GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida is used to gearing up for an important SEC game in September against a pro-caliber quarterback with Heisman hopes. Only this time, it's not Peyton Manning.
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UK at FLORIDA
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Records: Kentucky 3-0, 0-0 SEC; Florida 2-1, 0-1.
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Ben Hill Stadium at Florida Field (83,000), Gainesville, Fla.
TV: Channel 12.
Radio: WSAI-AM (1530).
Last Meeting: Florida 55, UK 28 (Sept. 27, 1997). Florida leads series 31-17.
What to watch: Consider this Tim Couch's Heisman audition. In UK's only appearance on national network TV, all eyes are on the junior QB. UK must avoid digging a hole like the 28-0 deficit it faced last year.
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Tim Couch and the Kentucky Wildcats have a lot riding on today's game in the Swamp, where the No. 8 Gators have tied a school record with 23 straight home victories.
Kentucky is off to its best start since winning its first five games in 1984, which is also the last time the Wildcats had a winning record. Beating Florida for the first time in 12 years would show they are a serious contender for the SEC title.
For Couch, the stakes are just as high.
How he fares against the nation's fourth-ranked pass defense could propel him toward the front of the Heisman race -- or raise questions whether his awesome numbers have been padded against cupcakes.
"There are going to be a lot of voters who want to see what I do against the best teams," said Couch, who has thrown for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns in three games. "As long as my team wins, I don't care what kind of numbers I put up."
It doesn't figure to be easy.
The Gators, who never had much of a problem with Manning or the Volunteers, are coming off a 20-17 overtime loss at Tennessee in which they had five turnovers -- four of them fumbles -- and then missed a 32-yard field goal that would have tied the game.
"I think we can bounce back," said coach Steve Spurrier. "We haven't drowned here in our sorrow in years past, and I don't expect us to now."
The Gators have lost back-to-back games just once since Spurrier took over in 1990. They haven't lost at home to Kentucky since 1979.
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