Kentucky Football expert envisions rock fight with Florida on Saturday

This Saturday, Florida Football will take the field against an opponent that was once an afterthought. But Florida can't brush off Kentucky any longer as the Gators are 2-4 against the Wildcats over the past six seasons.

So to get a better idea about Kentucky, we reached out to our Fansided sister site Wildcat Blue Nation and their lead writer Mark Knight to get a better idea of what Florida fans should expect ths Saturday inside The Swamp.

Hail Florida Hail: By SEC standards, Mark Stoops has stuck around a long time in Lexington despite minimal actual results. What has held him back from being more than just a gatekeeper in the SEC?

Mark Knight: Discipline.

He doesn't seem to get the mental side of the game figured out for his players. The Vanderbilt game was entirely lost because Kentucky couldn't execute. It was full of miscues and 105 yards of penalties. Stoops can't seem to get through to his players, and he even admits that in his post-game press conferences. He even said this week that he hasn't been playing his star true freshman running back much because the kid won't tie his shoes. Seriously. 

HFH: From the outside, the Brock Vandagriff experiment has been so-so. Against Tennessee, the Gators loaded the box and dared the Vols to beat them deep. If Florida does that against Vandagriff, what will the result be?

MK: Vandagriff has never seen ample time in the pocket. He runs for his life all game long, and thus, the deep shots never seem to develop. He has a strong arm and, when given time, can throw the bomb, but the problem lines are in the offensive line. 

HFH: Ray Davis torched the Gators last year (and the year before when he was at Vanderbilt). He's not here this year, so does Kentucky have a "Get out of jail free card" to torch Florida this year?

MK: Reports and rumors are out that this will be the first game that Chip Trayanum plays in. He was a stud running back at Ohio State, but he hasn't even taken a snap in the blue and white because of injury. If he truly is back, and he is healthy, that could be a problem for Florida, similar to Davis last year. 

HFH: For 31 years this series wasn't even a series. Now Kentucky is 4-2 in the last six years against Florida. What has been the vibe in recent years of Kentucky fans when it's Florida week compared to previous years?

MK: Biting their nails. I don't think they have let the breath out of their lungs about Florida even though Kentucky has won 3 in a row; fans are nervous, for the poundings by the Gators were consistent and extreme in those 31 years. You don't forget the bully even after your growth spurt.

Especially after their frustrating loss to Vanderbilt last week, the fans are throwing up their hands and stressed about this game. If Kentucky can't get this one when Florida isn't sharp and against a freshman quarterback, it will be bleak for Big Blue Nation. 

HFH: Vegas has this over/under at 42.5. Regardless of who wins, do you envision a pathway the over hits?

MK: No. Kentucky has a top-five defense in the nation. They are fourth in yards allowed and ninth in points per game. They haven't let any team score consistently, and they've played some high-powered offenses like Georgia, Ole Miss, and even Vanderbilt with that new gun-slinging quarterback Diego Pavia. It will be a low-scoring affair; you can almost guarantee it. No team has scored more than 17 points on them.