Florida's 38-7 loss to Kentucky marked their worst defeat to the Wildcats since 1950 and raised more questions about the direction of the Gators' stumbling football program this season.
There are bad losses, and then there's the implosion Florida experienced Saturday night at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky.
Just one week after nearly upsetting No. 5 Georgia to and three weeks after firing their head coach, the Gators’ football season hit a new low by losing to Kentucky 38-7. It was Florida’s worst loss to Kentucky since 1950, when a Bear Bryant-coached Wildcats team pummeled the Gators 40-6. It was also Florida’s third straight loss playing in Lexington.
“You turn the ball over four times in the first half, you’re going to be behind the eight ball the entire time,” Gators interim coach Billy Gonzales said afterward. “They (Kentucky) came out and played really, really good, we played really, really bad, and we put ourselves in a bad situation.”
The humbling loss by the Gators raised more questions than it answered about the future of their football program. The immediate puzzle that needs solving: who’s Florida’s starting quarterback now? After sophomore DJ Lagway tossed three interceptions against the Wildcats, he got hooked at halftime by Gonzales. It was the first benching of Lagway’s Gator career and sent a clear signal he’s no longer a nailed-on starter.
With Florida sitting at 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the SEC, can Athletic Director Scott Stricklin still attract a top-tier coach to take over this mess? The Gators still have No. 7 Ole Miss, No, 23 Tennessee and Florida State left to play and would need to win out to finish .500, win six games and remain bowl eligible. After this loss to Kentucky, that seems highly unlikely.
If the Gators continue to spiral downward, will there be a mass exodus of Gator players in the next transfer portal? Even before the game, the SEC Network reported that Florida sophomore receiver Tank Hawkins decided he didn’t want to play the Kentucky game so he could maintain his redshirt status this season.
One thing’s for sure: the 2025 version of Florida football has hit rock bottom. And the hole could get deeper unless the trajectory changes quickly.
Kentucky, meanwhile, improved to 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the SEC. By thrashing Florida on Saturday, the Wildcats snapped a 10-game home losing streak to SEC opponents. Their last win at home against a SEC team? Florida, of course, 33-14 two years ago.
The Great Quarterback Disaster
Lagway's first half was a masterclass in self-destruction. Three crushing, momentum-killing, season-defining interceptions. Two of them came in the second quarter -- a 15-minute stretch where Kentucky outscored Florida 21-0. With the addition of a lost fumble by running back KD Daniels on his first carry, Florida turned what was a 7-3 lead into an insurmountable 24-7 halftime deficit.
Lagway now has 12 interceptions to his 11 touchdowns in nine games. His performance was so poor Saturday night in Lexington that Gonzales had little choice but to bench him. The entire second half was played by freshman Tramell Jones, Jr., who hadn’t seen a snap since Florida’s season-opening romp over Long Islands University.
“That (benching Lagway) was my decision,” Gonzales said. “We had four turnovers in the first half, and it was an opportunity to make a move and see if we could get a spark.”
Jones didn’t light a fire. He finished 9-of-17 for 60 yards and was unable to convert two fourth-down plays in the final quarter. Now Florida faces a quarterback controversy it never wanted, with neither option inspiring confidence as the season stumbles toward the finish line.
Death by a Thousand Cuts (and Two Running Backs)
While Florida's offense shot itself in the foot with turnovers, Kentucky's ground game continually gashed the Gator defense. Wildcat running backs Seth McGowan and Dante Dowdell carved up Florida's defense for 196 yards and three touchdowns. It was the type of ground game few teams have been able to establish against the Florida defense this fall.
Dowdell's 65-yard touchdown sprint to the end zone early in the fourth quarter pushed the score to 38-7 and put an end to any hopes the Gators had of a comeback.
Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley didn't need to be spectacular, but he was effective in key situations. At one point in the first half, he completed 11 consecutive passes and finished with 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
One Drive of Hope, Ten Drives of Despair
Let's catalog Florida's 11 offensive possessions. One touchdown drive ,its opening salvo that gave them a 7-3 lead with 1:10 left in the first quarter, briefly made viewers think this game might be competitive. As it turned out, that march was Florida's high-water mark.
The other 10 drives? Three interceptions. One fumble. Three punts. Two turnovers on downs.
The Hangover Effect
Coming off an emotional 24-20 loss to No. 5 Georgia—a game where Florida had chances to pull off a monumental upset but faltered in the fourth quarter—the Gators looked like a team that had left everything in Jacksonville. There's losing a close one to a rival and using it as fuel. Then there's whatever this was: a complete emotional and physical collapse.
What Now?
Make no mistake, this isn't just about one bad night in Lexington. This is about a program that has lost its identity, its toughness, and apparently its ability to execute basic football. Kentucky dominated the line of scrimmage. It controlled the clock, its up-tempo offense kept Florida’s defense off balance, and it was in control of the narrative from the second quarter onward. The Wildcats made Florida look exactly what they are right now: a program in disarray, searching for answers that will not be easy to find anytime soon.