Kentucky lost a 28-27 heartbreaker to Florida on Saturday night after leading 27-14 with just over 11:30 to play.

In many aspects, the Wildcats dominated the game, which makes it even more painful for Kentucky fans as they come to grasp with a 31st consecutive loss to the Gators.

Florida, yet again, found a way to win.

However, all is not lost for Kentucky. As difficult as it is to look at the positives after a loss of that nature, it should be noted just how impressive Kentucky looked for the majority of the contest.

The loss will sting for a few days, but it is one the ‘Cats can build on moving forward. There are a few reasons to smile.

Quarterback Stephen Johnson

Johnson threw three touchdown passes — matching his career high and the most he’s had against an SEC opponent.

He continually put his team in a position to win the game. Even on the final drive before a holding penalty set the Wildcats back — resulting in a longer field goal attempt — Johnson’s accurate passing gave them a chance.

His 4th-and-11 completion while the pocket was collapsing was a sign of progress; last year he might have fled. Instead, he kept the drive alive.

It’s worth noting that Johnson has been more efficient through four games than any Kentucky quarterback in recent memory. That efficiency finally resulted in a few scores through the air. If there’s one player you’d hope is playing well on your team, it’s the quarterback. Kentucky has that.

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Wildcats’ SEC East chances still alive

Sure, it sounds crazy to think about right now, but Kentucky is as good as, or better than, five teams in the SEC East. ‘Cats fans are still hurting, without a doubt. But do yourself a favor and look around the division.

Georgia appears to be really good after its 31-3 drubbing of Mississippi State. But the rest of the division? Holy smokes.

As Kentucky fans would agree, Florida might be the worst 2-1 team in the country. South Carolina struggled to hold off Louisiana Tech 17-16 on Saturday, while Vanderbilt lost 59-0 to Alabama. Missouri lost 51-14 to Auburn just one week after being devoured 35-3 by Purdue. And Tennessee struggled to squeak past 0-5 UMass 17-13 at home. UMass! Speaking of the Volunteers …

A similar situation

Certainly, the Wildcats aren’t fond of being compared to Tennessee. But if there’s one other program that has had its struggles against Florida, it’s the Vols.

The Gators had a winning streak against Tennessee, too, albeit just 11 games as opposed to 31. But if you take a look in the final two games before Tennessee snapped it with a 38-28 win in 2016, you’ll notice back-to-back, one-point losses in 2014 and 2015.

In that 2015 game, Tennessee led 27-14 in the fourth quarter before falling apart and losing 28-27. Sounds familiar, eh?

The good news for Kentucky is that it is now as close as it gets to beating Florida. The Wildcats will soon prevail in this series. The bad news this morning is they’ll have to wait another year to try.