Kentucky football: Five things to know about the Georgia Bulldogs
Five things to know about Kentucky’s Saturday opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs:
1. Kirby Smart is knock, knock, knocking on national title door
The 44-year-old former Dawgs safety is in his fifth year heading the football fortunes of his alma mater. After a distinguished eight-year stint as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama, Smart replaced Mark Richt, who replaced Ray Goff, who replaced Vince Dooley. Now 47-13 in Athens, Smart has the red-and-black back to the Dooley days when it is a perennial threat to win the national title.
Smart has recruited like a fiend. Rivals ranks Georgia’s 2020 class as best in the land, thanks in part to five five-star signees. The Dawgs were also No. 1 in 2019. And 2018. The Bulldogs were No. 3 in the Rival rankings in 2017, trailing only Alabama and Ohio State. You recruit that well over that span of time, chances are you are going to win more than your fair share of games.
After an 8-5 mark in Smart’s first year (2016), Georgia has gone 13-2, 11-3 and 12-2 the last three seasons. The 2017 edition lost in overtime to Alabama in the national title game. You know, the one where Tua Tagovailoa replaced Jalen Hurts in the second half and threw the game-winning TD pass in OT. Smart’s 2018 club lost to Alabama 35-28 in the SEC title game after leading 28-14 early in the third quarter. Last year’s team suffered a Joe Burrow blow-out to LSU in the league title game.
This year, the Dawgs are 3-1. They opened with wins over Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee and led Alabama 24-20 at the half in Tuscaloosa before the Tide popped Georgia’s balloon for a 41-24 loss. Thanks to the SEC’s COVID-19 schedule shuffle, Smart has had an extra week to prepare for Saturday. If you’re Kentucky, that can’t be good.
2. Stetson Bennett IV is Georgia’s surprise quarterback
The 5-foot-11 (maybe), 190-pound junior from Blackshear, Ga., is a great story. His parents both graduated from UGA. Bennett was an invited walk-on who redshirted in 2017. In 2018, he transferred to Jones College in Ellisville, Miss., where he led the team to a 10-2 record and a Mississippi Bowl win. He returned to Georgia in 2019, where he provided mop-up duty for starter Jake Fromm in five games. He was an impressive 20-of-27 through the air. Still, no one could have seen what was coming.
Fromm checked out of Athens a year early for the NFL. Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman was expected to be the starter until Newman opted out over coronavirus concerns to prepare for the NFL. That left USC transfer JT Daniels as the presumed starter, but the Santa Ana, Calif., native was late receiving clearance to play after ACL surgery. That left redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis, who had a brain cyst removed in 2019, to start the opener at Arkansas.
Only Mathis failed to start Georgia’s engine. Enter Bennett, who hit on 20 of 29 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns in the Dawgs’ 37-10 win. It’s been Bennett’s job ever since. He was very good against Auburn (17-of-28 for 240 with one TD) and pretty good against Tennessee (16-of-27 for 238 and two TDs). Then came Bama, who picked off three Bennett passes and knocked five others down at the line of scrimmage.
Smart says he’s sticking with Stetson. The bye week gave new offensive coordinator Todd Monken a chance to sand off some of the new quarterback’s rough edges. It would not be a surprise, however, to see Daniels get a series or two Saturday at Kroger Field.
3. Kendall Milton is the Georgia running back to watch
Todd Gurley. Nick Chubb. Sony Michel. D’Andre Swift. All products of the star-maker machinery that is the Georgia backfield. This year, Smart and Monken have implemented a yards-by-committee approach featuring Zamir White, Kendall Milton, Kenny McIntosh and James Cook, brother of current Minnesota Viking Dalvin Cook. All were widely coveted recruits.
Milton is the one who could easily break out from the pack, however. The 6-1, 220-pound true freshman from Fresno, Calif., is averaging 6.4 yards on his meager 21 attempts. He gained 56 yards on just eight attempts against Tennessee; 44 yards on just six carries against Alabama. He ripped off a 24-yard run against the Tide.
“Yeah, he’s earning some playing time,” Smart said on last week’s SEC teleconference. “I think you saw that probably last game, he played earlier than he has been playing, he’s made some really good cuts, he’s got good vision. Every opportunity he has gotten, he’s taken advantage and grown with it.”
He could get more opportunities Saturday.
4. Georgia’s defense will be tough to deal with
Even after surrendering 41 points to Alabama’s juggernaut of an offense, Georgia is ranked 20th nationally in total defense, 19th in scoring defense, fourth in rushing defense and 34th in pass efficiency defense.
It’s that run defense ranking that should give Kentucky pause. Arkansas gained 77 yards on the ground, Auburn 39 and thanks to several Georgia sacks, Tennessee ended up in the red with a negative-1 yard rushing. Alabama did rush for 147 yards, but the Tide still averaged just 3.42 yards per carry.
Defensive lineman Jordan Davis and defensive back Richard LeCounte were pre-season All-SEC First Team selections by the coaches. Linebacker Monty Rice leads the team in tackles. Defensive lineman Malik Herring was considered the defense’s best NFL prospect entering the season. Linebacker Nokbe Dean and defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes are also top talents.
5. Georgia has never lost to Mark Stoops
In his eight years leading the Kentucky program, Stoops has beaten Florida in Gainesville. He’s beaten Tennessee in Knoxville. He’s beaten every other team in the SEC East with the exception of the team from Athens.
Only one of the previous seven meetings was close, Georgia’s 27-24 win in 2016 on Rodrigo Blankenship’s 25-yard field goal at the final gun. Georgia’s other six wins: 59-17 in 2013; 63-31 in 2014; 27-3 in 2015; 42-13 in 2017; 34-17 in 2018 and 21-0 last year at rain-soaked Sanford Stadium.
In fact, if Georgia wins Saturday the Bulldogs will have won 11 straight, the longest such streak in the series. Kentucky hasn’t beaten Georgia since Rich Brooks and Co. triumphed 34-27 in Athens in 2009. Before that, UK series slump-busters came in 2006 (24-20 in Lexington); 1996 (24-17 in Lexington); 1990 (26-24 in Lexington) and 1988 (16-10 in Lexington). That 1988 UK victory snapped a 10-game Georgia streak.
To be fair, the Cats have been heavy underdogs to the Bulldogs in most recent years. Georgia was favored by 15 points in 2015; two in 2016; 21 in 2017; nine in 2018 and 24 last season. At present, Georgia is a 17-point favorite Saturday.
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 4:47 PM.
