LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) – The No. 1-ranked Georgia football team has not lost a regular-season game since 2020. But it’s 43rd straight win in that run was the closest call it has had, by far.
And that close call came from Kentucky, in front of a charged Kroger Field crowd one week after one of the most disappointing losses of the recent Mark Stoops era.
Georgia escaped with a 13-12 win. It had one sustained drive for a touchdown, the only TD in the game, and made one big play after Kentucky gave the ball back on a punt late in the game rather than employ a more risky strategy when it had the ball near midfield.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he expected a “blow-by-blow” game at Kentucky, as five of their past six meetings have been.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck gives his team the play call in the first quarter of its game against Kentucky at Kroger Field on Sept. 14, 2024.
“I have an immense amount of respect for Coach Stoops and the atmosphere and the culture he's created here,” Smart said. “I tried to tell everybody all week, but nobody would listen to me. I know what this (Kentucky) team's made out of. I know how tough the coaches are. I know several coaches on the staff. I've known them for a long time. I have tremendous respect, and when they get disrespected, like they did last week, and they listen to it for a week, you know, they come out ready to play. And I think our kids listened to that. I think they understood it. But I also think it's a tough environment to play in. I'm so proud of the resiliency our kids showed. They never flinched.”
And while Smart praised Kentucky’s culture, he thought culture is what got his team through.
“We thought this would be a blow-by-blow game, and we talked all week about blow-by-blow, deliver more blows than them, and we said the first chop of the tree doesn't chop the tree down. It takes sometimes 272 axe chops, and it took every single one tonight to get the job done,” Smart said. “I'm proud of our team. I'm proud of our leadership. I honestly believe we won this game with culture, and the culture of our team never panicked. I saw more leadership tonight than I've seen all season. . . . I don't know much about this team, but I found out more tonight than I've known up at this point, and that makes me extremely proud of how they responded and how they handled some difficult situations.”
Georgia had dominated a nationally ranked Clemson team 34-3 in its opener. But it could not find its defensive footing against Kentucky. Wildcats’ senior strong safety Zion Childress was everywhere, especially early in the game, when UK put Georgia on its heels. He made five of Kentucky’s first six tackles, including one for a loss.
Later in the first half, he plucked a tip ball out of the air and ran 55 yards for an interception return touchdown. The play was later called back when video showed the ball had hit the ground.
For much of the first half, Georgia was fortunate to tread water. But a team that hasn’t given up a touchdown for 16 straight quarters doesn’t allow opponents to get out of reach.
The Wildcats were the better team on the ground and through the air.
Quarterback Carson Beck made a couple of big throws in the second half. Running back Travis Etienne, playing banged up, had a half-dozen tough carries on the game’s only touchdown drive. And Georgia was able to escape.
It's what championship teams do. Asked about what benefits having successfully faced adversity in an early-season win will bring to his team, Smart was blunt.
“I'd rather not have faced it,” he said. “I mean, I didn't prefer it to be that way. But I also told people all week, you know, I knew it. I mean, we played on the road at Missouri two years ago (a 26-22 win in 2022). And then we played on road at Auburn (a 27-20 win last season). I get it -- when you go on the road for the first time in the SEC, at night, and you keep a team in the game, you don't start fast. it's going to be a challenge. And we responded to the challenge. And the best thing is, we got a lot of things we can work on.”
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