No. 20 Kentucky football was dominated in a 51-13 thrashing at the hands of No. 1 Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday.
The game marked the first time Kentucky had surrendered 50+ points since it lost 63-3 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa during the 2020 Covid season.
The Wildcats entered the game on the back of a thunderous 33-14 win over the formerly No. 22 Florida Gators at Kroger Field.
Kickoff off in Athens, Kentucky won the coin toss and opted to defer to the second half, giving the home side the first offensive drive of the night.
The Bulldogs would make the most of the opportunity when quarterback Carson Beck completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint for the first score of the game.
Kentucky began gaining momentum in its own first drive before a holding penalty against Jager Burton was followed by a poorly thrown ball from Devin Leary that led to a punt.
Georgia would make no such mistake on its second drive, marching down the field before Beck threw his second touchdown of the night, this time to Rara Thomas. While the play was originally called out of bounds, a review said touchdown.
Kentucky’s next drive didn’t fare much better than its first. It showed promise with a 36-yard pass from Leary to Dane Key, but an unnecessary roughness penalty on Burton, a loss on a rush and a false start by Jeremy Flax brought Kentucky to punt on a 4th-and-26.
The Cats continued to shoot themselves in the foot, recording a staggering three defensive penalties on the next drive, which ended in yet another Georgia touchdown from Beck.
Kentucky finally found a breath of life on their next drive when a successful fourth-down conversion gave the Cats the confidence to get into the endzone when Leary found Josh Kattus.
The Kentucky defense seemed motivated by the offensive score, stopping Georgia short of the endzone for the first time in the game on the next drive. Instead, the Bulldogs settled for a 34-yard field goal to extend their lead to 17.
Kentucky sought to build momentum on offense once again, but this would all come crashing down when Leary was sacked for 13 yards on a pivotal third down, leading to another punt.
Georgia would add a field goal to send both teams into the locker room, going a perfect 6-6 in scoring drives in the first half and extending it’s lead to 34-7.
Things wouldn’t get much better for the Cats after the break, recording a quick three-and-out to start the half.
The Cats would rebound from the poor start on defense however, with Maxwell Hairston picking off Beck and returning the ball 48 yards to the UGA 28-yard line. From there Ray Davis was able to find the endzone on a pass from Leary.
Kentucky would opt to go for two after the score, but the decision would be a poor one as the Cats failed to score.
Georgia would go on to add another three points on its next drive to put the lead back to 24 points.
Another dud drive by Kentucky was followed by a Brock Bowers touchdown from Beck, putting the home side up 31 points.
While the Kentucky defense did manage to force Georgia to punt for the first time in the fourth quarter, the Wildcat offense failed to do anything of note on its own.
Beck would be shut down late in the fourth for Georgia in favor of its backup, Brock Vandagriff, leaving the writing blatantly on the wall for the Cats.
The backup would make his presence known when he recorded a passing touchdown of his own to see Georgia break the 50-point mark.
The Cats would have no answer, ending the game with their 13-point total with Kaiya Sheron in the game.
Leary finished the game with 128 passing yards, completing just 10 of his 26 attempts, while Georgia’s Beck finished with 389 passing yards and four touchdowns, earning a quarterback rating of 205.4.
With the crushing defeat, the Cats will have a week to regroup before they host the Missouri Tigers at Kroger Field on Saturday, October 14. Time TBD.
