The Tides Are Turning Between Kentucky And Florida

Oh how good it feels to be typing these words. It's tough to describe it. I'll do my best to type it out but it very likely won't do it justice. Kentucky just defeated Florida for the third straight time, including four times in the last six attempts, and it feels like the tides are turning within this annual matchup.

For years, and in years I mean over three decades long, fans just watched Florida beat up on Kentucky for essentially a guaranteed loss every season. With a special team and the helm of Mark Stoops, the narrative changed in 2018. What a special night that was. It was more of just a shock to many as the 31-year streak was snapped, and I'd lean to say that no one expected the newfound success to continue on through many years and multiple teams. But, it undisputedly has.

Playing Kentucky matters now. As many used to pair them with the Vanderbilt's of the world, it's not even close to the same anymore. It's so vastly different in the aspect of Kentucky fans expect to win this circled game every year now. It might've been a quick mindset shift some could say, but each year they feel just as confident in the fact that they have a shot in winning the matchup and won't fathom the possibility of otherwise. It would be a disappointment if Kentucky did lose, despite becoming numb to that same feeling for over thirty years prior. That's just no longer the narrative and the people surrounding the program know that.

With that being said, the continued success with Kentucky Football improves to 5-0 with two conference wins (at Vanderbilt, versus Florida) and has taken care of business at home with with 17 wins in their last 20 attempts. Another impressive stat is that Kentucky has now won 6 games against ranked opponents in their last ten attempts. Talk about showing up when called upon against elite competition. This brand of football is a few seasons past the shock factor of "How is Kentucky doing this??" to now a "How long is Kentucky going to do this for?" dialogue. With Mark Stoops leading the way, I'll start to ask you, who thinks that it's going to ever stop?

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