NCAAF Game Recap - Florida at Kentucky
Sat Sep 14, 2019 7:00 PM EDT

Clem
41
Syr
6
F
Bama
47
SCar
23
F
ArkSt
0
UGA
55
F
NWSt
14
LSU
65
F
Okla
48
UCLA
14
F
OSU
51
Ind
10
F
NM
14
ND
66
F
Kent
16
Aub
55
F
Fla
29
KY
21
F
IdSt
0
Utah
31
F
Tex
48
Rice
13
F
Pitt
10
PSU
17
F
Mont
3
Oreg
35
F
Lamar
3
TxAM
62
F
Stan
27
UCF
45
F
AzSt
10
MSU
7
F
Iowa
18
IASt
17
F
WaSt
31
Hou
24
F
MD
17
Temp
20
F
PorSt
10
Boise
45
F
Hawaii
20
Wash
52
F
USC
27
BYU
30
F OT
FlaSt
24
UVA
31
F
UNC
18
Wake
24
F
Kans
48
BC
24
F
K St
31
MissSt
24
F
E Mi
34
Ill
31
F
NCSt
27
WVU
44
F
Furm
17
VaTec
24
F
Chat
0
Tenn
45
F
MiaOH
13
Cin
35
F
Cit
27
GATec
24
F OT
AF
30
Colo
23
F OT
Norf
7
CoCar
46
F
FlAtl
41
Ball
31
F
Akr
24
C Mi
45
F
ECU
10
Navy
42
F
Army
31
UTSA
13
F
OkSt
40
Tuls
21
F
Mem
42
SoAl
6
F
UNLV
14
NW
30
F
GaSo
32
MIN
35
F
Mor
12
JMU
63
F
SouLA
29
Miss
40
F
Lou
38
W Ky
21
F
EWa
45
JacSt
49
F
ColSt
34
Ark
55
F
B-C
0
MiaFL
63
F
CAPly
7
OreSt
45
F
NorTx
17
Cal
23
F
SamHu
23
UND
27
F
Idaho
16
Wyo
21
F
LT
35
BGSU
7
F
SMiss
47
Troy
42
F
SCSt
16
SoFL
55
F
Buff
17
Lib
35
F
UMass
17
UNCC
52
F
Ohio
31
Marsh
33
F
GASt
10
WestMI
57
F
Murr
0
Toled
45
F
Web
13
NEV
19
F
TxSt
17
SMU
47
F
Duke
41
MidTN
18
F
UNH
17
FLInt
30
F
SEMO
0
MIZ
50
F
TxSo
6
ULLaf
77
F
TCU
34
Purd
13
F
MoStU
6
Tul
58
F
SDSU
31
NMS
10
F
NIU
8
Neb
44
F
TxTch
14
Ariz
28
F

Sep 14, 2019, 7:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

(9) Florida (3-0)

7

0

3

19

29

Kentucky (2-1)

0

14

7

0

21

No. 9 Florida rallies past Kentucky 29-21 in SEC opener
Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:39 AM

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) Initially stunned by seeing Feleipe Franks lying in pain on the turf, Florida players soon swarmed the cart carrying him to uplift him - and then each other.

The No. 9 Gators then regrouped behind backup Kyle Trask to overwhelm Kentucky for an emotional victory.

Trask relieved the injured Franks and rallied Florida with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, including his go-ahead, 4-yard scoring run with 4:11 remaining that lifted the Gators to a 29-21 victory Saturday night.

Franks, the Gators' third-year starter, was carted off with a right leg injury late in the third quarter with his team trailing 21-10. Stopped for no gain by Calvin Taylor on fourth-and-1 at the Kentucky 38, Franks appeared to bend backward on the tackle. Medical personnel came on the field and placed an inflatable cast under his right leg and he was taken off to applause from the sellout crowd of 63,076.

"When he went down, you could see something wrong with the leg," Trask said. "At the end of the day, I'm proud of the resiliency of the team. He (Franks) was really emotional at that moment. I let him know, `I had your back."'

Gators coach Dan Mullen had no immediate update on Franks' condition but said afterward, "They feel pretty certain there was a break or dislocation, so he will be out for the year. That will be a huge loss for us."

Trask's gutsy leadership in a pinch offered an upside.

He entered and led Florida (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) on a 62-yard drive, ending with Lamical Perine's 8-yard TD run to get the Gators within 21-16. Shawn Davis's interception with 6:05 to go gave the Gators another opportunity, and Trask capitalized with his go-ahead touchdown.

The two-point conversion failed, though, and Kentucky (2-1, 0-1) had a final chance to regain the lead. But Chance Poore's 35-yard field-goal attempt with 54 seconds left was wide right, and Josh Hammond's 76-yard TD run three plays later helped Florida avenge last year's loss in Gainesville.

The happy Gators then gathered in a corner Kroger Field to celebrate the hard-fought win with their fans before running and jumping on their way to a happy locker room.

