Cats, Dawgs: Winner Take All for SEC East Crown
After a comeback for the ages, Kentucky returns to Kroger Field this week with an SEC East crown and trip to the SEC Championship Game on the line. Georgia and the Cats come in with identical records and everything on the line. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on CBS Sports.
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| Kentucky vs. Georgia | ||
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| Sat., Nov. 3 – 3:30 p.m. ET Kroger Field Lexington, Ky. Game Notes: UK  | UGA Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: CBS |
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| UK | Team Stats | UGA |
| 7-1 | Record | 7-1 |
| 5-1 | Conference Record | 5-1 |
| 25.6 | Scoring/game | 38.6 |
| 362.1 | Total offense/game | 457.8 |
| 214.0 | Rushing yards/game | 221.6 |
| 148.1 | Passing yards/game | 236.1 |
| 19.2 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 23.2 |
| 10.5 | Punt returns (avg) | 17.6 |
| 44.8 | Punting (avg) | 42.1 |
| 31:07 | Time of possession/game | 30:45 |
| 40.4% | Third down conversion | 47.4% |
| 55.6% | Fourth down conversion | 50.0% |
| 13.0 | Points allowed/game | 16.4 |
| 295.3 | Total yards allowed/game | 306.1 |
| 108.5 | Rush yards allowed/game | 140.5 |
| 186.8 | Pass yards allowed/game | 165.6 |
Junior running back Benny Snell, Jr. has continued his assault on the record books this season, piling up 935 yards with nine scores. The Maxwell Award semifinalist owns the school record with 41 career touchdowns and has moved into second place UK’s career rushing list (3,359) and career 100-yard games (16).
The UK defense, led by senior pass rusher extraordinaire Josh Allen, has a league-high 10.0 sacks and 14.5 TFL this season. His defensive unit leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 13.0 points per game, including four games of yielding 10 points or less. Allen has been named a semfinalist for the Chuck Badnarik Award and the Butkus Award and was recently awarded the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week as well as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.
Cat Scratches: Stakes Higher Than Ever, UK’s Approach Unchanged
It’s a rare thing, for the stakes of a game with three weeks left in the regular season to be so plain and so high.
But here we are. Kentucky will host Georgia this weekend, with the winner clinching a chance to represent the East division in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.
Excitement, naturally, is surging through the Kentucky fan base. The Wildcats, after a thrilling, improbable comeback win over Missouri last weekend, will be hosting a sold-out crowd and CBS for a national broadcast on Saturday, with SEC Nation airing from the UK campus beforehand.
The hype is inescapable.
“You can’t shy away from it,” Stoops said. “There’s too much information out there. (UK’s players) know what’s going on, and that’s OK. They’re allowed to be excited.”
For that reason, Stoops simply isn’t going to have much to do in the way of motivation leading up to Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. kickoff between the No. 11/12 Wildcats (7-1, 5-1 SEC) and No. 6/6 Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC)…Read More
Scouting Georgia
• Georgia is 7-1 on the season overall and 5-1 in SEC play.
• The Bulldogs are coming off a 36-17 victory over Florida in their annual showdown in Jacksonville.
• Georgia takes advantage of the deep talent pool in the Peach State, with 84 players on its roster from inside state borders.
• After playing in the national championship game last season, Georgia is once again thriving despite losing its top two tailbacks and best defensive player.
• The Bulldogs ranked in the top 30 nationally in both total offense (28) and defense (14).
• Quarterback Jake Fromm is completing 67 percent of his passes and has 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions.
• The one-two running punch of Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift has combined to pile up over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns.
• Georgia has one of the best pass defenses in the country and is aided by it pass rush, which is led by linebacker D’Andre Walker. He has 6.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.
Series vs. Georgia
• Georgia leads the all-time series 57-12-2, including 27-7 in Lexington.
• UK is looking to snap an eight-game losing skid to Georgia. The Cats’ last win came in 2009 (34-27) in Athens.
• Georgia escaped Lexington with a 27-24 win in 2016 as Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a gamewinning 25-yard field goal as time expired after the Cats had tied the game with 2:47 remaining.
• The Cats got off to a good start in last season’s game but the Bulldogs ultimately took control with its vaunted rushing attack and piled up 381 yards on the ground.
• Georgia has won 24 of the past 27 meetings with the UK victories coming in 1996, 2006 and 2009.
• The two teams played nine times from 1939-49, and after a six-year lull, have played annually since 1956. The Wildcats won that initial game 13-6.
• Biggest UK win: 33 (33-0) in 1977 in Athens
• Biggest Georgia win: 45 (62-17) in 2004 in Lexington
• Games decided by 7 points or less: Georgia leads 17-8-2
• Benny Snell Jr. has rushed for 208 yards and three scores in two games against Georgia.
