5 reasons why Kentucky's 31st straight loss to Florida was the most painful yet

When one team has lost to another 31 straight times, there's bound to be some heartbreaking moments, but Kentucky's loss to Florida on Saturday definitely ranks as the worst in the streak.

Despite the Wildcats controlling the contest for almost the entire 60 minutes, they somehow blew a 13-point lead in the final quarter and lost on a blown defensive assignment in the final minute.

Here are five reasons why Saturday's loss was the most crushing of the nation's longest active losing streak to one opponent:

Florida had 9 players suspended

Florida has been playing without the services of nine players all season due to a suspension for misuse of school funds. Two of those players happen to be last year's leading receiver, Antonio Callaway, and leading rusher, Jordan Scarlett. Kentucky has never been able to match Florida's talent on the field, but losing players of that caliber certainly made it much closer heading into play.

Florida was playing its 3rd-string QB

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Florida's quarterback situation has resembled a dumpster fire for a few years now, and redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks got the start this time for the Gators. While Franks' stats weren't terrible, he struggled to move the offense and was pulled for Luke Del Rio in the second half. The 6-foot-1 junior, who hadn't seen action since a Nov. 5 loss last season, threw an interception on his third throw of the game. Despite throwing for just 74 yards, Del Rio was somehow able to lead the Gators back from the dead for the stunning win.

Kentucky had a 13-point lead with 8 minutes left

An Austin MacGinnis field goal gave Kentucky a 13-point lead with just over 11 minutes to play, and, given the plight of Florida's offense, should have iced the win. They held that lead until Brandon Powell cut the deficit to six with 7:58 left on the clock, but had a chance to milk the clock on offense following that score. That didn't go according to plan, as the Gators' swarming defense forced a quick three-and-out, giving Florida plenty of time to manufacture a game-winning drive.

Kentucky had 10 men on the field for game-winning TD

With Florida on the 5-yard line and 49 seconds to play, Kentucky took a timeout to set their defense for the ensuing play. Apparently, Mark Stoops didn't go over player assignments during that timeout, because 12 men ran back on the field for Kentucky. Two Wildcats noticed that and both decided to sprint off, leaving only 10 men to defend the Gators on the play. As you can see in the above video, the numbers mismatch couldn't have turned out worse.

Holding penalty took them out of field-goal range on final drive

Despite all of the above, Kentucky still had a chance to knock the monkey off its back with a late field goal. Benny Snell busted through the Gators' line and got the ball down to the Florida 25, which would have left a 42-yard attempt. Instead, Nick Haynes was whistled for a holding call that moved the ball back to the Florida 45-yard line with only six seconds to play. A quick passing play gave MacGinnis a 57-yard attempt at the buzzer, but it came up well short, securing the win for the Gators.