Freshman quarterback Trey Burton scored a school-record six touchdowns Saturday night as the No. 8/9 Florida Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC) throttled the Kentucky Wildcats (3-1, 0-1 SEC) 48-14 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL.
Burton, who broke the record previously held by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, recorded five rushing touchdowns and caught another on a pass from redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley. He was responsible for all of the Gators offensive points on the night with the only other touchdown coming via an interception that redshirt sophomore cornerback Jeremy Brown grabbed by jumping a passing route in the second quarter.
In addition to Burton’s record night, Florida won its 24th straight game against Kentucky, 24th consecutive regular season game and 16th regular season Southeastern Conference game in a row. The win also marked No. 100 for head coach Urban Meyer, who became the sixth fastest coach in NCAA history to reach the milestone.
The Gators’ offense started the contest on fire, scoring 14 points in the first quarter on an 11-yard run and 11-yard reception by Burton. The points were the first scored in the opening quarter all season by Florida.
Down 21 in the second quarter, the Wildcats found themselves in the red zone for the first time all game. Instead of kicking a field goal on 4th down from the 11, Kentucky had wide receiver Chris Matthews pretend to run off the field on a field goal try. Instead, he split out wide and caught an open touchdown for their first score of the game.
The Wildcats would only reach the end zone once more in the contest with Matthews catching his second touchdown, this time on a 27-yard pass from Kentucky QB Mike Hartline with 6:58 remaining in the third quarter.
Florida’s defense was responsible for two picks Saturday with the second coming from sophomore linebacker Jon Bostic. Brown and Bostic joined senior safety Ahmad Black as Gators with three interceptions on the season. Florida’s defense has now accounted for a nation-high 12 picks and recorded UK’s first two turnovers of the season.
Brantley arguably had his best game of the season, going 24-of-35 for 248 yards, one touchdown and his first interception in his last 156 attempts. Sophomore running back Jeff Demps led Florida on the ground with eight carries for 57 yards but left the field with a sprained foot in the second quarter. Redshirt junior wide receiver Deonte Thompson brought in five balls for a team-high 86 yards, redshirt senior WR Carl Moore caught four passes for 72 yards (all first downs) and freshman WR Andre Debose recorded his first statistics of the season with four receptions for 36 yards.
Burton, the Gators’ star freshman, finished with 42 pass yards, 40 rushing yards and 37 reception yards to go along with his six touchdowns (five rushing).
For the Wildcats, top-tier athlete Randall Cobb threw an 11-yard touchdown and caught seven passes for 67 yards. Hartline finished 21-for-39 for 242 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. RB Derrick Locke took 23 carries for 103 yards, and Matthews took care of the receiving catching six balls for 114 yards and both of his team’s scores.
Coming off perhaps their most impressive performance of the season, Florida will face their biggest test on the road next Saturday against the No. 1/1 Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0, 1-0 SEC) in Tuscaloosa, AL. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m., and the game will air live on CBS.
John Raoux/Associated Press
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