For 28 years, Florida has had Kentucky figured out.
UF had the upper hand.
And when it was all said and done, the Gators ended on top.
But when Florida heads to Lexington, Kentucky, for its first Southeastern Conference football game of the season, that streak will be in jeopardy.
Once the game kicks off at 7:30 p.m., the Gators will have their first true test of the season.
"This team we’re playing is not your same old Kentucky," UF coach Jim McElwain said. "These guys are really good."
The Gators have not lost a game to the Wildcats since 1986 — the year "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off" hit the big screen and the last time the New York Mets won the World Series.
But with this Kentucky team surging and Florida still trying to find itself, McElwain is not taking anything for granted.
The Wildcats (2-0, 1-0 SEC) are coming off a 26-22 road win over South Carolina, Kentucky’s first road win since 2010 and first against an SEC opponent since 2009.
Kentucky almost won the game last year — a 36-30 defeat in which the Gators (2-0) needed three overtime periods to pull out a victory — but a breakout performance from wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (15 catches, 216 yards, two touchdowns) and a late push from running back Matt Jones preserved Florida’s victory.
"(It’s) pretty amazing," McElwain said of the streak.
"Yet I do know this, each game, each year, it’s a different team and a different set of players out there."
And this year’s Kentucky team comes with experience on offense and up-and-coming talent on defense.
Quarterback Patrick Towles and a one-two punch at running back lead the offense.
Towles, a redshirt junior in his second year as UK’s starting quarterback, has thrown for 449 yards and three touchdowns in the Wildcats’ first two games.
Stanley Boom Williams leads Kentucky with 242 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
His 10.1 yards per rush leads all running backs who have at least 20 carries this season.
The defense has forced six turnovers, tied for the most in the SEC and sixth nationally.
"We have to make sure we’re really up all game," linebacker Jarrad Davis said.
"We can’t really mess around this week."
And while the players know what’s at stake, Florida still has questions as it heads on the road.
Even though the team announced Thursday that redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier will draw the start Saturday and McElwain said he plans to play the hot hand, UF’s first-year head coach said all week he envisions both quarterbacks getting reps.
"You don’t have a starter doing all the work and the other guy coming and get half of it and all of a sudden it’s my turn," McElwain said.
"You’ve got to prepare yourself like the starter."
The defense is still in flux, too.
While the secondary will see the return of Vernon Hargreaves III and Keanu Neal, starting linebacker Alex Anzalone is out for the foreseeable future after injuring his right shoulder — the same one he had surgery on after the 2013 season.
"He was outdoing almost everybody on the team in the linebacker spot," Davis said.
"He’s a freak. … It’s hard for us to replace a guy like that, but we just have to make sure we play to the best of our abilities every time we step on the field and we’re not going to have an issue."
Saturday will provide a glimpse of what’s to come for the rest of the Gators’ season.
A win keeps Florida on the rise as it continues SEC play.
A loss will cause McElwain to reevaluate how much stock can go into Florida’s early-season success.
"They understand what it takes," McElwain said. "So I look at this as one heck of a challenge for the Gators this week."
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Demarcus Robinson (11) leaps into Roderick Johnson (55) to celebrate his TD catch in the third quarter of the Gators and Wildcats matchup in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during UF's 36-30 triple overtime win on Sept. 13, 2014.
