Florida football: Remembering the Gators 31-game win streak over Kentucky
By Nick Knudsen
Florida football’s 31-game win streak over Kentucky was an uninterrupted run of dominance that has only been matched or surpassed by only four series in the history of college football.
- Notre Dame-Navy, 43 straight wins for the Irish, 1964-2006
- Nebraska-Kansas, 36 straight wins for the Huskers, 1969-2004
- Oklahoma-Kansas State, 32 straight wins for the Sooners, 1937-1968
- Penn State-Temple, 32 straight wins for the Nittany Lions, 1952-2014 (non-consecutive)
Let’s take a few moments to appreciate it.
I’ve provided some music to set the mood courtesy of Ed Helms, scroll slowly, and enjoy all of the good memories.
Win #1 -1987 – Florida 27-14
Win #2 – 1988 – Florida 24-19
Win #3 – 1989 – Florida 38-28
Win #4 – 1990 – Florida 47-15
Win #5 – 1991 – Florida 35-26
Gators put the Cats away late to clinch their first official SEC Championship.
Win #6 – 1992 – Florida 35-19
Win #7 – 1993 – Florida 24-20
Down 20-17, 3rd & 10 from the 28-yard line with 0:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. To quote Mick Hubert, “DOERING’S GOT A TOUCHDOWN! DOERING’S GOT A TOUCHDOWN! OHHHH MYYYY! DOERING’S GOT A TOUCHDOWN! THE GATORS HAVE TAKEN THE LEAD! UNBELIEVABLE! CHRIS DOERING’S GOT A TOUCHDOWN!”
Win #8 – 1994 – Florida 73-7
Win #9 – 1995 – Florida 42-7
Win #10 – 1996 – Florida 65-0The national champion Gators outscored the Cats 180-14 in the three years after the near upset in Lexington.
Florida football would go on to score at least 42 points per game against Kentucky from 1994-1998. #GatorStandard
Win #11 – 1997 – Florida 55-28
Win #12 – 1998 – Florida 51-35
Kentucky QB Tim Couch threw for 406 yards and 3 TDs. Florida still won by 16.
Win #13 – 1999 – Florida 38-10
Win #14 – 2000 – Florida 59-31
Win #15 – 2001 – Florida 44-10
Win #16 – 2002 – Florida 41-34
Win #17 – 2003 – Florida 24-21
Down 21-9 deep into the fourth quarter, freshman Florida QB Chris Leak led the Gators to a 24-21 comeback win.
Win #18 – 2004 – Florida 20-3
Win #19 – 2005 – Florida 49-28
Win #20 – 2006 – Florida 26-7
Win #21 – 2007 – Florida 45-37
QB Andre’ Woodson and the 6-1 Wildcats, fresh off of a 43-37 upset of #1 LSU the week before, were chomping at the bit to end the streak. College GameDay even showed up. The Gators went up 28-10 and held on late for the win.
Win #22 – 2008 – Florida 63-5
QB Randall Cobb was no match for QB Tim Tebow and the Gators.
Win #23 – 2009 – Florida 41-7
The nation held its breath as Tebow lay motionless after a huge hit from an unblocked defender. Timmy had to the leave the game, but luckily, the Gators had a bye the next week and Tebow returned to beat LSU 13-3 in Death Valley.
Win #24 – 2010 – Florida 48-14
Freshman Trey Burton’s six touchdowns were one of the last major offensive highlights of the Meyer era.
Win #25 – 2011 – Florida 48-10
RB Jeff Demps’ 84-yard TD run was one of the only offensive highlights of the Muschamp era.
Win #26 – 2012 – Florida 38-0
Win #27 – 2013 – Florida 24-7
Win #28 – 2014 – Florida 36-30
UK gives Florida a scare, but the Gators survive a triple-overtime thriller.
Win #29 – 2015 – Florida 14-9
Gave us a picture of what winning during the McElwain days would be like: ugly…but a win is a win, right?
Win #30 – 2016 – Florida 45-7
Only the four win-streaks (listed at the beginning of the piece) posted by one opponent over another have reached the 30-game threshold in college football history.
Win #31 – 2017 – Florida 28-27
They left Freddie Swain wide open. Ridiculous! Kentucky will never beat Florida!
Next. Florida football injury report against Kentucky. dark
Florida seeks to start a new winning streak at Kentucky on Saturday night, 7:00 PM ET on ESPN.