Kirby Smart reacts: on Stetson Bennett’s day vs. UK, and a growing UGA injury report

Does a 14-3 road win over Kentucky qualify as an ugly win?

It’s too early for Georgia head coach Kirby Smart to say. He certainly appreciated the resiliency from his players on a tough afternoon, but also recognizes his Bulldogs have plenty to work on after a tough victory.

Here’s what else Smart had to say following Saturday’s game in Lexington:

Injury report: the banged-up Bulldogs

By the time the clock expired, Georgia’s sideline resembled a MASH unit more than a football team.

The Bulldogs entered the day missing a pair of key contributors on offense, sophomore receiver George Pickens and sophomore running back Kenny McIntosh. Smart said after the game they were just “dinged up” and, despite practicing all week, they weren’t at a point where they could be effective on the field.

Senior linebacker Monty Rice also entered the game dealing with a foot injury. He’ll have plenty of company in the training room after Saturday’s contest.

Defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Julian Rochester both exited in the first half with injuries. Davis later returned to the sideline with his right arm in a sling. Their departures helped a Kentucky offense that ran the ball early and often and led to more playing time for freshmen Jalen Carter, Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson.

Sophomore starting safety Lewis Cine also left the game with an injury in the first half. After halftime, junior linebacker Quay Walker and sophomore defensive back Tyrique Stevenson also suffered injuries.

Even still, the defense held Kentucky to just three points. Smart pointed to his team’s exceptional depth as a major plus on an injury-plagued afternoon.

“That’s why we train those guys,” Smart said. “They rep in practice, they practice every day in practice, they get their opportunity to play. I certainly don’t know that all those guys were exactly ready for that kind of physicality, but they better get ready because they’re going to be playing in the SEC the rest of the way.”

Stetson Bennett’s up and down day vs. UK

It might be premature to say junior quarterback Stetson Bennett is regressing, but for the second straight week he definitely didn’t have his best game.

He completed 9-of-13 passes for 131 yards on the afternoon. He also threw a pair of interceptions, one on a batted ball in the red zone and another with the Bulldogs leading 14-3 in the third quarter.

The first miscue, Smart said, came when Bennett failed to wrap the ball around a defender on a screen pass. The second came on a deep ball where Bennett tried to throw the ball deep and out of bounds, but didn’t quite throw it far enough.

“It’s a lack of experience and making good decisions,” Smart said.

However, just as he did after the Alabama game two weeks ago, Smart made sure to point out the positives in Bennett’s game. He said his signal caller managed the offense well in regards to checks and motions and the like, getting the Bulldogs into the right play most of the time.

With that in mind, Smart said he had no discussions with his staff about switching quarterbacks during the game.

“I’m not going to overreact to one poor decision,” Smart said. “It would be making those multiple times that gets concerning. At the end of the day, we’ve got to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win.”

For the ‘Georgia brand’ of football

Smart has frequently noted that the “Georgia brand” of football is taking what the defense is giving. On Saturday, that appeared to be the run game.

The Bulldogs ran for 215 yards on 43 attempts, an average of exactly five yards per carry. The game’s opening drive consisted of 12 run plays that accounted for 71 yards, and the second touchdown came on a 22-yard scoring jaunt from redshirt sophomore Zamir White on fourth-and-1.

“We’re always going to take what the defense gives us,” Smart said. “If they play certain defenses, we’re going to be able to take shots. If they can’t stop us running the ball, then we’re going to run the ball. That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to be able to stop people from running the ball, and there’s a lot of times today they couldn’t do that.”

The running game experienced much more success than the passing game, as Georgia struggled to create explosive plays through the air.

Still, Smart flatly rejected the notion that his offense might be limited in any way.

“I hope one day, we get to show it,” Smart said. “I hope we get an opportunity to because we get to go against a pretty good defense every day. I see them, I see them pass pro, I see them throw and catch the ball, I see us run the ball, I see us play action, I see a lot of good things out of our offense. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to see them yet.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Kirby Smart reacts: on Stetson Bennett’s day vs. UK, and a growing UGA injury report."