Point Spread Tilting Away From Gators As the Prepare for Kentucky

This weekend, the Florida Gators have a major test on their hands as they travel north to the Bluegrass State and renew a rivalry and matchup that hasn't had juice for years.

The Gators haven't held up their end of the bargain, but the Kentucky Wildcats certainly have. Kentucky comes into Saturday's game ranked as the No. 11 team in the country, which was much higher last week before they got beaten up by Tennessee.

The Wildcats, under new head coach Will Stein, are playing some really good football and are trending way differently than the Florida Gators are. 

Florida enters this game on one of the worst skids that they have had in a very long time. Since climbing to No. 8 in the rankings, they have lost four of their last five games, dropping them out of the Top-25 and, frankly, putting them in danger of missing a bowl game if they do not notch another victory.

For this game specifically, they winds are not pointing in Florida's favor. 

The spread on this game opened up with the Gators being 1.5-point underdogs, but with just four days left before the game, the line moved on Tuesday night more in favor of the Wildcats, which is a bad sign for the Gators. 

Truthfully, I am shocked that this line is so close with two teams that are so far apart. I do believe that this says more about what the public thinks about Clemson than it does about what they think about Florida. 

If the public loved the Wildcats, this game would be about a touchdown and a half-point spread. Instead, it is basically a Pick 'Em, which is a compliment to the Gators, even as things change.

Kroger Field in central Kentucky has been a house of horrors for the Gators over the last seven years. They have not won a game there since 2019 and just in general, Kentucky has won four of the last five contests against Florida.

Saturday is an opportunity for the Gators to restore confidence in their new coach and coaching staff. It has gotten very weird around this team over the past month, and this win would silence a lot of discussion about how fit Jon Sumrall is to lead this program and the direction it is headed. 

The Gators and Wildcats renew a very fun and competitive rivalry on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd that will be insane. Kentucky has everything on the line, while the Gators can play spoiler.