It was a typically tough and close fight for the Dawgs on Saturday night in Lexington.
As with the last trips to Kentucky, Kirby Smarts The Dawgs had everything to do with the combative, heated Wildcats and only narrowly escaped Kroger Field with a narrow 13-12 victory.
And Smart’s troops left Lexington with plenty of work to do during the off-week before their visit to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 28.
Or as a struggling quarterback from Georgia Carson Beck said immediately after the game: “Thank God we have a week off. Kentucky is a physical game.”
Nevertheless, after three games of the 2024 season, The Dawgs did not allow any opponent to get into their end zone. In fact, Georgia has not allowed a single touchdown in four consecutive games since last season and has only scored 18 points against the team this season.
Dawgs receiver Dillon Bell catches a ball during Saturday night’s game. (Hyosub Shin/AJC) (HYOSUB SHIN / AJC/Dawgnation)
After the game, Smart attributed preventing the Dawgs from crossing the goal line to “good defense in the red zone and avoiding explosives. I mean, look, football is tough these days. Our defense takes a lot of pride in the way they play.”
Smart noted that “You look at our defensive line, the freshmen are stepping up. We have freshmen all over the field. Guys are getting put into their spots, battling through injuries, all that. I’m super proud of them and how they played tonight.”
Corner Daniel Everette led Georgia’s defense with 8 tackles, including 6 solo. Eleven Bulldogs had at least 4 stops.
But, says Smart, “we’re going to get better and better offensively. We have to keep getting better, but that’s pretty difficult.”
Offensive, as Smart ABCs said Molly McGrath After the game, “we did what we had to do” to win.
Georgia defensive back Julian Humphrey blocks a pass intended for Kentucky wide receiver Fred Farrier II. (Hyosub Shin/AJC) (HYOSUB SHIN / AJC/Dawgnation)
But they didn’t do much more than that. “We didn’t look good tonight,” Smart admitted. But, he said, “you have to find ways to win these games, and that’s what we did.”
Georgia got off to another slow start on Saturday night, as the offensive line was outplayed early in the game by an aggressive Wildcats defense that seemed to shake Beck’s confidence while also stopping the Bulldogs’ offense. (And that was the case even before OL mainstay Tate Ratledge left the game due to ankle and knee injuries.)
UGA converted just 5 of 13 third-down attempts (just 1 in the first half), while Kentucky converted 9 of 16. The Wildcats outgained Georgia on offense with 284 yards and the Dawgs with 262 yards, and Kentucky also dominated time of possession, 35:02 to 24.58.
The Cats, who were embarrassed 31-6 at home by South Carolina last week, definitely seemed like the more motivated team.
The result was UGA’s lowest first-half offensive output of the Smart era and the fewest first-half yards since 2009 – just 3 first downs and 63 yards. Kentucky, meanwhile, had 12 first downs and 130 total yards in the first half.
UGA linebacker Damon Wilson recovers a fumble from Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff. (Jason Getz/AJC) (Jason Getz/Dawgnation)
One reason for Georgia’s limited performance was that Beck had his worst performance as a starter for the Dawgs, looking shaky, especially in the first half, when he missed several throws and dropped the ball on a snap.
The Dawgs’ offense didn’t seem to find a rhythm until the second half (and then only sporadically), but receiver Dominic Lovett said Georgia’s difficulty moving the ball was largely the fault of the Wildcats. “They played energetically and physically; they played a great game. Compliments to them. I’m not going to say we didn’t find a rhythm; this is just a very good team.”
On the plus side, Georgia didn’t have a turnover for the third straight game. And the Bulldogs had three sacks (Kentucky had none), and Georgia forced three fumbles, but only recovered one, leading to a field goal for UGA.
As for Georgia’s offense, it was more productive in the second half, with running back Trevor Etienne Although he gained important yards and Beck completed several passes, overall it was a barely passable performance for the offensive coordinator. Mike Bobo’s Unit.
