Following their in-conference road win over the Auburn Tigers, the Kentucky Wildcats came back to Kroger Field with something of stature to hang their hats on for arguably the first time this season. With the Florida Gators in town, fresh off a coach-firing and also 3-5, the matchup was set to be a brawl.

But for the second consecutive game – that isn’t a typo – Mark Stoops’ Cats scored more points than the other team. In an impressive runaway victory, Kentucky took care of Florida in defense of a raucous home crowd, 38-7. The win marked their first in an SEC matchup at Kroger Field since September 30, 2023 (also against Florida), and the largest over the Gators in program history.

Settling In

After a rocky start that saw the Wildcats down 7-3 following a muffed punt return-turned Gators score, the blue and white offense settled into a rhythm that Florida failed, at any point, to match. Two first-half scores through the air from Cutter Boley set the tone for a multi-faceted attack by coordinator Bush Hamdan’s offensive unit, which would be tied off in the second quarter by a rushing touchdown by way of Seth McGowan and a field goal.

The Wildcats led 24-7 at the half, forcing three Florida turnovers in the process.

Cats Controlled the Pace

Kentucky didn’t look back from there, either, even if the final two quarters weren’t quite as explosive on the offensive end. Boley continued to stand and deliver after his score-heavy first half performances, leaving touchdown duties to Kentucky’s backfield duo in the aforementioned McGowan and Dante Dowdell, who each had a second-half touchdown a piece.

In response, aside from benching season-long starting QB DJ Lagway, the Gators offered very little resilience. The Cats’ tempo offense and staunch defensive front created a manic pace throughout the match that Florida simply failed to handle; the result was a game doomed for the visiting team from the start, controlled entirely in pace and momentum by the blue and white.

The Cats ultimately out-gained the Gators 401 to 247 in total yards, with 233 of the former number coming on the ground in the team’s traditional manner. A good, old fashioned beatdown.

Keeping Dreams Alive

As a result of the blowout win, Kentucky’s newly-realized 4-5 record keeps the team’s hopes of a bowl game alive, even if the effort is still relatively last-ditch.

With six wins being the necessary target and an expected given set up next week at home against Tennessee Tech, the Wildcats will have to find a way to beat one of the #15 Vanderbilt Commodores or the #14 Louisville Cardinals, assuming the aforementioned given is indeed taken.

While the latter would certainly be the sweeter of the two, a late-season road win securing a bowl game, especially after Kentucky’s 2-5 start to the season, would be acceptable in any form.

If Mark Stoops expects the fans to remain bought into his vision, that wishful reality almost feels necessary. Regardless of whether or not it actually happens though, Kroger Field desperately needed a party, and the rare decisive win over Florida provided just that.

On Sunday, LSU dismissed head coach Brian Kelly following a 49-24 blowout loss to No. 3 Texas A&M.

Kelly is one of three SEC head coaches that have been fired mid-season this year; before him, Florida let go of Billy Napier in October and Arkansas moved on from Sam Pittman in late September.

Around the SEC, athletic directors are making changes at head coach in hopes of keeping their programs competitive in a premier league.

Kentucky’s Mark Stoops remains the longest-tenured SEC head coach, for the second consecutive year. However, Stoops’ hot seat only gets hotter given the recent firings around the league amidst the Wildcats 10-game losing streak against SEC opponents.

Kentucky has a 2-17 record over its previous 19 inner-conference matchups.

Let’s compare Stoops to the recent SEC firings.

Stoops-Kelly-Napier

Kelly was hired as head coach for LSU ahead of the 2022 season. In less than four seasons manning the helm in Baton Rouge, Kelly had a 34-14 overall record and a 19-10 record in SEC play.

Under Kelly, the Tigers were undefeated in three bowl games. LSU’s best season under Kelly came in 2023, when the Tigers finished with a 10-3 record but were unable to reach the coveted College Football Playoff. LSU hoped to return to it after not clinching since the 2019 National Championship run, especially in the expanded 12-team format that was introduced last year. 

Earlier this season LSU was ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll. In 2025, the Tigers went 2-3 in the SEC, losing to ranked foes Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

Despite sharing the same league for more than three seasons, Stoops and Kelly never faced each other. Florida hired Napier in the same offseason LSU hired Kelly.

Under Napier, the Gators had a 22-23 overall record with a 12-16 record in the SEC; Florida went 1-1 in the postseason. Florida’s best season with Napier was in 2024. The Gators went 8-5 but went .500 against SEC opponents.

In Napier’s first season in “The Swamp”, Florida’s highest ranking in the AP Poll was No. 12. However, the Gators would finish the 2024 season with an underwhelming 6-7 record.

Stoops holds a 2-1 record over Napier.

For comparison, since 2022, Stoops has led Kentucky to an 18-26 overall record and a 7-20 record against SEC teams. Both of those records are worse than Kelly and Napier’s tenure.

