Kentucky's special teams made another costly error vs. Georgia
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a mistake by Kentucky’s special teams cost them an opportunity to win the football game. Against No. 1 Georgia, nonetheless.
Down 16-0 in the fourth quarter, Kentucky’s offense came to life, Will Levis leading the Cats 99 yards to make it 16-6 Georgia with 9:52 remaining. The two-point attempt failed, but Kentucky’s defense stepped up and forced a three-and-out. For the first time, Georgia had to punt the ball away, giving Kentucky a chance to make it a one-possession game with 6:55 left. With new life, the Cats marched 70 yards down the field into Georgia’s red zone, which is when disaster struck.
On 2nd and 9, Will Levis was sacked for a loss of four yards. Levis’ pass to Barion Brown on 3rd and 13 was incomplete after Brown got tangled up. Officials initially called intentional grounding — which was bogus — but picked the flag up after Mark Stoops went nuclear.
Matt Ruffolo came out to attempt the 38-yard field goal, but a bad snap from Cade Degraw to Chance Poore doomed the kick. It went wide left, and the Cats remained down by 10 with 4:17 left. Kentucky would go on to lose 16-6.
“What do I say?” Stoops said when asked about the missed kick after the game. “It’s not good. That, anybody can see. That doesn’t — I have no good answer, you know. We do it all the time. We have multiple people do it. It’s not good. It’s — it’s not good.”
Stoops nodded when asked if the special teams issues are mental.
“Yeah, they do. I think it’s fair. It definitely does. I’m a terrible golfer, but if I miss a three-footer, that next one’s in my head. So it’s kind of like kicking, I’m sure it is.”
One missed field goal isn’t why Kentucky lost. Once again, the Cats struggled in the red zone, converting on only one of three trips. For three quarters, the offense couldn’t capitalize on the defense’s hard work, which feels like the song of the season. But maybe, just maybe, it’s time to hire a special teams coach.
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