Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats Box Score on Sep 23, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 24, 2017

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Luke Del Rio threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide open wide receiver Freddie Swain with 43 seconds left as No. 20 Florida rallied for a 28-27 victory over Kentucky on Saturday night at Kroger Field.

It was the Gators' only lead of the game. Florida defeated the Wildcats for the 31st straight time dating to 1986.

Florida (2-1, 2-0 SEC) used 13 plays and chewed up 5:48 seconds in the game-winning drive. Eddy Pineiro's PAT provided the winning margin.

The Gators' long drive left Kentucky only 43 seconds to steal the win. Kentucky marched to the Florida 25-yard line, but a holding penalty nullified the play leaving the Wildcats with a desperation field goal attempt of 57 yards. Austin MacGinnis' kick was straight, but fell short.

Florida, which used two quarterbacks, had 395 total yards offense. Feleipe Franks passed for 85 yards and one touchdown. Del Rio, who entered in the third quarter, passed for 74 yards and a score. Malik Davis led the rushing with 93 yards, Tyrie Cleveland topped receivers with 110 yards and a touchdown.

Kentucky (3-1, 1-1) had 220 passing yards with senior quarterback Stephen Johnson collecting 196 and three touchdowns.

The Wildcats added 120 rushing yards for a total offensive production of 340 yards. Sophomore running back Sihiem King led the way with 64 yards.

After battling to a 14-14 tie at halftime, Kentucky appeared to take control with 13 unanswered points for a 27-14 lead early in the second half.

On its first possession of the second half, Kentucky marched 62 yards in four plays and 1:48 when Johnson passed 23 yards to tight end C.J. Conrad for the touchdown. It was Conrad's third touchdown in four games this season.

MacGinnis added two field goals to push the lead to 27-14 with 11:33 to play. The senior nailed a 42-yarder with 5:54 left in the third period and added a 50-yard kick with 11:33 left in the game. The 50-yarder was the 58th in MacGinnis' career, breaking a school record.

Florida's Brandon Powell rushed six yards for a touchdown with 7:58 left to set the stage for the last-minute heroics.

Kentucky and Florida battled to a 14-14 tie at halftime with the teams alternating touchdowns.

The Wildcats scored first when Johnson found receiver Blake Bone in the left corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown with 5:06 remaining in the first quarter.

The Gators countered with a 36-yard scoring run by Kadarius Toney with 14:16 in the second quarter.

Stephen Johnson found Garrett Johnson in the right corner of the end for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 7:24 remaining in the second.

Florida bounced back to tie at 14 on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Franks to Cleveland 3:16 before halftime.

The Gators outgained the Wildcats 186-184 in the first half with Florida rushing for 101 yards and Kentucky passing for 100.

NOTES: Saturday's game in Lexington marked the first sellout for Kentucky since it faced Auburn on Oct. 15, 2015 -- a Thursday night. ... Kentucky entered Saturday's game ranked No. 3 nationally in rushing defense at 57.0 yards per game. ... Notre Dame transfer QB Malik Zaire did not win the starting job at Florida, but still proved valuable to the Gators. In preparation for Saturday's game, Zaire ran the scout team in the role of Kentucky's dual-threat QB Stephen Johnson. "Those things really help our defense, to give them a look at that type of player," Florida coach Jim McElwain said. ... Of the 68 games played between Florida and Kentucky, 22 have been decided by seven points or fewer. Florida leads in those games 16-6. ... Kentucky was denied its first 4-0 start since 2008 and its first 2-0 start in SEC play since 1977.