ChompTalk.com

The Florida Gators welcome Kentucky into the Swamp for Homecoming Saturday. Florida enters the game 3-3 overall and 1-2 in SEC play while the Wildcats sit at 1-3 in league play but with the same overall record.

Kentucky is coming off a 20-13 loss to Vanderbilt while the Gators fell to Tennessee in overtime a week ago.

Florida enters the matchup with true freshman DJ Lagway taking over under center after Graham Mertz suffered a season ending injury against the Volunteers.

The following are our staff’s predictions for the Florida – Kentucky game.

Brian Fox: Kentucky will do everything they can to limit the number of possessions in this game, so Florida better make them count. Just a month ago, the Wildcats held Georgia to 13 points in a 13-12 defeat. But which Gators team shows up Saturday? The one that has shown significant improvement the last few weeks, including a dominant defensive effort a week ago or the one that was boat-raced out of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against Texas A&M? I’m hopeful that the offense shows more explosive plays than we’ve seen with Lagway getting all the reps moving forward. I don’t trust it, but I’ll take Florida, 24-14.

Ryan Friedwald: After a frustrating loss last Saturday, there is a feeling of redemption in the air. The Gators defense performed the best this season last week and hopefully the defense can at least match the intensity of this Kentucky defense. The biggest question mark is how will Lagway handle this defense? He had promising drives against Tennessee after Mertz’s injury and I believe he begins his legacy this Saturday. Kentucky has had lots of success against Florida, but they are coming off a loss to Vanderbilt, a game they should’ve won despite their ability to ruin their own games with silly mistakes. Florida has something to prove this weekend and I think they will. Florida, 24-17.

Aiden Wacksman: Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has completely outclassed Billy Napier in head-to-head matchups. The Wildcats own a 2-0 record over the Gators in the Napier era and won both games by 10+ points. Even worse, the Florida offense has yet to score over 20 points against Kentucky in the last two seasons. For this game, I am not extremely concerned about our defensive unit as it is coming off two-straight dominant performances. Plus, Kentucky’s offense is averaging roughly 13 PPG against SEC opponents. The Wildcats’ defense, though, has proven stout in SEC play by holding Georgia to 13 points and Ole Miss to 17. DJ Lagway’s first SEC start presents quite the challenge, and while I hope he has an excellent performance, I see the Wildcats’ defense paving the way for a Kentucky win. Kentucky, 24-17.

The Gators and Wildcats will kick off from The Swamp at 7:45 PM. The game will be aired live on SEC Network.