By Alex Forkner | Football columnist

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The Murray flurry

University of Georgia senior quarterback Aaron Murray enters the matchup with UK as one of the top passers to ever play in the SEC.

Murray holds four all-time SEC records. He is first in completions, touchdown passes, passing yardage and total offense. He is the first quarterback in league history to pass for three consecutive 3,000-yard seasons, and Murray is only 108 yards shy of another such season.

Last season, Murray finished with more passing yards (3,893) than UK had in total offensive yards (3,492).

All of this to say: Murray is really good.

“He just knows where to go with the ball at all times and is a great leader, and on top of that, he’s got a very strong arm and a very accurate passer,” UK defensive coordinator DJ Eliot said on Tuesday about Murray. “I’d say the biggest thing about him is he’s just so intelligent with how to handle the game.”

Murray brought Georgia storming back to take the lead against Auburn last weekend before The Miracle in Jordan-Hare ripped the Bulldogs’ hearts from their chests and left them littered all over the field.

If that’s what it took for a top 10 team to beat Murray and the Bulldogs, then the Cats’ banged-up defense will likely need some divine intervention of their own on Saturday.

Edge: Georgia

Crossing the linebackers

Georgia’s 3-4 linebacking corps features the top two tacklers in the SEC.

Junior inside linebacker Ramik Wilson leads the league with 110 stops, averaging 11 per game. Wilson racked up a whopping 18 tackles against Auburn University last weekend.

Fellow junior inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera is second in the SEC with 91 tackles, good for nine per game.

Bookending these two is freshman outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who leads all SEC freshman with 5.5 sacks, while sophomore Jordan Jenkins leads the team with 10 tackles for loss.

UK is going to have to account for these players in both the running and passing games.

The offensive line will have to reach the second level in run blocking and hold strong, opening up hole for running backs Raymond Sanders and Jojo Kemp to gain yards, as well as Jalen Whitlow on his designed runs and when he pulls it down and takes off.

And on the select plays UK elects to take shots downfield, the big fellows and the running backs will have to give Whitlow the time he needs to make an accurate throw.

UK will find more success on offense in Athens than they did against Vanderbilt University, but not much more, and these prolific Bulldog linebackers are the reason why.

Edge: Georgia

UK has hung around with Georgia in recent games, losing 29-24 last season and 19-10 in 2011.

UK actually won in Sanford Stadium in 2009, their first victory at Georgia since 1977.

But recent history won’t mean much for UK in this game, especially when Georgia is trying to erase the much more recent heartbreak they experienced in Auburn. Expect Georgia to put up big numbers.

Prediction: Georgia 38, UK 16