President Ronald Reagan was two years into his second term in the White House, gas was still well under a dollar per gallon and “Crocodile Dundee” was in the eighth of a nine-week run as the No. 1 movie in America after supplanting a young Tom Cruise and “Top Gun” atop the charts.

A lot has happened since the last time Kentucky beat Florida, 10-3, in Lexington way back on Nov. 15, 1986. The Wildcats have lost all of the 28 meetings since then against the Gators in what has become the longest active Division I winning streak over a major opponent in an annual series and one of the most lopsided series in all sports.

No current Kentucky player was as much as a glimmer in his daddy’s eye the last time UK topped Florida.

Overall, the Gators have won 34 of their previous 35 encounters with the Wildcats, including last year’s 36-30 triple-overtime nail-biter at The Swamp.

But there’s reason for renewed optimism among the UK faithful that their dubious streak of futility at Florida’s hands could finally come to a merciful conclusion when the two undefeated teams square off at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday.

These aren’t the same ‘Cats from previous years, nor are the Gators the big, bad bullies of the SEC they once were.

Here’s a look at five players who figure to play role in the game’s outcome.

  • Kentucky QB Patrick Towles: The 6-foot-5, 240-pound junior threw for 257 yards and matched a career high with three touchdowns in the season-opening win over Louisiana-Lafayette before following that up with a 21-for-29, 191-yard effort in the win at South Carolina. Towles has spread the ball around, connecting with nine different receivers in his team’s first two games. He’ll have his opportunities against a Florida secondary that ranks 88th nationally in pass defense after surrendering average of 241 yards per game.
  • Kentucky RB Stanley “Boom” Williams: The sophomore is the first Kentucky player to rush for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games since Derrick Locke did so in 2010. Williams chewed up 126 yards in last year’s season finale at Louisville and has totaled 242 yards in two games this year.
  • Kentucky CB Chris Westry: The 6-foot-4 true freshman was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com after coming up with the game-saving interception against South Carolina. Westry also registered a quarterback hurry, a sack and a pass breakup in the end zone to help in the upset of the Gamecocks.
  • Florida QBs Will Grier/Treon Harris: Grier, a redshirt freshman, got the start in last week’s 31-24 win over East Carolina and completed 10 of 17 passes for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Harris went 5 for 8 for a modest 54 yards, but neither quarterback has really wowed coach Jim McElwain, who characterized their play as just “average.” Both Grier and Harris will play again this week, although it appears that Grier is beginning to create some separation in his bid to become the permanent starter. They’ll need to make good decisions with the football in the face of an opportunistic Kentucky defense that accounted for six touchdowns in 2014.
  • Florida RB Jordan Scarlett: The true freshman and former five-star recruit will likely get his first career start at tailback this week as junior Kelvin Taylor works his way out of coach Jim McElwain’s doghouse. Scarlett’s excellent vision and great burst makes him a natural fit for the Gators’ zone-blocking scheme and a legitimate home-run threat every time he touches the ball. But picking up protection schemes is typically always difficult for true freshmen running backs who have rarely been asked to do as much in the past, all the more in their first true road game. Kentucky boasts an opportunistic defense that figures to blitz a lot, so Scarlett will have to pick things up quickly to protect whichever quarterback is under center.
  • Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III: The All-American sat out last Saturday’s win over East Carolina after tweaking a knee in practice in the days before, and is officially listed as questionable for Kentucky. The Gators will need him to shore up a defensive secondary that has appeared suspect at times after two games. A great leader along the sidelines as well, Hargreaves also returns punts, although it remains to be seen whether he does so this week at less than 100 percent.