No. 14 Florida Gators Shutout Kentucky Wildcats, 38-0

September 22, 2012; Gainesville FL, USA; Florida Gators tight end Jordan Reed (11) catches the ball as Kentucky Wildcats safety Mikie Benton (31) tackles and knocks off his helmet in the second quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Hoping to pull of the monumental upset on the road in Gainesville and defeat Florida for the first time sine 1986, the Cats were shut out for first time since Oct. 14, 2006 against LSU (49-0), and fell by a score of 38-0, dropping them to 1-3 overall, and 0-1 in the SEC.

Three U Kstarters didn’t make the trip, including RB CoShik Williams (hip strain), CB Cartier Rice (thigh bruise) and DL Mister Cobble (infection). The biggest loss however was QB Max Smith, who was a late scratch with a shoulder injury, leaving UK with Morgan Newton to go against the Gators with.

The Cats were very competitive for the first-half, and out side of their quarterback play, it may have been the best half of football UK has played all year.

The opening kickoff went out of bounds, but the Cats proceeded to get a 3-and-out, highlighted by a 3rd-down pass deflection by true freshman Cody Quinn. The Cats held the Florida offense to two 3rd-down conversions and 107 yard of total offense midway through the second-quarter. But the ineffectiveness of Morgan Newton left the defense on the field much too long for a Florida offense to not eventually take advantage of. Newton threw 3 first-half interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown to give the Gators a 17-0 lead.

The Wildcats rushing offense was very effective in the first-half, gaining 120 rushing yards on 23 carries in the first-half, a 5.1 ypc average, but were forced to throw more in the second-half and gained only 39 yards in the second-half as Florida cruised to the easy win.

Other notes from the game:

Newton finished the game 8/23 with three picks. Jalen Whitlow relieved him early in the 4th, but went 1/6 for 12 yards

Johnathan George had another effective week, carrying the ball 13 times for 52 yards while adding a reception for 24 yards

Raymond Sanders had 48 rushing yards on just 10 carries

WR LaRod King led the Wildcats in catches with three receptions for 13 yards

Only 2 of Florida’s first 27 wins against UK were by at least 28 points. 11 of Florida’s last 19 wins against UK are by at least 28 points.

Morgan Newton’s NCAA pass efficiency rating in the second quarter was -49.9

Phillips did say after the game Max Smith wanted to go, but UK didn’t want to risk injury. He should be back next week. He also said they’ll make preparations to have Jalen Whitlow as the No. 2 QB in the future instead of Morgan Newton.

Tristian Johnson played in place of Mister Cobble at defensive tackle

Starting in CB Cartier Rice’s spot was true freshman Cody Quinn, who played fairly well today