LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks made another early exit during a star-crossed visit to Kentucky, setting the stage for another Gators backup to lead a fourth-quarter comeback.
In 2017, it was Luke Del Rio. On Saturday night, Kyle Trask stepped in for Franks and saved the day for the Gators.
This time, though, Franks was carted off the field with an injury, not relegated to the bench by his head coach. The 21-year-old's 18th consecutive start for the Gators could be his final one for quite awhile after what appeared to be a serious lower-leg injury.
But Trask, a 6-foot-5, 239-pound redshirt junior, looked more than capable of stepping in to lead the No. 9 Gators (3-0, 1-0 SEC). Trask engineered touchdown drives on two of three series to erase a 21-10 deficit during the final 15 minutes.
"Kyle's waiting for his moment," coach Dan Mullen said during a postgame interview with ESPN. "He played that way. There was never a doubt when he came in that he could do the job."
A 4-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw by Trask with 4:11 remaining capped the improbable comeback led by a player who has not made a college start during his four years at UF.
Trask, who finished 9-of-13 passing for 126 yards, then had to watch from the sideline as Kentucky looked to ruin his moment.
But a 35-field goal attempt by Chance Poore with 58 seconds remaining drifted wide right to end the upset bid by the Wildcats (2-1, 0-0).
Josh Hammond scored on a 76-yard jet sweep for the game's final points as UF was trying to run time off the clock, leaving an announced crowd of 63,076 at Kroger Field in stunned silence.
A day after Friday the 13th and under a full moon, the Wildcats were poised to hand the Gators back-to-back losses in the series for the first time since 1977 and 1976.
Kentucky quarterback Sawyer Smith, a Troy transfer making his first SEC start, was brilliant during the first half, opening the game 9-of-9 passing to help his team take a 14-7 halftime lead.
When Franks was injured, the Gators looked desperate.
The injury followed a bold call on fourth-and-1 sniffed out and stopped by the Wildcats on their 38-yard line. Following a play-action fake, Franks could not find an open receiver and tried to scramble for the first down.
Franks' right leg was pinned under him as he was tackled by a host of Kentucky players, led by 6-foot-9, 311-pound end Calvin Taylor.
After UF stopped the Wildcats on a fourth-and-1 of their own, Trask took over and led the Gators to a 62-yard touchdown drive on six plays, culminating with a 8-yard touchdown run by Lamical Perine following a pitch from Trask.