• Josh Allen picked off a pass on Georgia’s first possession last season, leading to a UK field goal. It remains the only interception of Allen’s illustrious career.
Kentucky-Georgia Connections
• Kentucky has had great recruiting success in Georgia and currently has 12 players from the state on its roster: LS Blake Best (Duluth), DE T.J. Carter (Mableton), S Yusuf Corker (McDonough), LB Jamin Davis (Ludowici), S Jordan Griffin (Riverdale), RB Sihiem King (Colquitt), DE Shawn Lawson (Jonesboro), DL Jerquavion Mahone (Jordan City), OT E.J. Price (Lawrenceville), RB Christopher Rodriguez Jr. (McDonough), DE Calvin Taylor Jr. (Augusta) and LS Tristan Yeomans (Waycross).
• Georgia does not have a player from the Commonwealth.
• UK head coach Mark Stoops and offensive coordinator Eddie Gran and Georgia co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach James Coley all know each other quite well from their time at Florida State. Coley and Gran worked hand-in-hand on the Seminoles’ offense as Stoops ran the defense.
• UGA offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Jim Chaney was the OC and interim head coach at Tennessee in 2012. UK co-OC and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw was the wide receivers coach on that staff with Chaney.
Cats vs. The Ranked
• Kentucky has played 248 ranked teams in the Associated Press Poll in its history. The Cats are 43-199-5 in those games. The Cats are 4-4 against ranked teams since 2015. The wins were over No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 25 Florida (2018), No. 11 Louisville (2016) and No. 25 Missouri (2015).
• Georgia is the third ranked opponent for the Cats this season after wins over Florida and Mississippi State. It marked the first consecutive wins over ranked foes since the 1976 and 1977 teams combined to defeat five ranked opponents in a row.
• Georgia leads the series with Kentucky 29-3 when the Bulldogs are ranked.
• The Cats’ last win over a ranked Georgia team was in 1988 vs. the 11th-ranked Bulldogs in Lexington, 16-10.
• The Cats’ last win over a top-10 ranked team was No. 10 South Carolina in 2010 at home.
A Kentucky Win Would…
• Send Kentucky to the SEC Championship game for the first time since the event began in 1992.
• Improve Kentucky to 8-1, the best nine-game start to a season since 1977 (8-1) and equal the most regular season wins since 1984
• Improve Kentucky to 6-1 in SEC play, the best SEC record since 1977 (6-0)
• Break the school record for most SEC wins over a three-season span (14); the 1976-78 teams won 13 league games
• Improve Kentucky to 17-6 over its last 23 regular-season games, best 23-game regular-season stretch since Oct. 9 1976 to Oct. 14, 1978 (17-5-1)
• Improve Kentucky to 13-7 in its last 20 SEC games, the best 20-game stretch since Nov. 13, 1976 through the 1979 season (13-7)
• Improve Kentucky to 6-0 at home, tying the school record for most home wins in a season since Commonwealth Stadium/Kroger Field opened in 1973. UK also won six home games in 1976 (6-1) and 2006 (6-1)
• Snap an eight-game losing streak to Georgia
• Give UK Coach Mark Stoops his first win over Georgia
• Give UK its first win over Georgia since Rich Brooks led the Cats to a 34-27 win in Athens in 2009.
• Be the Cats’ first win on CBS since knocking off No. 1 LSU 43-37 in three overtimes on Oct. 13, 2007.
• Give the Cats their third win over a ranked team this season (also defeated No. 25 Florida and No. 14 Mississippi State).
• Give the Cats their first win over a ranked Georgia team since upsetting the 11th-ranked Bulldogs in Lexington in 1988, 16-10.
• Give the Cats their first win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 10 South Carolina in Lexington in 2010, 31-28.
Don Franklin Auto Countdown to Kickoff Show
All-Southeastern Conference defensive end Jeremy Jarmon and former quarterback Dusty Bonner will be alongside host Christi Thomas for the Don Franklin Auto Countdown To Kickoff, the two-hour pregame show that airs prior to each UK football game in 2018.
A live video broadcast of Countdown to Kickoff will air on UKAthletics.com, the UK Athletics mobile app and the Kentucky Football Facebook page.
For home games, Countdown to Kickoff will broadcast live in front of Nutter Field House outside Gate 1 of Kroger Field with special guests and giveaways. The set of the show is conveniently located near the Coke Fan Zone in Nutter Field House and the Cat Walk presented by Chevy.
When the Wildcats are on the road, the show will broadcast from Kroger at the Tates Creek Centre in Lexington.
