College football final: Kentucky 33, Florida 14

Coming off a 45-28 victory at Vanderbilt last Saturday, Kentucky football returns home to play the No. 22-ranked Florida Gators in a key SEC East meeting. Both teams are 1-0 in conference play. Kickoff is set for noon at Kroger Field. ESPN has the television broadcast.

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Final: Kentucky 33, Florida 14

Final stats from Kroger Field

Alex Raynor’s career-long FG extends UK’s lead to 33-14

Alex Raynor, a transfer from Georgia Southern, is now 6 of 6 on field goals on the season as he hits a 50-yard field goal with 7:44 left in the game. Kentucky leads 33-14.

Ray Davis update: 24 carries for 276 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Davis has also caught a TD pass.

End of third quarter: Kentucky 30, Florida 14

Fifteen minutes to go here at Kroger Field as Kentucky tries to beat Florida for the third consecutive year for the first time since 1948-51.

Stats through three quarters

Florida cuts Kentucky lead to 30-14

A heads-up play by Florida quarterback Graham Mertz helped the Gators score. On a fourth-and-3 from the UK 43-yard line, Mertz was about to be sacked when he flipped the ball to Trevor Etienne, who gained 10 yards for the first down. Next play, Mertz hit Ricky Pearsall with a 33-yard TD pass to cut Kentucky’s advantage to 30-14 with 7:17 left in the third quarter.

Ray Davis does it again and UK leads 30-7

Ray Davis picked right up where he left off in the first half. The UK running back ripped off a 31-yard run on the first possession of the third quarter. He later scored on a two-yard run — Florida had 13 players on the field but still couldn’t stop UK’s No. 1 — with 10:54 left in the third quarter. His fourth score of the day. Kentucky up 30-7 on the Gators.

Florida had THIRTEEN players on the field and still couldn't stop Ray Davis. pic.twitter.com/tOljoFuhc6
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 30, 2023

Halftime: Kentucky 23, Florida 7

Florida went 75 yards in six plays to crack the scoreboard with 34 seconds left in the first half. Caleb Douglas made a terrific catch of a Graham Mertz pass for a 34-yard gain to the UK 1-yard line. Two plays later, Mertz found tight end Hayden Hurst for the 4-yard score.

Before then, Kentucky dominated the first half. Ray Davis rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. He also caught a 9-yard TD pass from Devin Leary.

First half stats

Kentucky extends lead over Florida to 23-0

The Wildcats continued their first-half domination with a 7-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Ray Davis started the march with runs of 16 and 33 yards. Barion Brown covered 14 yards on a jet sweep. Davis added a 13-yard run. He then scored from 3 yards out, his third TD of the day. Davis has 206 yards rushing as Kentucky leads Florida 23-0 with 8:54 left in the first half. The Cats have eight runs of 10-plus yards.

Hey @Ray_Davis07 if it’s not an NCAA violation stop in for dinner tonight as my guest. You’re putting on an amazing show for the city of Lexington this afternoon. We’ll put on a helluva show for you tonight- ALL NIGHT LONG @TheRealJeffRuby Steakhouse Lexington, Kentucky USA
— Jeff Ruby (@TheRealJeffRuby) September 30, 2023

End of first quarter: Kentucky 16, Florida 0

Star of the quarter: UK’s Ray Davis. The transfer from Vanderbilt carried the ball seven times for 141 yards and a touchdown. Davis also caught a 9-yard TD pass from Devin Leary.

First quarter stats

Kentucky jumps to a 16-0 lead

Just when it appeared Kentucky was about to give the ball back to the Gators, Florida was called for an illegal leap on a UK punt. The penalty gave the Cats a first down at the UF 25. Next play, UK’s Ray Dais sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked. But Kentucky leads 16-0 with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.

Kentucky’s opportunistic defense strikes again

Kentucky linebacker Trevin Wallace intercepted a Graham Mertz pass. Just the second interception of the season for the Florida quarterback. Wallace returned the ball to the Gators’ 15. Two plays later, Ray Davis took a flare pass from Devin Leary and bulled his way into the end zone for a 9-yard score. Kentucky leads Florida 10-0 with 5:37 left in the first quarter.

UK intercepted three Vanderbilt passes last week. Maxwell Hairston returned two for touchdowns.

Kentucky settles for field goal, gets on board first

UK running back Ray Davis gained 60 yards on five carries, including a 22-yard run. The Wildcats marched from their own 12 to the Florida 6-yard line. The drive stalled there, however. On third and goal, wide receiver Barion Brown dropped a Devin Leary pass in the back of the end zone. Alex Raynor booted a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 7:13 left in the first quarter. Raynor is now 5 of 5 on field goals for the season.

Florida went three-and-out on the game’s opening possession. The Gators were hurt by a holding penalty.

Kenneth Horsey out again this week

Kentucky offensive guard Kenneth Horsey is not dressed out in warm-ups. This will be his fourth missed game after being injured in the opener. Dylan Ray, transfer from West Virginia, has been starting in place of Horsey, who has started 34 games in his college career.

This is to be the second game in which Eli Cox starts at center with Jager Burton moving from center to right guard. Burton started at center the first three games before Cox moved from guard to center last week against Vanderbilt.

Defensive tackle Tre’Vonn Rybka is not in uniform, as well.

It appears Josh Kattus will be available. The sophomore tight end missed last week’s game at Vanderbilt because of an unspecified injury.

Pregame information

Kentucky (4-0/1-0): After suffering 31 straight losses to the Gators, Kentucky is 3-2 versus Florida over the past five years. That includes back-to-back UK victories in 2021 (20-13 in Lexington) and 2022 (26-16 in Gainesville). Last week, defensive back Maxwell Hairston returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns as the Wildcats defeated Vanderbilt in Music City.

Kentucky’s football roster

Kentucky’s statistics

Florida (3-1/1-0): The Gators began the season with a 24-11 loss at Utah, but since have ripped off three straight wins. The middle of three was an impressive 29-16 victory over then No. 11 Tennessee at The Swamp on Sept. 16. Billy Napier’s club was sluggish in last week’s 22-7 win over visiting Charlotte.

Florida’s football roster

Florida’s football statistics