Kentucky’s problems are glaring: no consistent passing game, shaky run defense, and an offense that can’t keep pace. South Carolina, which had –9 rushing yards a week earlier against Missouri, gashed Kentucky for 178 on the ground.
Brad White, Bush Hamdan, and Mark Stoops had two weeks to prepare for South Carolina and it was a massive flop on both sides of the ball. Now they have only one week to get ready for a Georgia program that will be seeking a revenge. Mark Stoops is looking to "get better" but it will be a tough task.
Kentucky heads to Athens next Saturday for a noon kickoff and the Bulldogs will be very, very angry. You see Alabama just snapped Georgia’s 34-game home winning streak with a 24–21 victory in Athens. Ty Simpson threw for 276 yards and two scores, adding a rushing TD that proved decisive as Georgia could only muster 7 second half points.
The Bulldogs own Mark Stoops
For Kentucky, the timing couldn’t be worse. Mark Stoops has never beaten Georgia, though his last chance came very close 13-12. He has been known to play Kirby Smart teams close because of how they do similar things, run the ball, protect the ball, chew clock, and grid the games away. The Wildcats though haven’t won in Athens since Rich Brooks’ 2009 upset. Kirby Smart, meanwhile, can’t afford another loss if he wants to keep Georgia in playoff contention. A loss to a 2-2 Kentucky team who may lose 6 more games is not something a playoff team will want on their resume come selection time.
Expect Georgia to come out firing, looking to bury Kentucky early and often. If the Cats can’t weather that opening storm, it could be another road humiliation in Athens on national TV, and with Texas coming to Lexington the following week, Kroger Field could be painted burnt orange instead of blue and that will be a sad sight to see.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion