LEXINGTON, Kentucky – The Georgia Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 SEC) took an after-midnight flight home to Athens following their excruciatingly difficult 13-12 win over Kentucky Saturday night. They were able to sleep in Sunday morning thanks to the first bye week of the season, but that might be all the rest Georgia gets.
That’s because Alabama awaits, and it has a bye, too. However, the No. 4-ranked Crimson Tide (3-0) beat the Bulldogs home by several hours after enjoying a relatively leisurely afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin. There, they dispatched the Wisconsin Badgers 42-10 at Camp Randall Stadium.
Alabama will host Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium the Saturday after next, Sept. 28 (7:30 p.m., ABC).
The Bulldogs were missing several players Saturday and lost a couple more over the course of the 60-minute bloodletting at Kroger Field. The question for Georgia’s coach Kirby Smart is just how much time can he allow for recuperation? Kentucky demonstrated there’s much work still to be done.
“I don’t know that we can rest and recover,” Smart said after a subdued celebration with his team. “That’s what people think bye weeks mean. We’ve got to find a way to improve and get better. We were really beat-up coming into this game, specifically at one position, and it was a really tough week for us.”
Defensive line is the area hardest hit for Georgia. Meanwhile, Bama’s offense suddenly seems to be hitting its stride behind quarterback Jalen Milroe. His TD-responsibility total is up to nine after he passed for 196 yards and 3 scores and ran for two more on Saturday. Also coming into his own is freshman receiver Ryan Williams. The 17-year-old wideout had 4 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown against the Badgers, which gives him 4 TD and 285 yards through three games.
So, Georgia’s defense will be in for its toughest test to date when it makes only the 11th trip in school history to Tuscaloosa. At least the Bulldogs have two weeks to prepare.
Here are five other things we learned Saturday:
‘Brock & Pop’ show for Kentucky
Revenge was the external narrative for former Bulldogs Brock Vandagriff and Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson coming into Saturday’s game. Internally, though, it was about nothing of the sort.
While the Kentucky transfers were upset to have not pulled off the upset, they were happy just to compete intensely with their old teammates like they did so many times in three years of practices in Athens.
Vandagriff, a redshirt junior quarterback, finished with 114 yards on 14 of 27 passing and 26 rushing but was sacked three times. Vandagriff said Smart was joking with him about how hard he was to bring down.
“He was just telling me he was proud of my fight,” Vandagriff said. He said it was a tough game and I’m a tough player and a competitor. Then he told me he loved me and I told him I love him back. One of the best coaches out there, obviously.”
Dumas-Johnson had just three tackles from his middle linebacker position but was on the field calling signals for every meaningful defensive snap. He and Smart hugged for a long time at midfield.
“I love those kids,” Smart said. “Those kids were tremendous for our program. We probably don’t win national championships back-to-back without those two guys.”
An update on Daniel Harris
Georgia cornerback Daniel Harris did not play Saturday. But Smart said that wasn’t necessarily because the defensive back was jailed for driving 106 mph Thursday night in Athens.
“Daniel was available tonight,” Smart said. “It was a coach’s decision.”
It appeared Harris’ situation was handled the same way Smart handled running back Trevor Etienne in the season opener. In both cases, the players traveled with the team, dressed out in full uniform and went through all pregame meetings, warmups and rituals, only to not leave the sideline during the game.
Etienne had pleaded no contest to reckless driving and guilty to underage possession of alcohol over the summer. Smart told ESPN that Etienne didn’t play due to a violation of team policy, but otherwise did not issue any statements as to why the junior transfer from transfer didn’t play.
Harris also has been charged with reckless driving and issued four other misdemeanor traffic citations after Thursday’s police encounter on the 10 Loop. Before Saturday, had almost matched starter Julian Humphrey in snaps at cornerback.
Georgia still not allowing touchdowns
Georgia was a long way from shutting down Kentucky defensively. But once again, its opponent could not reach the end zone. The Bulldogs have not allowed a touchdown in 12 quarters this season.
On the year, the Bulldogs have allowed just 18 points on six field goals. They entered Saturday’s game ranked tied for fourth in the nation in scoring defense.
When Kentucky kicked a 55-yard field goal with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter, it was the first score the Bulldogs have allowed in the first half this season. The Wildcats finished with 284 yards on 73 plays, including 170 rushing.
Georgia sacked Vandagriff three times and added 5 QB hurries. Raylen Wilson was credited with the biggest play of the game late in the second quarter. His strip-sack knocked the ball loose, and Damon Wilson recovered the ball at Kentucky 23, which was a loss of 26 yards. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins and Gabe Harris also registered sacks, and there were 45 yards worth of lost-yardage plays.
Cornerback Daylen Everette and safety Malaki Starks led the Bulldogs with 8 tackles each. Linebackers CJ Allen and Chaz Chambliss were next with with 6 apiece. It was a career-high for Chambliss, too.
Busy night for Georgia, Kentucky kickers
Kentucky place-kicker Alex Raynor not only accounted for all of the Wildcats’ points on four field goals, but two of them were from over 50 yards. Raynor’s 55-yarder was a school record and his 51-yarder later made him the first UK kicker ever to make two over-50s in a game.
Georgia kicker Peyton Woodring had two field goals. His 34-yarder knotted the game at 3-3 late in the first half. Raynor’s 32-yard with 5 seconds remaining allowed the Wildcats to carry a 6-3 advantage into the halftime locker room. Woodring converted a 30-yard field goal with 3:52 remaining. At that point, the dueling kickers had exchanged five field goals in the first 45 minutes of play. Raynor’s 51-yarder with 8:01 to play was Kentucky’s final points of the game.
Georgia punter Brett Thorson also had his busiest day of the young season. The junior from Melbourne, Australia has a running banter with quarterback Carson Beck about never letting him onto the field. But Thorson would enter the field of play six times on Saturday, averaging 49.5 yards with a long of 58.
His six punts were more than he had in the previous two games (5). Beck was still in the game on only one of those previously, however.
Georgia football injuries piling up
Georgia guard Tate Ratledge, a preseason All-American, left the game with a leg injury at the 9:28 mark of the second quarter and did not return. Redshirt junior Micah Morris played the rest of the way.
Afterward, Smart said Ratledge had suffered both knee and ankle injuries.
“I don’t know which is worse or how bad it is,” Smart said. “I just don’t know much about it.”
Ratledge is a fifth-year senior from Rome. He missed the 2021 season when he suffered a Lizfranc fracture of his right foot and season opener against Clemson. He was redshirted as a freshman in 2020.
The Bulldogs came into the game missing four key players listed as out on the SEC’s Availability Report in defensive linemen Warren Brinson, Mykel Williams and Jordan Hall and running back Roderick Robinson
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