A lot has gone wrong for Georgia this season, but there was feeling in the Bulldogs’ locker room after Saturday’s resounding victory over Kentucky that things are starting to go right at the right time.
Not only did the Bulldogs pull off another dominating SEC road victory — 63-31 over the Wildcats — but they’re slowly getting back to full strength just in time for the biggest game of the season.
Tailback Sony Michel came back Saturday after missing the previous six weeks with a shoulder injury. He’ll be joined next week by yet another notable tailback — Todd Gurley — when the Bulldogs play host to No. 3 Auburn in an all-or-nothing game at Sanford Stadium. Even long-lost receiver Jonathon Rumph made an impact.
Georgia will be close to full strength when they kick off Saturday, for its first home game in 42 days.
“It’s going to be nice to be home, period,” Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. “Just playing there at home in front of our fans is going to be so meaningful to everybody. I’m sure our fans’ blood will be pumping; our players’ blood will be pumping; the coaches’ (blood). It’s going to be exciting for sure.”
The Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 SEC) offered plenty of excitement against Kentucky. They got two kick returns for touchdowns from Isaiah McKenzie and scored on every offensive possession besides a kneel-down to end the first half before they took their foot off the accelerator in the fourth quarter.
The final tally of 63-31 represented the most points scored by the Bulldogs in an SEC game since 1942, when they beat Florida 75-0.
“We did that without Todd, so I think there’s a lot more that we can do,” said freshman tailback Nick Chubb, who led the Bulldogs with 170 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown.
Said Richt of the 559-yard day: “It’s going to be fun to watch that tape. We didn’t punt. We didn’t turn the ball over. Just an awesome day.”
The victory was Georgia’s third in four games it played in five weeks away from Sanford Stadium. A win next week and a Missouri loss in one of its final three SEC games would put the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game for the third time in four years.
Senior Hutson Mason had his most efficient day as Georgia’s starting quarterback, completing 13 of 16 passes for 174 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.
It was quite a contrast to last week, when the Bulldogs scored just 20 points in an 18-point loss to Florida.
“I don’t think there was an importance in the way we won,” Mason said. “The important part was how we responded. In life you get hit in the chin, you face adversity, people call for your job, people are going to say you stink. For us, for anybody, it’s how you respond.”
The game also marked the triumphant return of freshman Michel. After sitting out the past six weeks with a broken shoulder blade, Michel backed up Nick Chubb and had 84 yards and a touchdown as the freshmen combined for 254 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 29 carries.
Meanwhile, Gurley watched the game in Athens after missing his fourth game because of an NCAA suspension for accepting improper benefits. He’ll play his first game Saturday since being declared eligible by UGA on Oct. 9.
“(Opponents) will just have to deal with it,” Chubb said of the three backs being united after this week. “I’m glad I’m on this side of the ball playing with these guys instead of trying to defend it. I can’t imagine.”
Georgia didn’t run away with this one until the back stretch. The Bulldogs had an 11-point lead when they kicked off to Kentucky to open the second half. But the Wildcats, who rolled up 238 yards offense of in the first half, tripped up on their first possession of the third quarter.
Quarterback Patrick Towles found Ryan Timmons open over the middle and fired a hard pass to him just inside the hash marks. But the football careened off Timmons’ hands, and Georgia’s Corey Moore was there to make a diving interception before the ball hit the ground.
Taking over at the Kentucky 36, Georgia used four Chubb runs to set up a play-action pass from Mason from the 10. Tight end Jeb Blazevich hauled it in to quickly stretch the lead to 42-24.
“The message was we had to get out there and play in the second half like we did in the first quarter,” senior linebacker Amarlo Herrera said. “(Moore’s) interception was a big play. It set up a touchdown and changed the momentum.”
Victimized in the first half, Georgia’s defense forced the Wildcats into a three-and-out on the next possession. McKenzie caught the subsequent punt near the UGA sideline, dodged two defenders, then took it to the other side of the field on the way to a 59-yard return for a touchdown.
It was McKenzie’s second special-teams score of the day. The 5-foot-8, 164-pound freshman had a 90-yard touchdown return on the game’s opening kickoff, giving him three kick-return touchdowns for the season.
“They were kicking with the wind, so when he kicked it short, I was kind of surprised,” McKenzie said. “But when I caught it I just hit the hole and, there ya go.”
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