Monday Huddle, presented by Eckrich: SEC East Showdown

Many expected Kentucky to be 5-0 when Week 6 arrived. Even more prognosticators expected Georgia to be 5-0 when Week 6 rolled around. Those expectations turned into truths, but there has been some unexpected with both teams entering another SEC East showdown game in Sanford Stadium.

Kentucky has the leading rusher in the SEC. Georgia’s run defense ranks No. 9 in the SEC in yards per rush allowed. Georgia ranks No. 8 in the SEC in yards per rush. Kentucky ranks No. 2 in the SEC in yards per rush allowed. Somehow, Kentucky enters this contest with a better rushing attack and better run defense according to the traditional stats. Each passing game is trying to work through some issues. The Bulldogs look mortal, and the Wildcats appear to be a consistent passing game away from being a contender.

We will witness a critical game in the SEC East race on Saturday night in Athens. KSR’s Monday Huddle is back to start a monster football week in the Bluegrass, but first, a message from our partner Eckrich.

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Eckrich is proud to present the $1 Million Challenge for Teachers! This 2023 college football season Eckrich, in partnership with Extra Yard for Teachers and Kroger, will invite a local teacher (and true hero) onto the field at the Kentucky vs. Alabama game on November 11^th.

The selected teacher, randomly selected from a list of nominations, will have a chance to throw a football through a target to win up to $1 million dollars in donations to fund local classroom projects and resources in their school and community. Nominate a teacher here for a chance to throw! Make sure to nominate your teacher by October 26^th.

First Down: Fixing the passing game

Kentucky entered the 2023 season with some different personnel strengths on offense. Kentucky landed NC State transfer quarterback Devin Leary from the transfer portal, and returning sophomore wideouts Barion Brown and Dane Key looked like future pros. However, we’ve seen a roller coaster from this offense.

For the second week in a row, Leary had a mediocre game throwing the football. The super senior completed only 45 percent of his 20 pass attempts with a 35 percent passing success rate and zero explosive completions. However, the Wildcats still rolled up over seven yards per play thanks to a dominant run game performance.

For the season, Leary’s passing success rate has dropped to 41.1 percent. Will Levis was at 41.2 percent last year despite his sack rate (11.6%) being much higher than Leary’s (2.7%). Kentucky is getting better protection from the big guys at the line of scrimmage, but some inaccurate throws, occasional bad reads, and numerous drops have led to a ton of passing game inefficiency.

Leary’s drop percentage is the highest in the Power Five. Kentucky needs their quarterback to make some better reads and avoid some bad throws, but he needs some help from his talented pass catchers. Brown and Key have combined for eight of Kentucky’s 10 drops. The Wildcats need more consistent play from their star wideouts.

Kentucky will eventually have to use the passing attack to win a football game at some point this season. That situation could arrive on Saturday. Will the Wildcats be able to do that if the game requires it? Only time will tell.

Second Down: Stopping Brock Bowers

New Georgia starting quarterback Carson Beck is having a good season. The former four-star recruit is completing 72 percent of his 32.2 throws per game on 9.3 yards per attempt with seven passing touchdowns and two interceptions. New offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is overseeing an operation that ranks inside the top 35 in yards per attempt.

One target has much to do with that success.

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers has been one of the best offensive skill talent players in college football since he arrived on campus. The California native is up to 149 career receptions for 2,237 yards, and 28 total touchdowns.

When the Dawgs need a play, Bobo and Beck look to go to No. 19.

.@carsonbeck01 to @brockbowers17 for the 40-yard TD strike. #GoDawgs

pic.twitter.com/u66HCOJmUj
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 30, 2023

The junior leads UGA in targets (40), receptions (26), receiving yards (413), and receiving touchdowns (three). When this offense needs a play, they are looking to Bowers. Last season, Kentucky had a successful defensive performance mostly due to taking Bowers (two receptions for 10 yards) out of the game. However, the versatile pass-catcher reeled in five receptions for 101 yards and two scores in Georgia’s 17-point win in this series two years ago.

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Kentucky has not had to face a pass-game weapon like this yet this season. How do the Wildcats match up with Bowers? That will be something to watch closely because if you slow down Bowers this offense can sputter.

Third Down: Can Kentucky score?

Kentucky is 4-0 against the spread in the series against Georgia since 2019. During that stretch, the Wildcats have kept games close due mostly to defense. Scoring points has been a big problem for Mark Stoops‘ program when facing Kirby Smart.

2016: Georgia 27, Kentucky 24
2017: Georgia 42, Kentucky 13
2018: Georgia 34, Kentucky 17
2019: Georgia 21, Kentucky 0
2020: Georgia 14, Kentucky 3
2021: Georgia 30, Kentucky 13
2022: Georgia 16, Kentucky 6

In each of the last four meetings, defensive coordinator Brad White has seen his defense hold the Bulldogs to 30 points or less. The defense is mostly doing its part in this series. Only one time in these meetings with White holding the call sheet has UGA scored more than 21 points.

For the second game in a row, this week is all about the offense.

Despite some inconsistencies in the passing game, Kentucky’s offense ranks No. 15 nationally in yards per play (7.24) and No. 21 in scoring offense (37.0). Despite ranking No. 122 in total plays (276), Liam Coen‘s offense ranks No. 10 in plays of 20-plus yards (33) and can land haymakers. Will that lead to success against a Georgia defense that ranks No. 4 nationally in play of 20-plus yards (10).

Kentucky has a defense good enough to win this game. Is the offense good enough? We will find out on Saturday.

The week ahead at KSR

Week 6 is here, and the second SEC road trip is on the slate for Kentucky. The Wildcats will need to travel by plane on Friday before playing a huge SEC game with stakes. There will be a prime-time kickoff in Athens, and we should see a rowdy atmosphere at Sanford Stadium. To help get us to Saturday, we will provide in-depth pregame content from now until kickoff.

KSR will have full coverage of Mark Stoops’ press conference on Monday before taking a look at a depth chart that could have some changes. Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel so you can see the first Rapid Reaction of the season this afternoon. From there, practice reports and daily podcasts will take over as Saturday quickly approaches.

Join the KSR Club! With a KSR membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Over at KSR+, we will have film notes up on the board, a full Week 4 recap on Wednesday, a lengthy scouting report on Florida on Thursday, and some against-the-spread picks on Friday.

Get ready for a big boy college football game. Buckle up for a very important week.