Kentucky football was embarrassed in Gainesville against Florida 48-20 for its second loss in a row.

With plenty to talk about from the result, four key takeaways stood out.

1) Huge chunk gains kills the defense  

The Florida Gators put up the most points any team has so far this season against Brad White’s defense, scoring 27 in the first half alone.  

Although the Gators were held to just six points on their first two red zone trips, it didn’t take long for them to build momentum. 

True freshman quarterback DJ Lagway had his way with the Kentucky secondary when it came to the deep ball, helping lead the Gators to a win.  

Missing cornerback Maxwell Hairston for the third game in a row, the Wildcats gave up not one, not two, but three huge chunk plays leading to points for the Gators in the first half alone.  

Each of those plays were 40+ yard receptions to not just move the chains, but set the Gators up in the redzone for scoring plays.  

Interestingly, deep passes seemed to be the only ones Lagway was connecting on as, at the half, he had completed four of 11 pass attempts for 152 yards.  

Coming out of halftime, Lagway immediately hit Chimere Dike on a 44-yard completion, setting Florida up inside the 5-yard line. 

The Wildcats will look to solve their deep-ball kryptonite problem before heading back home to take on the Payton Thorne-led Auburn Tigers, whose longest completion has been at least 40 yards or more in every game but one. 

2) Barion Brown breaks records  

The offense was struggling to find its rhythm in the first half and only found success in the endzone thanks to a gutsy flea flicker call that finally put the Cats on the board. 

Florida, on the other hand, was having no problems connecting deep down the field and finishing in the red zone, punching in two touchdowns within one minute of the other.  

The Gators three-score lead saw the game slipping away from the Wildcats, and a quick score was necessary to stay in it.  

After back-to-back touchdowns by Florida, star receiver Barion Brown decided to take matters into his own hands, never even giving his quarterback the chance to touch the ball. 

On the kickoff, Brown took it 99-yards to the house to keep the Wildcats’ hopes alive, bringing the score to 27-13 before the half.  

The touchdown marked the fifth return for points in his career, which is not only the most of any active player in college football, but the most by one player in SEC history.

3) Running back by committee coming to fruition 

Coming into its matchup with Florida, the Bush Hamdan offense is one that has found most of its success this year on the ground, having just 90 more receiving yards than rushing yards so far.

After last week’s disappointing homecoming loss to Vanderbilt, many members of BBN were unhappy with the decision to sit running back Jamarion Wilcox after Head Coach Mark Stoops stated he needed to tie his shoes.  

Instead, the offense leaned on Demie Sumo-Karngbaye in the run game, who finished with 12 carries for 59 yards.  

This week, fans got their first taste of a running back by committee backfield against Florida as this was the first time DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum has been on the field in uniform.  

At the half, Kentucky had three rushers with 15+ rushing yards including quarterback Brock Vandagriff.  

Vandagriff wasn’t the only QB running the ball tonight as backup Gavin Wimsatt was brought in on four rushing attempts, spreading the touches out to six different rushers on the night.  

By the end of the game, Kentucky had four players go for at least 25 yards on the ground, but it ultimately proved not to be enough.  

Playing from behind like the Cats did against the Gators does prevent the offense from leaning on the rush game, but the numbers and success seen on the ground up to this point in the season indicate that Kentucky needs to stick to running the rock. 

4) Stoops learns from past mistakes 

Earlier in the season, Stoops took heat for his decision to punt the ball on fourth down late in the fourth quarter down by one.  

That decision led to a 13-12 loss at the hands of the No. 1 team in the nation. Just a few weeks later in Oxford, Mississippi, Stoops was faced with that decision again.  

Stoops decided to go for it then, with a huge 60+ yard reception by Brown confirming he made the right choice.  

Now, just a few weeks later in Gainesville, Stoops made that same choice to go for it on fourth down several times.  

While his team may have just converted 1-3 fourth down attempts, Stoops has now shown that he learned from his crucial mistake against Georgia.  

Now sitting at 3-4 on the season, the willingness to go for it in tight situations will be vital down the stretch.  

To become bowl eligible, the Wildcats will have to find three more wins on the season, and with No. 1 Texas and No. 11 Tennessee both coming on the road, Kentucky is going to have to make tough decisions in close games.  

Likely, those wins will need to be the remaining home games with Auburn, Murray State and Louisville. The last three games at home.  

Following the loss, Kentucky football returns to Kroger Field next Saturday, Oct. 24, against Auburn with kickoff slated for 7:45 p.m. ET.