The good: Georgia wins! The ugly: the grueling sixty minutes it took to get there. Winning on the road in the SEC is tough, and Kirby Smart drilled that message into his team all week. They had seen Kentucky get embarrassed by South Carolina, but Smart knew it wouldn’t matter—he expected a fight. In the postgame interview, he told ABC’s Molly McGrath, “I’m not sure our guys heard the message all week. Kentucky is a good football team. You don’t judge SEC teams by one week. We did what we had to but didn’t play well.”
Georgia extended several winning streaks (more on that later) and passed their first SEC road test. But Kentucky wasn’t supposed to be a tough game. The real challenges were expected in Tuscaloosa in two weeks, Austin next month, or Oxford in October.
Georgia has struggled with opening SEC road games in recent years. Two years ago, they had to come from behind to beat Missouri in a Saturday night game in Columbia. Last year, they scraped by against Auburn, with Brock Bowers rescuing them. It doesn’t always need to be pretty or a blowout, but Georgia will need to improve if they want to contend in 2024.
Here are the highlights to put it nicely of Georgia’s win.
Georgia Wins (Ugly) 13-12 Recap
Georgia Shows Life in the Second Half
The Bulldogs showed fight and signs of life coming out of the second half. Kentucky’s defense dictated the tempo and the game to Georgia. Smart commented during the halftime interview, “We need to block. They are whipping us up front.” Sure, Georgia was dealing with some injuries on the offensive line, but there was little reason not to expect the Bulldogs to get clicking in the second half after a lackluster first. Georgia bested their first-half total yard performance in the second half’s first two drives. Quarterback Carson Beck hit a few big plays on the opening drive to kick the offense into gear. Although the drive stalled and ended in a field goal, it showed the necessary signs of life for the offense.
On Georgia’s second drive, Trevor Etienne put the team on his back and carried the Bulldogs inside the five-yard line to set them up for the game’s only touchdown. Etienne touched on six of the ten plays, and four went for eight or more yards. His running ability in the second half was sorely missed last year. Etienne finished the day with 79 yards on 19 carries. He was able to show his bursts throughout the game. The touchdown drive proved to be the difference in the game.
Georgia Holds off Kentucky
Looking at the stat sheet, neither Kentucky nor Georgia will have clips of this game on their highlight reel. The Kentucky offense did just enough to keep the Wildcats consistently in the game. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff had a serviceable day for Kentucky, finishing 14 of 27 for 114 yards. He proved most effective in his mobility and ability to extend plays. Kentucky did an excellent job of taking advantage of Georgai’s nine penalties to keep their offense on the field. Vandagriff also did an excellent job of running for first downs or having the audibility and quickness to evade defenders and extend plays.
Unfortunately for Kentucky, they couldn’t do enough to prevent the Dawgs from winning. The turning point came late in the game when Kentucky went on an 8-play, 32-yard drive that stalled out at the midfield. Kentucky coach Mark Stoops decided to punt the ball away on fourth down rather than try for a first down to set up a game-winning field goal. Georgia converted a few key first downs on the ensuing drive and milked away most of the clock before Kentucky could run three plays at the end of regulation deep in their end.
Georgia No Good, Awful First Half: Offense
Let’s get physical. No, we are not talking about the 80s classic from Olivia Newton-John. Instead, physicality came in the form of Kentucky’s defensive front. Smart warned us earlier this week that Kentucky likes being physical. In his halftime interview with McGrath, he echoed that sentiment: “Their defense front challenged us the most. They made it difficult for us to find our rhythm.” You can look no further than the first-half stats book to see how much the Wildcats disrupted Georgia’s offense.
Georgia had just 63 yards of total offense in the first half—the lowest output in Smart’s nine years in Athens. Georgia was just 1-6 on third down, and Beck was under duress for most of the first half. Smart also commented on the lack of explosive plays in his halftime interview. The stats did a good job of backing up that claim as well. The Dawgs averaged less than three yards per rush or completion.
Injury to the Offensive Line
To add more salt to the wound, two key Bulldogs also suffered injuries in the first half. Tackle Tate Rutledge fell early in the second quarter with a leg and ankle injury. The fifth-year senior is a key and valued piece to the offensive line. Ratledge was shown on television in a boot and crutches during the second half of the game. Trevor Etienne also hit the tunnel late in the second quarter with an apparent shoulder injury. Unlike Rateldge, Etienne returned to the game in the second half.
Georgia No Good, Awful First Half: Defense
The good news is that Georgia’s defense prevented Kentucky from running away with the game and kept their opponent out of the endzone for a fourth straight game. Penalties and the inability to get off the field hurt the Dawgs in the first half. Georgia was penalized four times for 45 yards. On several occasions, Georgia was called for a penalty on third down, extending a drive on third down for Kentucky.
Vandagriff also looked comfortable against his former team. The Kentucky quarterback spent the last three years on Georgia’s scout team, and you could tell he was relaxed. Vandagriff hurt his former team with his arms and legs. His only mistake was holding the ball too long and getting strip-sacked, which set Georgia up for its only score in the first half. Overall, Georgia overcame these poor mistakes to hold onto the one-point win.
Georgia’s Winning Streak
- Punter Bret Thorson got some love today. He had six punts, the most he has ever had in a game.
- This was the 15th straight win for Georgia against Kentucky.
- Georgia has a 16-game winning streak in an opponent’s home stadium
- Georgia has now won 42 straight regular season games.
- Georgia extended its SEC and school record streak of 28 consecutive SEC regular season wins.
Georgia has a bye next week and travels to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on September 28th.