The Wildcats have clinched two bowl games in that time, losing both of them. In 2022, Kentucky was ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll but was never a legitimate candidate for the College Football Playoff.

Stoops-Pittman

Arkansas hired Pittman ahead of the 2021 season, where he would serve as head coach of the Hogs for less than five years. Pittman had a 32-34 overall record and a 14-29 record in SEC play.

The Razorbacks clinched a bowl game in three out of four seasons under Pittman; they went undefeated in those games.

Pittman’s best season in Fayetteville came in 2021, his first season. Arkansas went 9-4, with all of their losses coming against SEC teams. The Razorbacks went 4-4 in the SEC that season.

At one point in 2021, Arkansas claimed an AP Poll high at No. 8, which was the highest under Pittman.

After starting the 2025 season 2-3, Arkansas fired Pittman. From 2022 until his midseason firing, Pittman went 7-18 in SEC play. Meanwhile, Stoops had his best season ever recorded at Kentucky in 2021. 

The Wildcats went 10-3 and won the Citrus Bowl. Kentucky’s 2021 season was later vacated by the NCAA. Eventually, the team was found to have 11 ineligible players on the roster. Now, that season goes down as a 0-3 record.

Nevertheless, Pittman has more overall wins, more SEC wins, and more bowl wins than Stoops during his time at Arkansas. 

Kentucky and Arkansas didn’t face off during Pittman’s tenure.

Stoops-Freeze

Another name on the hot seat is Auburn’s head coach, Hugh Freeze. Auburn hired Freeze before the 2023 season. Since then, the Tigers have gone 15-18 with a 6-15 record in the SEC.

In 2023, the Tigers made their lone bowl game appearance under Freeze. Auburn lost and finished the season with a 6-7 record. 

That season remains Freeze’s most successful at Auburn.

Earlier this season Auburn was ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll, for the first time in the Freeze era. The Tigers climbed to No. 22 the following week before losing their next four SEC games and losing their spot in the national rankings.

Freeze earned his first SEC win of the season this past Saturday with a win over Arkansas.

Since 2023, Stoops has a 13-19 overall record and a 4-17 record in SEC play, which is fewer wins than Freeze in both categories. Stoops and Freeze both share a defeated record in one bowl game appearance in that time.

In their lone matchup in 2024, Freeze’s Tigers beat the Stoops-led Wildcats in Lexington, 24-10. Kentucky has a chance at revenge this upcoming Saturday on the road.

It feels like sooner than later another SEC head coach will be added to the 2025 fired list. 

Currently, Kentucky and interim-led Arkansas sit at the bottom of the league standings without an SEC win. Just above them, South Carolina and Auburn stand at one win in the SEC.

Big Blue Nation, although this one may not have turned out how you would have wanted it to, one can hope that you took the over in this nighttime SEC classic.

Barely a minute into the game, after a touching National Anthem sing along and an electric entrance by the Wildcats, Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar connected with Chris Brazzell II for a 35-yard touchdown. In just four plays, the Volunteers tallied 75 yards.

After both sides traded punts, the Vols would tip and intercept Cutter Boley, returning the pigskin 45 yards for another touchdown.

Down 14-0 early and with their backs against the wall already, not overcoming such a deficit in over a decade, Boley would find Kendrick Law behind the line of scrimmage, who proceeded to take it 71 yards to the house and put Kentucky on the board. This play marked career highs for both Boley and Law for their longest passing and receiving touchdown respectively.

To all, it seemed like Kentucky finally had some life after forcing a quick punt on the next drive, but it would eventually give the ball right back.

Yet another strong drive from the evil orange led to another score, this time by running back Star Thomas from one yard out.

Kentucky would proceed to fumble the ball three times in one possession, giving its opponent the ball from only six yards out. The Wildcats held up until fourth down, where Tennessee brought out a heavy package and shoved its way into the end zone yet again.

When all hope felt lost, Boley would find freshman DJ Miller for a 56-yard touchdown and the Wildcat defense would muster up another stop.

The Wildcats, in need of a score, would run nearly 10 minutes off of the clock, going from their own four-yard line to the other hemisphere. After Law would convert on 4th and 1, Boley would find Oklahoma transfer J.J. Hester for his first Kentucky touchdown.

Now only trailing be a single possession, the defense would be required to hold up one last time before halftime. They indeed did not, giving up 75 yards in just under two minutes and letting their opponent waltz over the blue and white end zone.

If you’re looking for any encouraging statements from here on out, you probably will not. Boley became the first freshman in Kentucky history to throw for four touchdowns in a game and the Wildcats out gained the Vols on and off throughout the remainder of the matchup, but that didn’t really matter in regards to the scoreboard.

Tennessee outscored Kentucky 21-13 in the second half, leading to a 56-34 win. Boley and Miller unanimously took home the “MVP awards” for the game, with Boley tallying 330 yards and five touchdowns while Miller went for 120 yards and caught two of those touchdowns.

Up next, Kentucky will travel to Auburn, Alabama to take on the Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 1. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.