On Saturday night under the lights, Kentucky looked to shock the world and upset top-ranked Georgia. Mark Stoops‘ Wildcats played the Bulldogs better than almost everyone last year only losing 16-6. However, that didn’t happen down “Between The Hedges.” Kirby Smart’s club dominated the Cats in every facet of the game. It wasn’t pretty but let’s break it down as Georgia Blasts Kentucky 51-13.
Cats Can’t Rise To The Occasion
A Complete Disaster
In the last two games Kentucky’s gotten off to quick starts while the Bulldogs have been slow out of the gate all year. Unfortunately for the Big Blue Nation Georgia was ready from the outset. Taking the opening kickoff Carson Beck led UGA down 75 yards in less than four minutes. Beck to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint for a 40-yard score gave them a 7-0 lead.
Following a Kentucky punt Georgia marched down the field again and went up 14 on a Beck to Rara Thomas score. Every time the Wildcats tried to get something going penalties hurt them. A holding call hurt their first possession while an unnecessary roughness call on Jager Burton stalled the next drive. Another unnecessary roughness flag on defensive lineman Deone Walker kept a Georgia drive going. That resulted in another score.
The Wildcats finally got on the board when Leary hit Josh Kattus. However, that was all UK could muster as Georgia went into the break leading 34-7. It was Kentucky’s largest halftime deficit since November 3, 2012, when Vandy led 27-0 at the half. Joker Phillips was soon fired after that game. Beck threw for 307 yards in the first half and ended a very impressive Kentucky defensive streak.
Kentucky had not allowed a 250-yard passer in their last 22 games. Beck has over 250 yards in the first half.
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) October 8, 2023
More Of The Same
Kentucky got a glimmer of hope starting the second half when Maxwell Hairston picked off Beck and returned it to the Bulldog 28-yard line. Two plays later Devin Leary hit Ray Davis with a 26-yard screen pass for a score. That made him the first UK player to have a touchdown in the first six games of the season.
That was the lone second-half highlight for the Cats as Georgia continued to move up and down the field at will. A Beck to Brock Bowers 21-yard score gave the Bulldogs a 44-13 lead. It was a bounce-back game for the Heisman candidate with seven receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown. Last season Kentucky held him to just two catches for 10 yards. With most of the starters for both teams out of the game, Brock Vandagriff completed a seven-yard strike to Andrew Paul and that was it as Georgia blasted Kentucky 51-13.
Looking Ahead
With the loss, Kentucky drops to 5-1 on the year and 2-1 in the SEC East. They fail miserably in their last chance to win the SEC East before the divisions go away next year. We’ll see how the loss affects their bowl projection. They’ll pick up the pieces and return home next week to face 5-1 Missouri. The Tigers led LSU 22-7 before Jayden Daniels rallied them to a 49-39 win.
As for the Bulldogs, they keep rolling as they move to 6-0 and 3-0 in league play. If you are scoring at home they’ve now won 23 straight games since losing to Alabama in the 2021 SEC Championship game. In addition, the Bulldogs remain the top seed in our bowl picks. They hit the road next week when they travel to Vanderbilt.
Final Thoughts
Many experts around the country felt this Georgia team was still figuring things out and not up to the standard of the last couple of years. As a result that gave the Wildcats a fighting chance. If you checked out our game preview we thought Georgia would win a close one.
Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out to be the case as Kentucky once again couldn’t handle the moment and was undone by sloppy play. It’s been a problem all year but against lesser competition, they could get away with it. Against Georgia, you have to be perfect in order to pull the upset.
Heading into Saturday Brad White’s defense ranked 19th in the country in total defense giving up 297 yards a game. Beck had 307 yards passing in the first half as Georgia racked up more than 600 total yards.
Georgia has 608 yards of total offense.
Last time Kentucky gave up 600 yards was 602 to Georgia on Nov. 23, 2013.
That was Mark Stoops’ first season as UK coach.
Georgia 51, Kentucky 13 with 2:38 left.
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) October 8, 2023
On the other side of the ball, Davis only gained 59 yards after running for 280 against Florida. Overall Kentucky gained 183 yards with Leary throwing for 128. Early in the game, Leary overthrew a wide-open Tayvion Robinson stopping UK’s momentum and forcing a punt. He’s gotta get going for the Wildcats to finish strong.
Thanks for checking out our recap here at Last Word On College Football as Georgia blasts Kentucky 51-13. We’ll be back later in the week with a Missouri preview.
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