Georgia rebounds from Alabama loss with dominant win over Kentucky
ATHENS — Kirby Smart said his Georgia football team needed confidence, and a game with Kentucky provided an ideal opportunity.
The No. 12 Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC) scored their 16th consecutive win over the Wildcats, 35-14, on Saturday at Sanford Stadium, taking charge from the opening kick.
It was Georgia’s 44th-straight win against an unranked opponent, the longest streak in the FBS.
“I was excited about our guys getting a fast start, that was the goal,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “… We are not as efficient and together as we need to be, but we are physical, and we are resilient.”
Some questioned how the Bulldogs would bounce back after a disheartening 24-21 loss to Alabama that snapped what had been the nation’s longest home win streak at 33 games, but not Smart.
“I wasn’t shocked at all by the response by the team, I expected it,” Smart said. “I was proud of the way they played in the Alabama game. I told them, ‘We got a good football team, it didn’t always go our way, (but) we did a lot of good things in Alabama game.’
“If we continue to get better, then we’ll be where we need to be. If we don’t get better, then we won’t. And there’s only so many teams that are going to keep getting better.”
Quarterback Gunner Stockton (15-of-23 passing, 196 yards, one touchdown, one interception) capped Georgia’s first two drives against Kentucky (2-3, 0-3) with touchdown runs of 7 and 6 yards as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Tailback Chauncey Bowens, making his first career start, helped power the offense early with 54 of his game-high 70 yards rushing in the first half, including 32 yards on the opening drive as UGA seized control of the line of scrimmage.
The Wildcats scored their first touchdown on their second possession, cutting the lead to 14-7 after Alabama transfer Kendrick Law broke loose for a 38-yard catch on the final play of the first quarter to set up Cutter Boley’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Josh Kattus.
Boley finished 25-of-41 passing for 225 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception.
Stockton threw his first interception of the season on the ensuing second quarter drive, overthrowing an open London Humphreys on a post route at the Kentucky 8-yard line.
Smart said Stockton would surely like to have that throw back, but lessons were learned, and progress was made.
“I would say he had the most growth today in terms of downfield throws, stepping up in the pocket,” Smart said. “Still has some more (work) to do. He only had his first pick, I mean, it’s going to happen. It didn’t phase him.”
The Georgia defense made sure Stockton’s interception didn’t lead to points, holding the Wildcats’ to a three-and-out series.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 21-7 two series later when Dillon Bell scored on a 3-yard jet sweep at the 2:45 mark.
The momentum carried over to the second half when CJ Allen forced and recovered a fumble at the Kentucky 38 on the Wildcats’ opening series.
It was Georgia’s first recovered fumble of the season. Smart said the Bulldogs put extra work in this week on forcing turnovers.
Georgia converted the turnover into points with a five-play scoring drive, Bell taking a pitch on a misdirection play for his second touchdown of the game to make it 28-7 with 10:54 left in the third quarter.
Kentucky managed just one first down on its next possession before punting the ball back to the Bulldogs, and Stockton went back to work on what proved to be his final series in the game.
Georgia ground out 28 rushing yards on five plays before Stockton hit Bell with a 33-yard pass down the left sideline to the Kentucky 10. Three plays later, Stockton found Cash Jones over the middle, and Jones outraced the Wildcats’ defense into the end zone to make it 35-7.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi came on in relief of Stockton on the next series, the Bulldogs’ ninth possession of the game, and look sharp throwing the football.
Puglisi completed the three passes he threw on the drive, a 9-yarder to Colbie Young on a second-and-7 from the UGA 31, followed by strikes of 27 yards and 19 yards to freshman tight end Elyiss Williams to the Kentucky 20.
The Bulldogs kept the ball on the ground the next four plays, turning it over to Kentucky at the Wildcats’ 11-yard line when Josh McCray was stopped on a fourth-and-1.
Puglisi threw an interception on his second series at the UGA 43 with 2:22 remaining, finishing his day 3-of-4 for 49 yards.
Kentucky cashed in on the field position, Law catching a 5-yard touchdown pass from Boley with 1:51 remaining to close out the scoring.
Georgia, playing its second game without injured veteran Earnest Greene lll at right tackle, lost starting left tackle Monroe Freeling to a leg injury on the first offensive series on Saturday.
Smart plugged in redshirt sophomore Bo Hughley at the left tackle position and the Bulldogs didn’t appear to miss a beat the remainder of the game, holding Kentucky without a sack.
“They are warriors,” Smart said of what has quickly become a young and inexperienced offensive line this season. “They are a great group.”
The Bulldogs return to action against Auburn next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Georgia won’t play Kentucky next season with the SEC moving to a new nine-game scheduling model. It brings an end to what has been an annual series since 1956.
The Bulldogs will next play Kentucky on the road in Lexington in 2027.
The Wildcats have a bye next Saturday before playing host to Texas at a time yet to be determined on Oct. 18 at Kroger Field in Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington.
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
