Ray Davis’ monster game leads Kentucky football to its third straight win against Florida
Ray Davis rushed for 280 yards and tied a school record with four total touchdowns to send Kentucky football to a 33-14 win over No. 22 Florida. With the win, Kentucky is now 5-0 on the 2023 season.
Kentucky has now beaten Florida three years in a row and four times in the last six seasons since snapping the 31-game losing streak to the Gators in 2018. The Wildcats had not won three consecutive games against Florida since beating the Gators four straight from 1948 to 1951.
Davis set the tone early with gains of 10 and 19 yards on his first two carries. He broke the game open with a 75-yard touchdown run just before the end of the first quarter. That performance helped Kentucky overcome a poor performance from the passing game as quarterback Devin Leary completed 9 of 20 passes for 69 yards and one touchdown.
Kentucky’s defense continued its strong early play with another key interception, three sacks and nine tackles for loss. The Wildcats have held each opponent to less than 350 yards this season.
TURNING POINT
Kentucky looked dominant on its first offensive drive, but when the Wildcats had to settle for a 24-yard Alex Raynor field goal after Barion Brown dropped a wide-open touchdown catch in the end zone there was a risk of losing momentum. The defense ensured that wouldn’t happen on the following drive.
Defensive tackle Deone Walker dropped in coverage for one of the rare times in his career and delivered a bone-crushing hit to a Florida receiver over the middle. That hit caused the ball to pop into the air and into the hands of linebacker Trevin Wallace, who returned it to the Florida 15-yard line. Two plays later, Davis scored the first of his four touchdowns on a 9-yard reception to put Kentucky in control.
MVP
No debate here. Davis recorded one of the most dominant halves in Kentucky history with 206 rushing yards and three touchdowns. While he fell short of Moe Williams’ single-game rushing yards record (299), he finished the game with the third-most rushing yards in a single game in program history. He just missed Lynn Bowden’s Kroger Field record (284). He recorded six rushes of at least 16 yards in the game. Davis has now scored 11 touchdowns on the season, putting him well within reach of Benny Snell’s single-season record (19).
KEY STAT
Florida’s defense entered the day ranked 15th nationally in rushing defense (82 yards per game). Those numbers were not built against a weak schedule either as the Gators had already faced two ranked teams. Davis was just the eighth player to ever rush for 200 yards against Florida.
Final statistics from Kentucky football’s 33-14 win over No. 22 Florida
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