LEXINGTON, Ky. _ The Florida Gators needed a Hail Mary touchdown pass from quarterback Feleipe Franks to beat Tennessee.
At Kentucky, Franks was on the bench during the Gators' latest dramatic comeback.
It was Luke Del Rio's turn to play hero.
Del Rio's 5-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Swain with 43 seconds to go completed a 13-play, 58-yard drive and extended the longest active winning streak in college football to 31 games.
The turn of events and 28-27 win by No. 20 Florida stunned a sellout crowd at Kroger Field, with the host Wildcats squandering a 13-point fourth-quarter lead. Poised to make history, Kentucky instead was left to endure more heartbreak.
Kentucky did have one final chance following Swain's score _ his first catch of the 2017 season.
After a touchback on the kickoff, Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson completed an 11-yard pass to receiver Garrett Johnson, placing the Wildcats at their own 36-yard line.
UF was called for roughing the passer on the play, giving Kentucky another 15 yards and putting the ball on the Florida 49-yard line.
Three plays later, Johnson completed a 14-yard pass to Charles Walker to the UF 35-yard line on fourth down. On the next play, running back Benny Snell gained 10-yards on a run up the middle, but a Kentucky holding call negated the play and forced the Wildcats to use their final timeout.
After a short completed pass and run out of bounds, Kentucky missed a 57-yard field goal to end the game. It allowed the Gators (2-1, 2-0 SEC) to escape with the win.
UF still might not be the team to beat in the SEC East, the win might have calmed an anxious fan base a bit.
Things looked hopeless for the Gators when Kentucky stopped them on fourth-and-four from the UF 48 early in the fourth quarter. The play call reeked of desperation and backfired when the Wildcats' Austin MacGinnis added a 50-yard field goal with 11:33 remaining in the game to push Kentucky's lead to 13 points.
But Del Rio and the Gators finally answered, going 80 yards on seven plays highlighted by 50-yard completion from first-year freshman receiver Kadarius Toney, who took a pitch from Del Rio and then found sophomore receiver Tyrie Cleveland. After four straight runs by freshman Malik Davis, receiver Brandon Powell scored on a 6-yard run off a direct snap.
Following a three-and-out possession by Kentucky, Powell came up big again. After a false start penalty turned a third-and-1 into a third-and-6, Powell received a swing pass from Del Rio and slipped two tacklers, including Kentucky safety Mike Edwards, who finished with a team-high 11 stops.
Facing fourth-and-2 from the Kentucky 40, Del Rio completed a 10-yard pass across his body to tailback Mark Thompson. On third-and-8 from the Wildcats' 28, Del Rio found tight end DeAndre Goolsby for seven yards.
A 7-yard run by freshman tailback Malik Davis moved UF to the Kentucky 14. A 5-yard run by Davis and 4-yard run by Powell set the stage for the game-winning pass.
It spoiled a stage clearly set for a Wildcat upset.
Kentucky entered the field amid smoke, fireworks and thundering cheers from a crowd donning blue shirts and waving white pom-poms.
Earlier in the week, Swain called Saturday's game Kentucky's "Super Bowl." But the stakes Saturday night were high for the Gators, too.
The teams traded touchdowns and were tied 14 at halftime.
The Wildcats opened the second half with fangs bared.
After forcing a three-and-out possession by UF, Kentucky returned a punt 18 yards to the Wildcats' 39. Following a lost yard by tailback Benny Snell Jr. on first down, quarterback Stephen Johnson torched the Gators' secondary with three straight complete passes _ of 12, 22 and 23 yards _ to give the Wildcats a 21-14 lead.
An 18-yard loss on a bad shotgun snap forced Kentucky to settle for a 42-yard field goal by MacGinnis and a 24-14 lead _ lost points that would loom large and ultimately cost Kentucky their best chance to end the UF win streak.
