ESPN’s SP+ has given its prediction for an SEC battle between 2 programs who have already gone through a lot this fall.
It’ll be 3-5 Florida heading to Lexington to face 3-5 Kentucky in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on SEC Network. The Gators were ranked back in September but have fallen on hard times the past few months, including the firing of head coach Billy Napier. Florida nearly made its season last week in Jacksonville but couldn’t quite pull off the upset over rival Georgia, falling 24-20. The loss dropped UF to 2-3 in the SEC, but the Gators will have a good chance to get back to .500 in conference play against the Wildcats.
Kentucky sits at just 1-5 in the SEC, but that 1 win came just last Saturday when the Wildcats went to the Plains and took down Auburn, 10-3. UK didn’t just win the game, it also directly led to another SEC coach getting fired, with Auburn’s Hugh Freeze losing his job the very next day. Kentucky will try to make it 2 SEC wins in a row back at home against Florida.
ESPN’s SP+ is available for all of the Week 11 matchups, and the model is projecting slight favorite Florida to escape Lexington with a 26-21 victory.
Here’s the Florida-Kentucky prediction along with the rest of the Week 11 slate:
Florida has owned the all-time series between the SEC rivals, leading 54-20, which includes last year’s 48-20 victory in Gainesville.
Both teams still have a lot to play for in 2025, just not for what they both hoped or, in Florida’s case, expected.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
