LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) -- There's no way to explain this, so no explanation will be attempted here. A Kentucky football team that looked hapless and hopeless a week ago in an embarrassing 31-6 home-field loss to South Carolina, one week later pushed No. 1-ranked Georgia around Kroger Field like few opponents have in the past four years.
The Wildcats were the better team on the ground and through the air. They were the better team on both lines. And with Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, they were the better team at quarterback for a good bit of the game.
But Georgia, unfortunately for the Wildcats, was still Georgia. The Bulldogs did what they do -- they now haven't allowed a touchdown in 16 quarters -- and they found enough offense in the fourth quarter to escape with a 13-12 victory.
But it wasn't easy.’
”I’m proud of our players with picking ourselves up and getting off the mat after a performance a week ago that none of us were very pleased with,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “To rebound and play the No. 1 team in the country and play them toe-to-toe. No flukes, no gimmicks, you can’t trick a team like that. You have to man up and make plays. And you have to give them credit. They made more than we did.”
Think about this -- if Vandagriff had stayed at Georgia, he might've been in the game against Kentucky after UGA quarterback Carson Beck just managed 5 of 11 for 32 yards through two-plus quarters.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart talks to his defense during a second-quarter timeout in a game at Kentucky.
At halftime, Kentucky had outgunned Georgia 130-63. The Wildcats drove 61 yards in 13 plays to take a 6-3 halftime lead on a 32-yard field goal by Raynor. To open the second half, UK drove 61 yards in 11 plays for a 40-yard field goal that put it up 9-3.
It was only then that Georgia's offense seemed to wake up. Trevor Etienne broke a 12-yard run, then caught a pass for 11 more. After runs of 8 and 1 yard, he got loose for 17 yards to the UK 11, and Georgia scored on a 3-yard run by Branson Robinson three plays later to go up 13-9.
Kentucky rallied again, to a 50-yard field goal by Raynor, and it trailed just 13-12. Then its defense got a stop. After flushing quarterback Carson Beck out of the pocket and forcing an incompletion, Kentucky got the ball back trailing just 13-12 and 6:25 to play.
Georgia had Kentucky stopped on third down but a defensive holding extended the Wildcat drive. Then Vandagriff ran for 10 yards and a first down. And Demie Sumo-Karngbaye powered up the middle for 8, and Kentucky was at midfield.
Kentucky running back Jamarion Wilcox on a first-half run against top-ranked Georgia.
And the clock kept ticking, but the drive stalled. Kentucky, which was averaging nearly four yards per rush, stopped running the ball. Twice Vandagriff dropped back to pass, and twice the Georgia pressure got to him to force incompletions. And with 3:03 left, at its own 47 on 4th and 8 near midfield, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops decided to punt.
It wound up being a crucial decision.
Stoops trusted his defense. To get the ball back. But Beck hit Dominic Lovett for a 33-yard completion to midfield. And that was that.
”I don’t regret punting that ball,” Stoops said. “. . . We had plenty of time to pin them and get the ball back. We went with our strength.”
Kentucky rallied. It played tough, as it has in four of its past five meetings against Georgia. But it also fell short, as it has in its past 15 meetings with the Bulldogs.
Had the Wildcats shown this effort a week ago, the mood in Lexington would be much different. But their response still leaves hope for a season with daunting challenges yet ahead.
Kentucky outgained Georgia 284-262. It outrushed Georgia 170-102. Kentucky had 23 first downs to Georgia’s 12.
Those aren’t numbers you see against the Bulldogs every day. This was a night when ESPN’s College GameDay was supposed to have been in Lexington, but it went to Columbia, S.C., after last week’s loss. Regardless, Kentucky worked its way back into college football conversations on Saturday night — just not all the way in.
“At least I know a little something about this team now,” Stoops said. “I thought we fought, and executed, and took to coaching.”
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
