"I probably will remind them of that win over LSU," he said. "Before the game I will make sure we find time to watch some film of that win (over LSU)."
He wasn't eager to watch film of last year's loss at Florida. The Gators blocked two punts in the game's first five minutes and led 28-0 after one quarter.
"That was a real bad feeling," Smith said. "We shot ourselves in the foot and put ourselves out of the game early.
"Getting punts blocked like that just breaks your spirit. You don't know how to come back from that, especially in a situation like that when it was homecoming and they were coming off an upset loss to Mississippi."
The Gators are coming off a lackluster — for them — 23-13 victory over Tennessee. Florida was a 30-point favorite but struggled to win much like Kentucky did against underdog Louisville in its 31-27 victory last week.
"There was a lot of hype for that game just like we had for our game. I knew Tennessee would be fired up just like I knew Louisville would be," he said. "People just thought we would blow out Louisville and Florida would wipe up on Tennessee. But rivalries don't work that way."
Still, Smith knows no one across the country expects UK to win or perhaps even keep the game close. After all, Kentucky has not beaten Florida since a 10-3 victory in 1986.
"It actually makes me feel better that nobody is expecting us to win," Smith said. "I would rather have a chance to surprise people. That takes all the pressure off us."
'We can prove what we have this week'
He chuckled when a reporter suggested that UK wasn't getting any respect in the national polls after wins over Miami and Louisville.
"We can prove what we have this week. We have the right stage to prove we belong in the top 25," Smith said. "If you beat the No. 1 team, you should be in the top 25. If we do that and we don't make the top 25, then they should take votes away from whoever wouldn't vote for us."
Smith sometimes has had a propensity for making outlandish comments that find their way to opponents' bulletin boards. He made sure not to do that Monday.
"It is Florida, No. 1 Florida. I have to be careful what I say," Smith said. "I don't want to give them any bulletin board material and get them fired up and get another (quarterback Tim) Tebow speech (like he gave after the loss to Ole Miss last year)."
But is Florida unbeatable as some national college football analysts are suggesting?
"I don't think any team is totally invincible, but they have proven to be unbeatable right now since the Ole Miss loss," Smith said. "I don't really want to remind them of that."
Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin tweaked the Gators all summer with inflammatory remarks and his team responded by giving Florida fits. Couldn't Smith try that strategy?
"I am not going to do that," he laughed and said. "The media is not going to get me in trouble with coach (Rich) Brooks. I've learned to avoid that."
