Georgia Rolls Past Kentucky in 35-14 Blowout

There was a moment where it looked like Kentucky was going to make Kirby Smart‘s team earn it, but that moment was fleeting. Georgia completely overwhelmed the Cats in the second half en route to a 35-14 victory.

Kentucky was explosive in the second quarter. Kendrick Law took a screen pass 38 yards down the field, and two plays later, Josh Kattus sprang free for an untouched 29-yard touchdown. Nobody was nervous at Sanford Stadium until Jordan Lovett picked off Gunner Stockton‘s pass on the ensuing drive.

The stars were aligning. Kentucky had the ball with a chance to tie the ball game at 14. Were they going to mess around and make Kirby Smart sweat?

You know the answer to that question because you’ve watched Mark Stoops football before. It’s been 10 years since Kentucky overcame a 14-point deficit, and that was against Eastern Kentucky. A comeback against this Georgia team wasn’t in the cards. The Cats had back-to-back three-and-outs, opening the door for Georgia to land a knockout blow.

(Almost) a Great 2-Minute Drive for Kentucky

Hope was not completely lost for Big Blue Nation until halftime. After Georgia took a 21-7 lead, the Dawgs’ kickoff went out of bounds, giving Kentucky a short field to punch in a score with 2:45 on the clock and two timeouts. Cutter Boley was formidable in the pocket, seamlessly connecting with wide receivers (25-41, 225 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) to stay ahead of the chains until things got weird.

On one third and short, Kentucky couldn’t get lined up. As wide receivers were flipping to the other side of the field, time was ticking, nearly 20 seconds, before the Cats had to burn a timeout.

It wasn’t great, but the Cats picked up a first down. On the next snap, Willie Rodriguez caught a pass inside the 10-yard line. Replay review overturned it. Still, Kentucky got it down to the 8-yard line with 8 seconds to play. They ultimately had to settle for a field goal, and Jacob Kauwe hooked it, his first miss of the season.

Quick Turnover Turns it into a Rout

Even though they left that final drive empty-handed, Kentucky got the ball first to start the second half. After picking up a first down, it looked like the Cats were building confidence. That’s when another costly mistake sent the team spiraling.

Seth McGowan was stripped. Officials initially ruled that Kentucky recovered the fumble. They did not hurry to the line of scrimmage to get a snap off, allowing replay review to buzz in and overturn the call. Six plays later, Georgia was in the end zone.

Georgia led 35-7 with five minutes to play in the third quarter, then took its foot off the gas and played the underclassmen. McGowan eventually left the game early with an injury, finishing with 44 rushing yards on 11 attempts and three receptions for 21 yards.

Georgia Gashed the Kentucky Defense

The secondary was supposed to be a strength of the team. Outside of Lovett’s interception, they were picked apart all afternoon.

The run defense had a few good moments, but it wasn’t good enough to put Georgia into difficult situations on third down. The Dawgs started the game 9-10 on third down. The only time they didn’t convert was on a third and 13. That’s because Georgia only needed to get about 5 yards on each attempt.

Most Kentucky fans expected a blowout loss. It still didn’t feel good to sit through this demoralizing defeat at Sanford Stadium.

Kentucky vs. Georgia Box Score

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