A Wildcat ran all over Florida Field on Saturday night.
Fortunately for UF, he was wearing orange and blue.
Florida freshman Trey Burton replaced quarterback John Brantley to run on five direct snaps against Kentucky and found the end zone all five times.
The Wildcats had no answer for the wildcat quarterback.
Burton ran for touchdowns of 11, 10, nine, three and seven yards, respectively.
He also completed one pass for 42 yards and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brantley — the first receiving touchdown of his career — as No. 7 UF (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) beat Kentucky 48-14, giving the Gators 24 consecutive victories against the Wildcats and coach Urban Meyer his 100th career win in 118 tries.
Burton’s six-touchdown performance broke Tim Tebow’s record for the most scores in one game by a UF player.
Tebow found the end zone five times against South Carolina in 2007, the year he won his Heisman Trophy.
“It felt like a dream the whole night,” Burton said.
Burton’s effort helped get the Gators off to a fast start for the first time this season.
His first two touchdowns of the game are the only ones UF has scored in the first quarter this season.
Brantley threw for 101 yards in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 248 passing yards. His previous high was 172 against USF.
The offensive outburst was something the team was looking for heading into a matchup with No. 1 Alabama.
“We got tired of hearing all the junk, man,” center Mike Pouncey said. “We just wanted to come out and prove everybody wrong. [ESPN] had us on upset alert. We wanted to just keep everybody from all the negative stuff, talk about all the positives we got in our program.”
At least for a week, fans will do exactly that.
Wide receiver Andre Debose, who failed to record a catch in the first three games, hauled in four passes for 36 yards in the first quarter.
Cornerback Jeremy Brown, whose blown coverage led to a touchdown against the Volunteers, intercepted UK quarterback Mike Hartline and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.
On the Wildcats’ previous drive, linebacker Jon Bostic’s interception marked the first turnover this season by Kentucky.
And the Gators’ defense held the SEC’s second-highest scoring offense and second-best third-down conversion offense to 14 points and 5-for-14 on third downs.
“It gives us a lot of confidence, definitely a momentum booster,” Brantley said. “We’re just going to build off that. We have to prepare really hard this week and just build off that.”
Pouncey said the Gators’ poor preparation for the Crimson Tide before the 2009 SEC Championship Game was the main reason they lost to Heisman winner Mark Ingram and Co.
But this time around, Florida has spent months preparing for Alabama.
“It was a nasty taste last year with the loss, and this offseason was dedicated to beating Alabama,” defensive tackle Jaye Howard said. “To me, it’s like the biggest game of the year. Whoever wins this game is set on a smooth-sailing path.”
