Florida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Picks and Predictions for Week 2
An unranked, home underdog a week ago, the No. 12 Florida Gators will open their SEC schedule against the No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night with recalibrated expectations after upsetting the formerly No. 7 Utah Utes in Week 1.
Florida is considered a six-point favorite over Kentucky on Saturday, according to the Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 51.5 points.
You can find All Gators' predictions for the game below. We will track the staff's prediction record throughout the year and are not predicting against the spread.
Zach Goodall (0-1): Florida 28, Kentucky 20
The win over Utah forced me to rethink how I view this Florida team. I had the Gators as a marginal favorite over the Wildcats during the preseason, but now I have UF covering a spread that had already shifted 1.5 points in its favor this week and even more since the preseason odds surfaced.
In my opinion, the odds are stacked against Kentucky when it comes to needing to keep up with Anthony Richardson, from several different perspectives.
For one, as made clear by now, he's simply too dynamic with his feet for a defense to not respect his ability to run. Richardson's legs, if you think about it, are the reason Florida upset Utah last week. Kentucky has several high-profile front seven members that could limit Richardson's ground game, but he'll break off on some explosive rushes regardless.
What UK doesn't have, however, is a proven secondary. After Richardson put up efficient but unspectacular passing numbers last week, I think he'll end up doing more through the air than on the ground this time around as a result.
On the other side, Kentucky's rushing game certainly won't look like its typical self without Chris Rodriguez Jr. and two other backs available. And simply put. I'm just not a big believer in Will Levis carrying the Wildcats' offense in an environment like The Swamp. He's relatively turnover prone (he threw as many interceptions as Emory Jones in 2021) and memorably went 7-of-18 for 87 yards against UF's abysmal defense a year ago, at home.
I think Levis is good enough to put a couple of touchdowns on the board, but I also could see several drives stalling and ending up in field goals. I also predict Levis commits at least one turnover that UF can flip into points. Kentucky can't afford that if it wants to keep up with Richardson's pace, in my opinion.
Brandon Carroll (1-0): Florida 34, Kentucky 23
The Gators' victory over Utah kickstarted a rapid turnaround from their 6-7 status a year ago.
The confidence instilled in the Gators unit from that win washes away the doubts they’ve accumulated from their wrongs of the past against Mark Stoops’ well-coached Kentucky team. They’re vying for reconciliation.
The Florida offense — anchored by a dominant rushing attack with Montrell Johnson, Nay’Quan Wright and Trevor Etienne — can potentially take advantage of a Kentucky rushing defense that allowed 111 yards to Miami (Ohio) and struggled with over pursuit of rushing lanes.
Meanwhile, a season-long difference maker for Florida is this: They have bonafide playmaker Anthony Richardson at quarterback and [insert weekly opponent here] does not.
He looks to produce a simile outing in week two that sent him skyrocketing your Heisman contender boards with a little something added in the passing game.
Defensively, the Gators will get the opportunity to exploit an offensive line that looked lackluster in both run blocking and pass protection last week. It should allow them to find a groove stopping the run — filling correct rushing lanes and stopping an already thin Wildcats running back corps — and putting pressure on quarterback Will Levis.
If they can do those things well, UF should cruise to a win over the No. 20 team in the country in week two.
CJ Clarke (1-0): Florida 34, Kentucky 20
Billy Napier and the Gators put everyone on notice last weekend with their hard-fought victory over the former No. 7-ranked Utah Utes. Since then they have taken on the role of media darlings, with reporters and media personalities praising the Gators and specifically quarterback Anthony Richardson for their performance in the Swamp week one.
With SEC East rival Kentucky set to come to town, the Wildcats would like nothing more than to leave Gainesville with a victory, knocking Florida off of its early pedestal. However, the Wildcats will be without their most important and productive offensive weapon in running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. Rodriguez is still serving a suspension of unknown length following charges for DUI and reckless driving during the offseason.
With Rodriguez out, offseason phenom Will Levis won’t have his security blanket with him in the backfield. With three new starters on Kentucky's offensive line, every one of them playing a new position, things could set up nicely for the Gators' pass rush.
Richardson looked like a Heisman contender in Week 1 and Kentucky linebacker JJ Weaver gave him some bulletin board material earlier in the week — the same JJ Weaver that gave Kyle Pitts bulletin board material two years ago before he torched the Wildcats for 99 yards and three touchdowns on five catches.
I expect Napier and the Gators to stick to the Week 1 game plan: Pound the rock, take shots when you can and if Richardson sees open field, let him take it. I think you will see a little bit more movement and multiple looks from a defense that seemed to keep things pretty vanilla last week and force Levis to be uncomfortable. If Florida is able to control the game with the ground attack and force Levis into a couple of turnovers, I think the Gators will walk away with a comfortable double-digit win.
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