The Kentucky Wildcats made the trip to Athens to face off with the #10 Georgia Bulldogs in an absolute downpour.
The first half didn’t result in much offense for either team, as they combined for just 173 yards of total offense.
Kentucky didn’t gain any yards through the air, but it was the defense that was the story of the half.
The Cats’ defense held Georgia to just 6 first downs and 123 yards and made big play after big play.
Each team combined for 10 punts, Kentucky forced Georgia to turn it over on downs once, and that was the story of the 1st half as they went into the break tied 0-0.
The second half was going to come down to who made the first big mistake, and unfortunately, it was the Cats that made that mistake.
The Cats received the ball to start the half and was driving down the field. Lynn Bowden ran a picked up the 1st down on a 3rd and 6 but it was called back for a holding penalty.
After forcing the Bulldogs to punt, the Cats offense would go 3 and out. That led to a rare shanked punt by Max Duffy setting UGA up deep in Kentucky territory.
Georgia took advantage of the biggest mistake of the game and scored on the next play to take a 7-0 lead.
Things would continue to turn south for the Cats as a fumble by Bowden led to another Georgia TD to push the lead to 14-0.
Kentucky would drive down the field and was set up inside the 10-yard-line but a dropped TD pass and a failed 4th down conversion turned it over on downs.
Georgia would find the endzone 1 more time and this one would end in a 21-0 loss for the Cats.
Thoughts on the game
The defense played really well
The Kentucky defense was outstanding throughout the 1st half as they held Georgia to 0 points and didn’t let them cross the 50-yard-line.
In the 2nd half, it was obvious that the defense was gassed from being on the field for over 33 minutes of the game.
That led to the Bulldogs being able to get the run game going and D’Andre Swift once again, torched UK.
Overall, I was very pleased with the defense and give them a lot of credit for the performance they put on.
The offense needs Sawyer Smith
Don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of respect for Bowden and the job he has done the last 2 weeks was impressive.
With that being said, not having a passing game in the SEC makes it very hard to win.
I understand that the weather was not prime for a passing offense but when you still have 15 pass attempts for the game you can’t only complete 2 of them and expect to win.
We saw what Smith was capable of in the 1st half of the Florida game before he got hurt.
If Smith is healthy like the coaches have stated this week, then the best option is to go back to him at QB moving forward.
D’Andre Swift torches UK again
One guy that has been a thorn in our side for years now is Swift. I know we can all agree that we are ready to see him move on to playing on Sundays.
In this one he had 179 yards and 2 TDs and was the one that took over the game when the defense became gassed. He was also the only bright spot in the 1st half for UGA.
I’m sure Stoops is ready to see him move on to the NFL.
The rest of the schedule
Every game that the Cats have left on their schedule is winnable, and those matchups will give the Cats a chance to turn this season around.
With 5 very winnable game remaining, the Cats need to find a way to win 3 of them in order to become bowl eligible, and they will get their first chance next week.
The Missouri Tigers will be making the trip to Lexington next week coming off a loss to Vanderbilt.
Now, here are the postgame notes from UK Athletics:
Team Records and Series Information
- Kentucky is 3-4, 1-4 in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia is 6-1, 3-1 in the league.
- Georgia leads the series, 59-12-2.
- Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats play host to Missouri on Saturday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and it will be televised on the SEC Network.
Team Notes
- Kentucky limited Georgia to 270 offensive yards, the fewest the Wildcats have allowed this season.
- Kentucky limited Georgia to 35 passing yards, fewest since limiting Austin Peay to 27 passing yards in 2016.
- Kentucky has allowed 34 points or less in 21 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation.
- 21 straight games at 34 points or less is the longest for Kentucky since a 45-game streak from 1975-79.
- Georgia’s longest pass play was 22 yards. Kentucky entered tonight’s game as one of only seven FBS teams that have not allowed a pass play of 40 yards this season.
- Since the start of the 2018 season, UK and Washington are tied for the fewest pass plays of 40+ yards (four) among FBS teams.
- Kentucky did not give up a touchdown pass tonight. UK entered the game tied for first among FBS teams with the fewest touchdown passes allowed, three.
- The teams played a scoreless first half.
- The last time UK held an opponent scoreless in the first half was vs. Ohio in 2014.
- The last time UK held an SEC opponent scoreless in the first half was vs. Tennessee in 2011.
- The last time both teams were scoreless in the half was 1996 vs. Indiana.
Player Notes
- UK’s game captains: OG Logan Stenberg, LB Kash Daniel, LB Josh Paschal and athlete Lynn Bowden Jr.
- Junior athlete Lynn Bowden Jr. made his second collegiate start at quarterback. He rushed 17 times for 99 yards. He also completed two passes for 17 yards.
- Sophomore safety Yusuf Corker had a career-high 11 tackles.
- It is the fourth consecutive game he has tied or broken his career high in stops, totaling 7, 9, 9 and 11 tackles in successive games.
- Sophomore linebacker DeAndre Square had nine tackles, including a seven-yard tackle for loss.
- Senior kickoff returner Zach Johnson had a 58-yard return, the longest of his career.