As Smart said DJ Shockley According to a postgame interview with the Georgia Radio Network, the Dawgs missed a lot of blocks and weren’t particularly good on offense on the perimeter. “There are a lot of things we can improve,” he concluded.
Dawgs linebacker Raylen Wilson sacks Wildcats QB Brock Vandagriff, resulting in a fumble. (Jason Getz/AJC) (Jason Getz / [email protected]/Dawgnation)
Of course, the struggling Dawgs were missing four injured starters, including three from the defensive line. “It was a little bent, but not broken,” Smart told Shockley, adding with a wry laugh, “We’re missing a few guys up front!”
Smart, however, said he was proud of his team’s “resilience,” adding that he considered the game against Kentucky “a cultural success because the guys never panicked.”
“It’s never easy on the road in the SEC,” Beck told the media after the game. “Look at the first SEC road games in recent years. Missouri, 2022, bitter battle; Auburn last year, bitter battle; this year, bitter battle. But we knew that going in.”
Still, as Smart said, there are many areas that need to be improved as these Dawgs navigate a very difficult schedule, especially traveling.
Just a small low point: Georgia’s defense missed an incredible number of tackles on Saturday night. It seemed as if Kentucky running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye (who netted 98 yards) constantly ran through arm tackles to gain extra yards. The Cats had several long drives, including an 11-play, 61-yard run early in the second half that lasted nearly 6 minutes. Fortunately, it ended with only a 40-yard field goal.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart reacts to a referee’s call during Saturday’s win over the Wildcats. (Jason Getz/AJC) (Jason Getz / [email protected]/Dawgnation)
Looking ahead, injuries seem to be Georgia’s biggest concern for defense, but on offense, the Dawgs can’t afford too many slow starts.
And while Etienne had a great performance in the fourth quarter and Georgia finally scored a touchdown, he struggled in the running attack against the Cats’ very robust defense.
The Dawgs also received too many penalties – although that seemed to be due in part to the overplaying of the SEC referees that night, especially in the first half when the boys in black and white wanted to control the game.
That evening, Beck completed 15 of 24 passes for 160 yards. On the other side, the Kentucky transfer QB Brock Vandagriff, who was Beck’s replacement last season, completed 14 of his 27 pass attempts for a career-high 114 yards.
Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck is tackled by Kentucky defensive back Zion Childress. (Jason Getz/AJC) (Jason Getz / [email protected]/Dawgnation)
Smart, who said he and Vandagriff hugged and said they loved each other after the game, praised the former Bulldog but added, “We were able to stop him when we needed to.”
Dominic Lovett was Georgia’s best receiver in the game, with 6 catches for 89 yards, including a 33-yard pass, the highest on the team. Etienne was the Dawgs’ best ground gainer with 79 net yards on 19 carries. He nearly scored a touchdown on a long run that was ruled out, and the Georgia touchdown came later in the series when BransonRobinson over the goal line. With 12:20 minutes left, the Bulldogs took the lead for the first time with 13:9.
Another important play came when the tight end Oscar Delp was knocked over and fumbled after receiving a pass where he seemed to be just short of the marker, but Arian Smith won the ball for an important 1st try (which was awarded after one of several overly lengthy video reviews by the referees).
In special teams, Brett Thorson had 6 punts for an average of 49.5 yards. Georgia had only punted 5 times in the first two games. Thorson has yet to have a punt returned this year.
Georgia offensive lineman Tate Ratledge, seen here being tended to by head coach Kirby Smart and the training staff, was injured during the game against Kentucky. (Jason Getz/AJC) (Jason Getz / [email protected]/Dawgnation)
The Dawgs have now won 42 consecutive regular season games (a current school record), 28 consecutive regular season games (another current school record), and 16 consecutive road games (also a current school record).
To sum up the Bulldogs’ performance on Saturday night, one can basically apply the old adage that an ugly win is still a win.
But the Dawgs will have to step up as the competition gets tougher.
Smart summed it up for Shockley: “We just have to get better… and be completely honest about who we are.”
