are on offense, defense, and special teams,'' Napier said. "I see a good set of fundamentals in all three phases, and they do a good job of evaluating players. You've got to beat Kentucky. They're going to make you beat them."

While this is the first time Napier will lead the Gators against Kentucky, the schools are playing for the 73rd time. Florida has dominated the series, winning 53 times since the schools first played in 1917. The Gators-Wildcats series was sporadic for 50 years, but the schools have played every season since 1967.

What makes this one unusual is that for only the fourth time in the rivalry's history, both teams are ranked. Kentucky opened the season at No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and maintained that position following its win over Miami (Ohio).

Meanwhile, Florida's vault from unranked to No. 12 is the biggest for an unranked team since the first regular-season poll of 2016. Wisconsin jumped to No. 10 and Texas to No. 11 after Week 1 victories.

In our latest "Charting the Gators," we take a look at the three previous matchups when both the Gators and Wildcats entered as ranked teams:
  REVVED UP RIVALRY
 

SEASON	GATORS	KENTUCKY	RESULT
1950	No. 17	No. 5	Kentucky 40, Florida 6 — In the snow and rain, the Bear Bryant-coached Wildcats stormed to a 26-6 halftime lead in Lexington and never looked back.
1998	No. 8	No. 25	Florida 51, Kentucky 35 — Receiver Nafis Karim had a career day with three TD receptions as UF won its 24th consecutive home game.
2007	No. 14	No. 8	Florida 45, Kentucky 37 — Tim Tebow threw four TD passes and rushed for one on his way to winning the Heisman, and the Gators recorded six sacks to snap a two-game losing streak.