Cutter Boley passed for two scores, Seth McGowan ran for a pair and Kentucky notched its second straight win by walloping Florida 38-7 on Saturday night in Lexington, Ken.
The freshman quarterback was an efficient 18-of-23 passing for 168 yards, the two TDs with one interception for the Wildcats (4-5, 2-5 Southeastern Conference), who took a 24-7 lead at the half.
Dante Dowdell rushed for 104 yards on seven carries, including a 65-yard touchdown run. McGowan had 92 yards on 22 attempts with scores on runs of 2 and 5 yards.
DJ Lagway had a poor performance for the Gators (3-6, 2-4). The sophomore from Texas struggled by going 11 of 19 for 83 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions, prompting his benching at halftime.
Freshman backup Tramell Jones Jr. was 9 of 17 for 60 yards in relief.
Running back Jadan Baugh rushed for 64 yards on 17 carries and caught a 10-yard TD pass in the first quarter for the Gators’ lone score.
Each team committed four turnovers in the lopsided contest.
On Florida’s first possession, Kentucky was set up when defensive back Ty Bryant intercepted Lagway and returned it 17 yards. Jacob Kauwe soon booted a 39-yard field goal at 6:42 for a 3-0 edge.
In their second game under interim coach Billy Gonzales, Florida recovered a muffed punt at Kentucky’s 13. Lagway found Baugh on third down, completing a 10-yard pass with 1:12 left in the quarter.
Boley hit J.J. Hester for a 29-yard score to cap a 75-yard drive at 12:39 of the second quarter.
The theme of points off turnovers continued when Cam Dooley recovered a Florida fumble. Boley hit a receiver for paydirt again when he connected with Jason Patterson from 15 yards for a 17-7 advantage.
McGowan rushed for a short score with 1:26 left, but the teams combined for four turnovers in the final seven plays before halftime as Kentucky led by 17.
In the third, the Wildcats went 75 yards in 13 plays. McGowan capped the strong series by taking a direct snap and scampering in from 5 yards out.
The 31-7 margin represented the Wildcats’ largest lead against Florida since 1979 (31-3) when the Gators were caught in what ultimately became an 0-10-1 season.
Dowdell streaked away on a 65-yard scoring run at 12:16 in the fourth quarter for the final points.
–Field Level Media
