No championships at stake but Gators-UK have much to play for

(Photo by Chris Spears)

There are no championships on the line when the Florida Gators (3-5, 2-3 SEC) travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats (3-5, 1-5 SEC) Saturday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to play for.

For Florida, interim head coach Billy Gonzales could still get the Gators to a bowl game if they can win at least three of the final four games. That’s a tall order considering the Gators have had their struggles in Lexington in the past and the final three games are at No. 7 Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC) followed by No. 23 Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC) and rival Florida State (4-4) at The Swamp. Considering all the injuries the Gators have had to deal with plus the firing of head coach Billy Napier after the Mississippi State win, getting to a bowl game would be a huge accomplishment. It would be a tremendous sendoff for seniors like All-America center Jake Slaughter and defensive end Tyreak Sapp, plus a ray of hope for the future for the young guys who make up the bulk of the roster.

Kentucky is doing its best to keep head coach Mark Stoops gainfully employed. The Wildcats have to win their final three games just to break even, thus preventing a second straight losing season. Kentucky boosters and fans haven’t exactly kept their frustrations quiet. They’ve made it known that Stoops’ nearly $40 million buyout won’t be a hindrance if the decision is made to make a coaching change. Winning the last three would get the Wildcats bowl eligible and probably would quiet for at least another season the fire Stoops talk.

Gonzales said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday that the Gators will continue to stay with the approach that “the most invested team wins. That’s attention to details throughout the game. We’ve got to be locked in. Everybody’s got to be assignment sound and then you’ve got to trust each other. You’ve got to be able to do your job and you’ve got to be able to trust your teammates to do their jobs.

“And, then again, our leaders, our leader’s got to continue to be great leaders on the football field and continue to pull along with our coaching staff.”

The Gators have to show they can pull out the tough games in the fourth quarter. The Gators have been within a field goal or a touchdown of either tying or going ahead in the fourth quarter of all five of their losses. The Gators held a 20-17 lead over Georgia in the fourth quarter last Saturday before giving up the game-winning touchdown.

Stoops never knows which Kentucky team will show up. The Wildcats can be terrible as they were in blowout losses to South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, but they also went white knuckles in losses to Ole Miss and Texas before scoring a 10-3 defensive slugfest win over Auburn last week.

So, which Kentucky team will show up? The one that gave up 504 yards and eight touchdowns to Tennessee or the one that held Texas to 179 yards and Auburn to 241?

Critical to Florida’s success will be getting the Wildcats off the field. The Wildcats try to grind it out on the ground to set up the passing game. Seth McGowan ranks seventh in the Southeastern Conference in rushing (529 yards, 7 TDs) and Cutter Boley has thrown 10 touchdown passes while completing 65.8 percent of his passes.

Georgia was Gonzales’ first game as the interim coach. He opened up the offense with more downfield passes than the Gators were accustomed to throwing when Napier was calling the plays. Kentucky does a good job stuffing the run, so Florida’s offense will likely rely on DJ Lagway throwing the ball. That means Florida’s O-line will need to be at its best since Kentucky is coming off a 7-sack game against Auburn.

Also, the game is in Lexington, a place where Florida teams have struggled in recent years.

“It's a tough place in play, it's going to be at night, but like I said we're excited to about the opportunity to go up and play with the football team we have here at the University of Florida," Gonzales.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS: 1. Ohio State 8-0; 2. Indiana 9-0; 3. Texas A&M 8-0; 4. Alabama 7-1; 5. Georgia 7-1; 6. Ole Miss 7-1; 7. BYU 8-0; 8. Texas Tech 8-1; 9. Oregon 7-1; 10. Notre Dame 6-2; 11. Texas 7-2; 12. Oklahoma 7-2; 13. Utah 7-2; 14. Virginia 8-1; 15. Louisville 8-1; 16. Vanderbilt 7-2; 17. Georgia Tech 8-1; 18. Miami 6-2; 19. Southern California 6-2; 20. Iowa 6-2; 21. Michigan 7-2; 22. Missouri 6-2; 23. Washington 6-2; 24. Pittsburgh 7-2; 25. Tennessee 6-3

IF THE PLAYOFF WERE HELD TODAY

The playoff format includes the champion of each Power Four conference, Notre Dame if it is ranked in the top 12, and the highest ranked team from the Group of Five. Since there isn’t a single Group of Five team ranked in the CFP poll, the playoff committee selected Memphis as the top team.

