Paschall: Florida to top UK yet again

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

OTHER PICKSArkansas 31, Texas Tech 26Ole Miss 49, UL-Lafayette 14Miss. State 38, S. Alabama 17LSU 47, UL-Monroe 22Texas A&M 56, Rice 13Pitt 35, Fla. International 24Va. Tech 30, E. Carolina 21Louisville 24, Virginia 19N.C. State 27, S. Florida 24Duke 35, Kansas 16Miami 34, Arkansas State 13Utah St. 21, Wake Forest 18USC 33, Boston College 20Notre Dame 30, Purdue 7MTSU 19, W. Kentucky 14Oregon 62, Wyoming 9UCLA 28, Texas 25

Florida will be seeking its 28th consecutive win over Kentucky this Saturday night when the Wildcats visit the Swamp, and it's a statistic neither coach really likes to address.

Last year's 24-7 win by the Gators in Lexington set a new Southeastern Conference standard for dominance, breaking the 26 consecutive times Tennessee beat Kentucky from 1985 to 2010. Of the 27 straight Florida has won over Kentucky, only four have been decided by seven points or fewer.

"This is the 2014 Florida team versus the 2014 Kentucky team," Gators coach Will Muschamp said Wednesday during the SEC teleconference. "I don't know that any of those games in the history will help us Saturday night."

The Gators have their own streak to fix, having lost five straight SEC games since getting off to a 3-0 league start last year with wins over Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas.

Any hopes of the Wildcats sneaking up on Florida this weekend were dashed by UK sophomore running back JoJo Kemp. A Sunshine State resident, Kemp told the Louisville Courier-Journal earlier this week, "It's going to be fun walking out with a victory and rubbing it in their faces."

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops wasn't amused.

"I was furious," Stoops said. "I was outraged, and I talked to him about it. He was trying to make light of some friends he has in their program, but they're going to hear the last five seconds of what he said. I know the pride of the players in that locker room in Florida, and it's not very smart to challenge their pride before you play them.

"I don't think that was very smart, and it's not something I teach."

Pasquali's Pix:

UMass at Vanderbilt: Derek Mason said this week that offensive and defensive execution needs improving but that the punting has been excellent. Commodores 12, Minutemen 10.

UCF at Missouri: UCF coach George O'Leary when asked if Missouri looks like an SEC team: "Well, they played for the championship last year." Tigers 23, Knights 21.

Georgia Southern at Georgia Tech: Understatement alert! Paul Johnson needs to win this one. Yellow Jackets 42, Eagles 28.

Georgia at South Carolina: This will be the most hostile environment the Bulldogs have to endure, as their other road games are against Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky. Bulldogs 17, Gamecocks 13.

UTC at Austin Peay: You've got to like UTC's chances this week of producing positive first-half yardage. Mocs 41, Governors 10.

Southern Miss at Alabama: Nick Saban has been pumping a USM offense that has yet to score this season against FBS opposition. Crimson Tide 52, Golden Eagles 7.

Kentucky at Florida: The Gators have won the past six meetings by an average of 36.5 points. Gators 38, Wildcats 13.

Tennessee at Oklahoma: It would be hard to fathom a greater upset for the Volunteers, given their situation up front offensively. Sooners 41, Volunteers 14.

Last week:

Winners..............23

Delanys.................3

Pasquali is 44-6 overall (88.0 percent) this season.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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