After getting a stellar effort against No. 1 Georgia from his defense for 57 minutes on Saturday night, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops may have put a bit too much trust in that unit to get one more stop.
With 2:58 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Wildcats down 13-12, Stoops opted to punt from the Kentucky 48-yard line to pin Georgia deep and get the ball back. Wilson Berry‘s punt pushed Georgia back to its 15-yard line. But the Wildcats’ defense couldn’t get the stop it needed.
Carson Beck hit Dominic Lovett for a 33-yard gain and a first down at the Georgia 49-yard line to effectively clinch a 13-12 win in defensive slog at Lexington’s Kroger Field. It was tough to get there, but the Bulldogs extended their regular season win streak to 42 games and won their 28th consecutive SEC game.
Branson Robinson scored the game’s lone touchdown on a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter to give Georgia its first lead after trailing for the first three quarters. To that point, both teams had traded field goals in a major defensive struggle.
Beck finished with 160 yards passing and no touchdowns. Trevor Etienne led the Bulldogs with 79 yards rushing on 19 carries.
But as a team, Georgia only rushed for 102 yards, held in check by a fast, ferocious Wildcats defense that frequently met ballcarriers at the line of scrimmage. Georgia particularly had trouble running outside with Kentucky’s safeties and cornerbacks getting to running backs before they could turn a corner or even generate any yardage.
Kentucky nearly had a 10-0 lead early
As the final score indicates, Kentucky didn’t fare much better on offense, scoring no touchdowns. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff passed for 114 yards and rushed for another 26. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye led the Wildcats with 98 yards rushing, and Kentucky only got 170 yards in total.
Kentucky did have what appeared to be a defensive touchdown in the second quarter taken away on replay review. Lovett appeared to deflect the ball in the air after rolling to make a catch, which was snatched by the Wildcats’ Zion Childress and run back for a score that would have given Kentucky a 10–0 lead.
However, upon review, the ball hit the ground before Lovett could make a catch and the play was ruled an incomplete pass. Georgia punted on fourth down.
Kentucky had one more opportunity at a game-winning field goal after forcing a Georgia punt. After a touchback, Vandagriff hit tight end Jordan Dingle for a 12-yard gain to the Kentucky 32-yard line, but couldn’t get into field goal range before time expired.
Carson Beck after Georgia’s 13-12 win over Kentucky:
“Thank God we have a bye week.”
The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide meet in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 28.
(📹: ABC) pic.twitter.com/kvnEjYX7Kn
— Max Cohan (@MaxCohan) September 15, 2024
“I’m not sure our guys listened to the message all week because [Kentucky] is a good football team,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart told ESPN’s Molly McGrath after the game. “You don’t judge SEC football teams on one week.”
Smart was referring to Kentucky losing at home last week to South Carolina, 31-6, despite being an 8.5-point favorite.
As Beck mentioned with relief to McGrath, Georgia (3-0) is on a bye next week before traveling to No. 4 Alabama (3-0) for a primetime SEC matchup on Sept. 28. Kentucky (1-2) will attempt to get over the game that got away with a home non-conference tilt versus Ohio (2-1).