The SEC has nine teams in the top 25 and six of the top 12 teams. If the playoff began today, four SEC teams would be in with three from the Big Ten and two from the Big 12. Notre Dame is ranked No. 10 so the Irish would be in. There isn’t an ACC team ranked in the top 12, so the ACC champion would get in. Virginia is the highest ranked team from the ACC, so Virginia would come in as the No. 11 team with Memphis coming in at No. 12. That would bump Texas and Oklahoma out of the playoff.

So, here are the first round games if the playoff began today:

No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia

No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Ole Miss

No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 BYU

No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Texas Tech

SEC FOOTBALL

(Associated Press rankings)

No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC): Defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., who plays mostly special teams, has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest on three counts of reckless endangerment, one count of attempting to elude police and one count of speeding. Saturday: LSU (5-3, 2-3 SEC)

Arkansas (2-6, 0-5 SEC): Rhett Lashlee got a contract extension and raise to remain at SMU, which pretty much takes him out of the running to become the next head coach at Arkansas. Eric Morris of North Texas and Alex Golesh of South Florida are the likely forerunners for the job.

Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC): Three names gaining traction to replace Hugh Freeze are former Penn State coach James Franklin, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham. Another name being whispered for the job is former FSU and Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, who was Terry Bowden’s offensive coordinator at Auburn during the 1990s. Saturday: at Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2 SEC)

No. 5 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC): Defensive lineman Jordan Hall, injured against Florida, “will be out some time” per Kirby Smart. Smart says the Bulldogs might get linebacker Chris Cole and linebacker Demello Jones back for Saturday. Saturday: at Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4 SEC)

Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 SEC): The Wildcats need to win three of their last four games to ensure Mark Stoops will be back as head coach in 2026. Since winning 10 games in 2021, Kentucky is 19-25. Saturday: Florida (3-5, 2-3 SEC)

LSU (5-2, 2-3 SEC): LSU would love to hire Lane Kiffin as its next head coach, but that seems rather unrealistic. If Kiffin isn’t coaching Ole Miss next year odds are he will be at Florida. With Kiffin likely off the board names that are emerging are James Franklin, Jon Sumrall (Tulane), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri) and Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State). Saturday: at No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC)

Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4 SEC): The Bulldogs are the SEC’s most improved team in 2025 thanks to better defense. A year ago, the Bulldogs gave up 34.1 points and 456.4 yards per game. This season they are allowing 24.7 points and 368.9 yards per game.  Saturday: No. 5 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC)

No. 19 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC): The Tigers aren’t completely out of the College Football Playoff picture, but they can help themselves if they can knock off No. 3 Texas A&M and then win the rest of their games for a 10-2 regular season finish. Saturday: No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC)

No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC): In their first six games, all of them wins, the Sooners allowed only Texas (302) to gain more than 300 yards. In their last two games, Oklahoma has given up 431 to Ole Miss and 456 to Tennessee. Oklahoma has an open date this week, but returns to action at Alabama on November 15.

No. 7 Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Since 1971, Ole Miss has had six seasons of 10 or more wins. Lane Kiffin has three of those seasons. He has the only 11-win season in school history and has a chance to make it a second this year. Saturday: The Citadel (4-5)

South Carolina (3-6, 1-6 SEC): With Mike Shula fired as offensive coordinator, Shane Beamer has designated Mike Furrey as new play-caller. Furrey has head coaching experience at Limestone and Kentucky Christian.

No. 23 Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC): Corner Jermod McCoy, who was projected as a No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, hasn’t played this season while rehabbing a knee injury. HBC Josh Heupel is non-committal whether or not McCoy will play in any of the final three games.

No. 13 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC): At No. 11 in the first College Football Playoff poll, the Longhorns would be bumped out if the playoff began today. Basically, to get in the playoff they have to finish at 10-2, which will be difficult since they have to play at No. 5 Georgia next week.   

No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC): The Aggie passing game will be going against a Missouri pass defense that ranks No. 1 in the SEC and 7^th nationally. The Aggies have what might be the best 1-2 punch at wide receiver in the country in Mario Craver (40-716, 4 TDs) and KC Concepcion (36-545, 7 TDs).  Saturday: at No. 19 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC)

No. 15 Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2 SEC): The Commodores, ranked No. 16 in the first CFP poll, have three winnable games on the schedule. Win all three and with some movement within the top ten and the Commodores have a chance to make the playoff. Who would have ever thought that? Saturday: Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC)