OGT-FlorIda vs Kentucky

Florida vs Kentucky
October 19 7:45 p.m. ET // Gainesville, Fla.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field (88,548)

SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Dave Neal
Analyst: Aaron Murray
Reporter: Marilyn Payne
Channel (Cox): 68 / 1068 [HD]
Channel (DirecTV): 611 [HD]

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Shane Matthews
Reporter: Tate Casey
Channel: Local Affiliates
SiriusXM Channel: 106 or 190

 

TEAM INFORMATION
FLORIDA
Head Coach: Billy Napier
Career Record: 54-29 (27-5 Sun Belt) [7th season]
Record at UF: 14-17 (7-12 SEC) [3rd season]
Record vs. UK: 0-2
Rankings: NR (AP) / NR (Coaches)
2023 Record: 5-7, 3-5 SEC (T-4th in East)

KENTUCKY
Head Coach: Mark Stoops
Career Record: 76-68 (36-58 SEC) [12th season]
Record at UK: same
Record vs. UF: 4-7
Rankings: NR (AP) / NR (Coaches)
2023 Record: 7-6, 3-5 SEC (T-4th in East)

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Florida leads, 53-21
Last Meeting: Kentucky 33, Florida 14
(Sept. 30, 2023 - Lexington, Ky.)
Recent History: Kentucky, W3
UF has won 33 of last 37
In Gainesville: Florida leads, 29-6
In Lexington: Florida leads, 22-12
Neutral: Kentucky leads, 3-2

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
19.8 / 18.6 /12.6
9.8 / 18.6 / 12.6
Florida WR Elijhah Badger (19.8) and WR Chimere​

Dike (18.6) rank fifth and sixth in the SEC in yards
per catch, respectively, while WR Eugene Wilson
III sits 33rd (12.6). Florida is the only SEC team
with two qualified receivers averaging more than
18.0 yards per catch. Badger ranks 12th in the SEC
with 69.2 receiving YPG and Dike ranks 15th with
58.8 YPG. Although Wilson III is not qualified, he is
averaging 75.3 YPG across three contests

 

- LAGWAY, MERTZ & THE TWO-QB SYSTEM -

• Florida deployed a two-QB system for the fourth-straight game in Week 7, with QB Graham Mertz handling
the first, second, fourth and fifth drives of the first half and QB DJ Lagway taking the third possession.

• Lagway started the second half for the first time in the four weeks of UF’s two-QB system.

• Mertz was 11-of-15 for 125 yards and one TD for a 165.3 rating before leaving due to injury.

• Lagway finished 9-of-17 for 98 yards, one TD, one interception and a 109.0 rating.

• The duo went 23-of-28 (82.0%) for 229 yards and one TD in Week 6 after going 26-for-28 (92.8%) for 277 yards in Week 4 at Miss. St. Mertz was 19-of-23 for 179 yards and one TD while Lagway was 4-for-4 for 50 yards.

• Mertz’s 64 career passing TDs are tied for 11th among active players (one of 16 in FBS with 60-plus TDs).

• Mertz has thrown just four interceptions across his last 447 passes.

• Mertz has started all 48 games he has played since 2020, ranking third among active FBS QBs in that time.

• Mertz (19-of-21, 201 yards, three TDs) had the third-highest comp. percentage (90.5%) by a Gator in Week 4.

• In his first SEC road game, Lagway led two scoring drives starting inside UF’s 10-yard line, becoming the first freshman QB to lead a pair of 90-plus-yard drives in a road SEC tilt since Jalen Hurts in 2016.

• Mertz has posted a completion % above 62.0% with at least one passing touchdown in 15 of his 16 starts at UF.

• Making his first-career start in the Week 2 win over Samford, Lagway passed for the most yards ever (456) by
a Florida true freshman quarterback, breaking Chris Leak’s mark of 269 vs. Kentucky in 2003.

• Lagway’s 456 passing yards are the tied for the fourth-most in the FBS this season and rank ninth all-time at Florida (most since Emory Jones threw for 464 yards vs. Samford on Nov. 13, 2021).

• Lagway completed 18-of-25 passes (72.0%) highlighted by three touchdowns and a 264.8 rating.

• Lagway became Florida’s first true freshman starter at quarterback since Treon Harris in the 2014 Birmingham Bowl (UF’s seventh true freshman starter at quarterback overall).

 

- LAGWAY, MERTZ & THE TWO-QB SYSTEM -​

- EUGENE ‘TRE’ WILSON III BACK IN ACTION -

• WR Eugene Wilson III returned to action for the first time since Week 2, catching five passes for 35 yards.

• Wilson III ranks 38th nationally with 205 yards after the catch despite missing four games.

• Week 7 was the 10th time in Wilson III’s last 11 games that he caught at least five passes.

• In his last nine games, he has produced 596 yards on 54 catches including six TDs.

• Wilson III led all FBS true freshmen in receptions per game (6.1) in 2023 while ranking second in catches (61), t-second in receiving TDs (six), fourth in receiving YPG (53.8) and seventh in receiving yards (538).

• Wilson III was the first Florida true freshman to eclipse 500 receiving yards since Antonio Callaway in 2015.

• In Week 10 vs. Arkansas, Wilson III became the first true freshman receiver at Florida to record multiple touchdowns in a contest since Riley Cooper recorded three vs. Western Carolina on Nov. 18, 2006.

• Against Georgia in 2023, Wilson III set a UF freshman record with a career-high 11 receptions.

 

- MONTRELL JOHNSON JR.’S BACKFIELD -​

• Entering with four rushing TDs on the season, RB Montrell Johnson Jr. carried 12 times for 85 yards (7.1 YPC)
before exiting the game in the second half in Week 7.

• Florida has rushed for 494 combined yards against MSU, UCF and TENN the past three games (164.7 YPG).

• However, Florida had its 12-game streak with a rushing TD snapped in Week 7 at Tennessee.

• Florida has scored a rushing TD in 25 of 31 games in the Napier era.

• Through six games, Johnson Jr. leads Florida with 373 rushing yards on 5.3 yards per carry.

• Johnson Jr. ranks 11th in the SEC in rushing YPG, t-10th in rushing TDs and 12th in yards per carry.

• Johnson Jr. owns 31 career rushing TDs (19 at UF), which is the most of any active SEC rusher.

• He has totaled 33 multi-purpose TDs (21 at UF: 19 rushing, two receiving).

• In Week 4, UF rushed for a season-high 226 yards, eclipsing 200-plus yards for the first time this season.

• Johnson Jr. rushed for 100 yards for the ninth time in his career and for seventh time as a Gator in Week 1.

• Johnson Jr. is tied for eighth in the SEC (sixth among RBs) with 19 rushing touchdowns since 2022, including third among active SEC rushers.

• Last season, Johnson Jr. led UF in carries (152) and net rushing yardage (817) for the second-straight year.

 

- SO, WHO’S BEHIND JOHNSON JR.? -​

• In Week 7, RB Jadan Baugh (12 carries, 25 yards) and RB Ja’Kobi Jackson (5 carries, 16 yards) led the backfield
in Montrell Johnson Jr.s absence.

• Jackson (5.7 YPC, 19 carries) and Baugh (4.9 YPC, 31 carries) have been highly efficient in limited action.

• Jackson scored his first three rushing TDs in three-straight games vs. Texas A&M, Mississippi State and UCF.

• Baugh and RB KD Daniels made collegiate debuts in Week 1 and RB Treyaun Webb scored his third-career TD.

• Acting as Johnson Jr.’s primary backup, sophomore Webb rushed 26 times for 163 yards and one touchdown in
2023 while pacing UF with 6.3 yards per carry. He also added four catches for 18 yards.

• Webb is one of seven FBS sophomore running backs to post over 6.2 YPC on at least 25 carries last season.

• Florida has rushed for 100-plus yards in five of six games this season and 25 of 31 contests since 2022.

 

- SLAUGHTER HIGHLIGHTS IMPROVING O-LINE​

• Florida has not allowed a sack in three of its six games this season.

• The Gators have allowed just eight sacks on the season, which ranks t-40th in the FBS and fifth in the SEC.

• On the Preseason Rimington Trophy Watch List, C Jake Slaughter rated as the No. 9 center in the FBS last year.

• This season, Slaughter ranks 21st among FBS centers through Week 7 with a 73.9 grade.\• Slaughter sits eighth among FBS centers with an 85.2 pass block grade this season.

• Slaughter has only allowed four QB pressures across 372 snaps so far in 2024 (13 in 969 career snaps).

• Slaughter allowed two sacks in the 2023 season opener at Utah, but has not allowed a single sack since then.
He allowed just two QB hits all year long, both of which came in the final two weeks of the year.

• In Week 4, OL Austin Barber became UF’s first OL to score a TD in 300 games (Thomas Moody vs. South Carolina on Nov. 11, 2000). He is one of two FBS OL to score this season (Brandon Henderson, Illinois).

• Florida has allowed 64 sacks in 31 games under HC Billy Napier, ranking eighth-lowest in the SEC (t-36 FBS).

• Across the last four seasons (2021-24), Florida’s 78 sacks allowed are the t-35th-fewest in the FBS and fourth-
least in the SEC. During that span, the Gators have out-sacked opponents by a plus-20 margin (98-78)