Georgia Football defeats Kentucky in close matchup

Georgia Football defeated the Kentucky Wildcats, 16-6. In a similar fashion to the rest of the season, the Bulldogs struggled in the red zone, had turnovers, and generally allowed the less talented team to hang around. Kenny McIntosh would have a good day rushing the ball, as he ran for 143 yards on 19 carries.

The game started out with a solid drive from Kentucky. Chris Rodriguez Jr went to work and led the Wildcats down the field into Georgia territory. They were unable to get any points, as they went for it on fourth and 1, turning the ball over to Georgia.

Georgia Football was able to get down the field but struggled in the red zone and had to settle for three. The red zone issues were prevalent in this one for Georgia. Kentucky would then get down the field into the red zone, only for Levis to have a pass intercepted by Kelee Ringo.

On the next possession, Georgia Football would once again get the ball down the field but struggled to finish. They had to settle for three. Kentucky would have a three-and-out on their next drive. Georgia would get the ball back, and drive down the field. Again, Georgia struggled to find the end zone in the red area and had to settle for three. It was 9-0 going into the half.

On the opening drive of the second half, Stetson Bennett would throw an interception after four plays. Kentucky’s offense couldn’t do anything with it, and had to punt after three plays. The rushing attack went to work for the Bulldogs on the next drive.

Unlike previous drives in the red zone, this would end up as a TD for the Bulldogs. Kentucky’s offense struggled once again, going three and out. At this point, it seemed like Georgia would take care of this game and put it away. They did not. The Bulldogs got a drive going behind their rushing attack. Despite that, they were stopped on a goal-line stand.

Back at their own 1, Kentucky’s offense finally got going. They would go all the way for a TD in 9 plays. While they would finally get on the board, the Wildcats only had six because they went for a two-point conversion and failed to get it. Considering two touchdowns and two-point conversions on those touchdowns made it a tie game, it was a smart decision from Mark Stoops.

Georgia couldn’t help themselves out and went a three-and-out on their next possession. With 6 minutes left in the game, Kentucky drove the ball down into the red zone. Georgia’s defense stopped them from a TD and forced them to go for a field goal.

Kentucky would miss the 38-yard field goal. With only 4 minutes left with a 10-point lead and the ball, Georgia had particularly won the game. Still, the Bulldogs struggled on offense and couldn’t fully close out the victory.

Yes, Kentucky would get the ball with 2 minutes left and down 2 scores but the game was over in my mind by that point. Georgia’s defense would seal the victory by forcing the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs. Once again, the Bulldogs allowed a team with less talent to hang around for far too long.

Georgia Football defeats Kentucky in close matchup

Georgia Football has done this all year. They have played sloppily against teams that are far worse than them. While they certainly proved that they will show up against worthy opponents (Tennessee), they played down to inferior teams.

This happened again against Kentucky. I expect this to happen against Georgia Tech in the regular season finale. Yes, Georgia will win that game but I expect that game to be close than the spread will suggest (more likely Georgia wins by 20 or 30 than 40).

The most glaring issue of this is the red zone struggles. The Bulldogs struggle within 20 yards and have to always settle for a field goal opportunity.

This will slide in the regular season finale, and probably in the SEC title game as well. It might cost them in the playoff. We may never know the answer to this, as Georgia might bring their A-game, as they did against a playoff-worthy opponent in Tennessee.

The question for College football fans is, will Georgia’s mistakes cost them at some point, or are they simply better than every team in the country/only play down to their competition?

Going into this game, I did expect the Kentucky Wildcats to lose this game. Without knowing what happened in this game, If you told me they would lose 16-6, I would say that isn’t that bad for the Wildcats. Unfortunately for Kentucky, the score did not replicate the performance.

Kentucky’s offense struggled in this game. The Wildcats’ offense had 3 three and outs in this game. Combine that with a turnover in the red zone, and being unable to convert on fourth, and that is a recipe for disaster.

Still, despite all of that, the Wildcats had a shot to make this a one-possession game with 4 minutes left but missed a field goal. Ever since starting out 4-0, this Wildcats season has been a disappointment. They lost to Ole Miss and then got beat by South Carolina for the first time ever.

Kentucky didn’t have Will Levis in the Carolina game but still, it was a disappointing loss. Things took another turn for the worse when they lost to Vanderbilt a couple of weeks later. Yes, Vanderbilt seems to be getting better, but still the Commodores hadn’t won a conference game in years.

Among other things, the offensive line play is the main reason for the disappointment this year. Additionally, it seems like Will Levis’ play got worse this year. I don’t really expect Kentucky to beat Louisville in the Governor Cup this week. Kentucky will be going to a low-tier bowl and Mark Stoops is gonna have to take a long look in the mirror. The coach will have to adjust the offense in the offseason.