"Still have a long way to go," Mullen added. "Came on the road and in a very tough environment and got a big win. We found ways to win."

Kentucky, on the other hand, was left wondering what could have been despite a strong beginning from its newly-minted starting QB.

Sawyer Smith accounted for all three Kentucky touchdowns with scoring passes of 26 and 13 yards sandwiched around his 2-yard run. Making his first Kentucky start a week after Terry Wilson was lost for the season with a torn left patellar tendon, the junior completed his first nine passes for 119 yards. He finished 23 of 35 passing for 267 yards, but also threw three interceptions including one as the game ended.

"We had an opportunity with a couple of plays, but we fell short," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. "We'll come back and continue to work."

TARGETING CALLS

The game featured three ejections for targeting, two by Kentucky. Free safety Yusuf Corker was cited for a first-quarter hit in the end zone, and defensive end T.J. Carter was penalized in the fourth on a sack of Trask.

Florida lost cornerback Donovan Stiner after a third-quarter hit on Kentucky's 6-foot-5 receiver Ahmad Wagner on a 20-yard completion.

DEJ� VU

Florida grabbed the early lead as Franks hit a wide-open Freddie Swain with a 26-yard TD pass. Two years ago, Swain was all alone for a 5-yard TD reception with 33 seconds left to cap the Gators' rally from 13 down for a 28-27 win here.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida should remain in the top 10 after an emotional victory in Lexington.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida's immediate concern is moving forward without Franks, who was 12 of 17 for 174 yards and 15-yard TD to wide-open Freddie Swain before the injury. Franks also committed two turnovers, with a fumble leading to Kentucky's go-ahead touchdown, but the Gators would prefer to have the veteran on the field as they hit the meat of the SEC schedule. The Gators won despite managing just one sack after entering the contest with a nation's-best 15.

Kentucky's offense operated well behind Smith and seemed in control midway through the third quarter. But his costly interception, a failed fourth down early in the fourth quarter and a defensive letdown allowed Florida to rally, ending any chance of consecutive wins against Florida for the first time since 1976-77. They now must bounce back on the road.

UP NEXT

Florida hosts Tennessee on Saturday.

Kentucky visits Mississippi State on Saturday.

---

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Fla Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
F. Franks 17 12 70.6 1 174 32 1 98.7
K. Trask 13 9 69.2 0 126 30 0 100.2
KY Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
S. Smith 35 23 65.7 2 267 26 3 72.0

Rushing

Fla Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Hammond 1 76 76.0 76 1
L. Perine 14 27 1.9 8 1
KY Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
K. Smoke 16 81 5.1 16 0
A. Rose 14 46 3.3 21 0

Receiving

Fla Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
V. Jefferson 7 93 13.3 31 0
K. Pitts 4 63 15.8 30 0
KY Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
L. Bowden Jr. 7 70 10.0 21 0
A. Wagner 3 70 23.3 26 1

Fumbles

Fla F FL
F. Franks 1 1
KY F FL
S. Smith 1 1

Returning

Punting

Fla Punt Yds Avg LgPu
T. Townsend 1 44 44.0 44
KY Punt Yds Avg LgPu
M. Duffy 2 109 54.5 63

Takeaways

Fla Int Yds InTD
S. Davis 2 70 0
K. Elam 1 0 0
KY Int Yds InTD
T. Ajian 1 22 0

Team Stats Comparison

Fla KY
Points For 29 21
Total Yards 438 407
Rushing Yards 138 140
Passing Yards 300 267
Passing Completions / Attempts 21/30 23/35
Turnovers 2 4
Interceptions Thrown 1 3
Fumbles - Lost 1/1 1/1
First Downs 21 26
Penalties - Yards 7/78 9/79
Time Of Possession 05:05 55:55
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 4/8 8/15
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/1 1/2
Punts - Average Yards 1/44 2/54

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Fla KY
Fla 08:33 TD Freddie Swain 15 yd pass from Feleipe Franks (Evan McPherson kick) 7 0
2nd Quarter Fla KY
KY 00:44 TD Ahmad Wagner 26 yd pass from Sawyer Smith (Chance Poore kick) 7 7
KY 07:14 TD Sawyer Smith 1 yd run (Chance Poore kick) 7 14
3rd Quarter Fla KY
Fla 07:10 FG Evan McPherson 32 yd FG 10 14
KY 09:21 TD Keaton Upshaw 13 yd pass from Sawyer Smith (Chance Poore kick) 10 21
4th Quarter Fla KY
Fla 02:19 TD Lamical Perine 8 yd run (failed 2pt pass) 16 21
Fla 10:49 TD Kyle Trask 4 yd run (failed 2pt rush) 22 21
Fla 14:27 TD Josh Hammond 76 yd run (Evan McPherson kick) 29 21

Game Information

Stadium: Kroger Field, Lexington, Kentucky
Attendance: 63,076
Game Time:
Weather: