FINAL: Florida 48, Kentucky 20

Saturday, October 19

Gainesville, Fla.

7:45 PM

Florida Gators

4-3 , 2-2

Kentucky

3-4 , 1-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Kentucky

Florida

Chris Harry's Quick Slant presented by Ticketmaster

Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications

FINAL: Florida 48, Kentucky 20

Saturday, October 19, 2024 | Football, Chris Harry

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

THE QUICK SLANT
FLORIDA 48, KENTUCKY 20

What Happened

Florida freshman tailback Jadan Baugh tied a program record with five rushing touchdowns and the Florida offense, led by freshman DJ Lagway, rolled up 476 yards against the nation's No. 4-ranked defense, as the Gators routed Kentucky 48-20 in their Southeastern Conference homecoming game Saturday night at Spurrier/Florida Field.

Not bad for the first freshman QB-RB duo in school history to start in the same backfield.

Baugh, the 6-foot-1, 227-pounder from Atlanta, made his first career start in place of injured senior Montrell Johnson Jr. He carried 22 times times for 106 yards and scored on runs of 7, 10, 1, 1 and 1 yard, with his five TDs equaling the program record he now holds jointly with Tim Tebow (2007 vs. South Carolina) and Trey Burton (2010 vs Kentucky). Lagway, making his first SEC start following the season-ending knee injury to sixth-year Graham Mertz, completed just seven of 14 attempts, but for 259 yards and one interception. Wide receiver Elijhah Badger caught three passes for 148 yards.

By the time the Gators were done, their yardage (including 197 on the ground) was the most cranked out against the Wildcats this season, easily eclipsing the 353 gained by Ole Miss earlier this month. They were also a perfect 7-for-7 in red-zone scoring opportunities. The Florida defense, meanwhile, had a third straight outstanding effort in holding Kentucky to just 309 yards, just 1-for-5 on fourth down (including a second-quarter goal-line stand) and intercepting three passes, the last a 29-yard pick-six by sophomore Cormani McClain, the transfer from Colorado and former five-star recruit, with 3:23 to play that wrapped the night's scoring.

UF had two excellent scoring opportunities on their first drives of the game, but both times settled for short Trey Smack field goals. UK used some flea-flicker trickery to take advantage of the Gators' failure to capitalize when quarterback Brock Vandergriff (12 of 26 for 165 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) took a pitchback from his tailback and threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Barion Brown. The point-after was wide left, leaving the game tied at 6-all.

From there, the Gators scored the next three TDs on Baugh runs to go up 27-6 and seize the momentum; or so it seemed. That 21-point cushion was short-lived, as Brown's 99-yard kickoff return after Baugh's third score made it 27-13 with 1:30 to go in the half and backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt's 1-yard touchdown run to cap the first possession after halftime made it a 27-20 game with 8:34 to play in the third.

Lagway, though, hit Chimere Dike for 44 yards to set up Baugh's fourth score with 3:27 left in the third for a two-touchdown cushion. The Florida defense stopped Kentucky on downs the next two possessions, adding Baugh's final score (after a 40-yard Lagway-to-Badger completion) with 3:31 remaining. McClain's interception return came on the first snap of UK's ensuing possession.

Freshman tailback **Jadan Baugh** (13) celebrates one of his three first-half touchdowns.

What it Means

With four victories, the Gators are one win from equaling their total of last season, but also are heading into the meat of the nation's toughest schedule (read on). UF ended UK's three-game winning streak in the series, avoiding what would have been the first four-game skid against the Cats since dropping four from 1948-51 — when Kentucky was coached by Paul "Bear" Bryant.

In the Spotlight

Who else had Baugh with his name in the UF record book by mid-October on their 2024 bingo card?

Staggering Statistic

Lagway completed just 50 percent of his passes, but his yards-per-attempt were a whopping 18.5 and his yards-per-completion number — get this — was 37.0 for the game.

Up Next

Florida (4-3, 2-2) has its second open date of the season next weekend, then will return to action Nov. 2 against fifth-ranked Georgia (6-1. 4-1), which has won three consecutive games in the series and six of the last seven. The Bulldogs, who are also idle next week, will head to Jacksonville coming off a 30-15 road thrashing of No. 1 and previous unbeaten Texas Saturday night.

Email Chris Harry at @chrish@gators.ufl.edu