Three Plays: Kentucky's veterans provide game-changing plays

The scoreboard at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium read Kentucky 26, Florida 16 when the clock hit zeroes on Saturday night. The Cats sent a statement to the rest of the SEC from The Swamp and it was powered by veterans.

Some young players made some big plays in Kentucky’s 10-point win over Billy Napier’s first Florida team, but veterans made the game-changing plays to give the Wildcats the advantage.

Let’s dive into the tape to see how Kentucky distanced itself from Florida.

Will Levis connects on a vertical shot

After a slow start to the game, offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello decided to get aggressive on Kentucky’s fourth possession. After a 12-yard completion to Keaton Upshaw served as a drive starter, Kentucky dialed up a play-action shot play with a seven-man protection scheme just shy of midfield.

Will Levis delivered, and true freshman Dane Key finished the job.

Kentucky gives enough time for Levis to uncork one deep as Key gets inside leverage on cornerback Jalen Kimber with no safety help after biting on the crosser underneath. The four-star freshman finishes the play and gives the Wildcats an early lead.

Levis struggled with vertical accuracy last season but showed growth on this shot. Levis gave his receiver a chance, and Key finished the play to give a struggling offense some much-needed confidence early in the game.

Jordan Wright sets up a Middle 8 score

Things started to look dire for Kentucky as halftime quickly approached. Florida had possession with a 16-7 lead with four minutes left in the second quarter. The Gators began a Middle 8 possession with a ton of momentum following a safety.

Jordan Wright would then make one of the biggest plays of the game on third-and-3 from the Florida 27.

On a short bootleg into the boundary, Anthony Richardson is looking to quickly dump the ball to his tight end into the flat, but Wright does a great job using his length to get a hand on the ball and then finishing the play with an interception.

A few players later, Kentucky’s offense would cash in on the great field position and score a touchdown to cut the lead to three just before halftime. That huge play stymied the momentum for the home team and gave Kentucky a real shot in the arm heading into the break.

Wright finished his first game of the season with six tackles and two tackles for loss. His huge havoc play before the half helped Kentucky close the gap and win the always important Middle 8.

Keidron Smith takes advantage of a bad mistake

After a third quarter field goal from Matt Ruffolo tied the game, Florida responded with its best drive of the game. A pair of third down completions set the Gators up with a scoring opportunity, and Billy Napier decided to get into an empty set with tailback Nay’Quan Wright split out wide into the field.

On the snap, there appears to be some miscommunication between Anthony Richardson and his tailback. The quarterback throws it short where super senior cornerback Keidron Smith is squatting on the short throw.

From there, the Ole Miss transfer does the rest as he makes Richardson miss in the open field to give Kentucky a non-offensive touchdown for the second game in a row to start the year. From that point forward, Richardson’s confidence was shot as the Gators never put together another good drive.

Kentucky took advantage of a bad mistake, and Smith finished the play with a big fourth quarter touchdown to put the Cats on top for good.

Veterans made the plays when they needed to be made as Kentucky knocks off Florida in The Swamp.