Kentucky to Step Between the Hedges at Georgia
Kentucky will head to Georgia this week riding the emotional high of a thrilling victory over Arkansas at Kroger Field last Saturday night. The game is set for a 6 p.m. ET kickoff and will air on ESPN.
Lynn Bowden Jr. turned in a virtuoso performance against the Razorbacks in his first career start at quarterback, scooting his way to 196 rushing yards and two touchdowns, as well as 78 passing yards and his first career passing touchdown. The rushing total is the second-most for a quarterback in UK history and came at a time the Cats needed it most. UK churned out 330 total rushing yards in ending a threegame losing streak.
The defense held up its end of the bargain too, rebounding from a 74-yard scoring run on the second play of the game to hold Arkansas to 231 total yards the rest of the night. The unit stopped a potential game-winning drive in the closing minutes.
Georgia is coming off its first defeat of the season, a double overtime upset at the hands of South Carolina.
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| Kentucky at Georgia | ||
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| Sat., Oct. 19 – 6 p.m. ET Sanford Stadium Athens, Ga. Game Notes: UK  | UGA Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | Team Stats | UGA |
| 3-3 | Record | 5-1 |
| 1-3 | Conference Record | 2-1 |
| 23.5 | Scoring/game | 38.5 |
| 384.3 | Total offense/game | 504.8 |
| 192.3 | Rushing yards/game | 237.2 |
| 192.0 | Passing yards/game | 267.7 |
| 22.6 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 16.3 |
| 10.8 | Punt returns (avg) | 14.3 |
| 50.4 | Punting (avg) | 45.9 |
| 31:29 | Time of possession/game | 33:40 |
| 37.0% | Third down conversion | 46.3% |
| 50.0% | Fourth down conversion | 25.0% |
| 23.7 | Points allowed/game | 12.3 |
| 380.7 | Total yards allowed/game | 281.7 |
| 173.2 | Rush yards allowed/game | 73.3 |
| 207.5 | Pass yards allowed/game | 208.3 |
Cat Scratches: UK Embracing Challenge at Georgia
Emotions ran high last Saturday night.
Mired in a three-game losing streak and down to a quarterback who hadn’t played the position in years, Kentucky pulled together as a team. The comeback win over Arkansas touched off a locker room celebration with plenty of dancing and eventually with Mark Stoops being lifted off the ground by his team.
“It’s just to have fun,” Stoops said. “Those guys, they’ve invested a lot. They need to have a little fun, enjoy it. That’s really meant for us in that locker room just to have some fun.”
Georgia, by contrast, felt emotions on the other end of the spectrum after falling from the ranks of the unbeaten in double overtime against South Carolina. On Saturday at 6 p.m., the two squads will meet.
The Wildcats want to carry momentum from their win into Athens, Georgia, but they haven’t been able to let that postgame celebration last past Saturday night considering the task at hand….Read More
Scouting Georgia
• Georgia is 5-1 on the season, including a 2-1 start in league play.
• The Bulldogs are coming off their first loss of the season, a 20-17 double-overtime loss at home to South Carolina last weekend.
• UK and Georgia have played one common opponent thus far: South Carolina. The Cats lost 24-7 in Columbia on Sept. 28 and the Gamecocks followed it up with an upset win in Athens.
• Kirby Smart is in his fourth season with the Bulldogs and owns a 37-11 record during his tenure. The Bulldogs have played in the College Football Playoff twice.
• The Bulldogs scored a big win earlier this season when they knocked off Notre Dame in a thriller.
• Georgia ranks 10th nationally in total offense and 12th nationally in total defense as one of the most balanced teams in the country.
• Quarterback Jake Fromm has been incredibly efficient, completing 70 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and just three interceptions. He is 28-6 as a starter at UGA.
• The Bulldogs’ receiving corps is a balanced group with eight players having caught at least nine passes and none with more than 19.
• Georgia has 29 players who have recorded a tackle for loss this season and 11 who have gotten to the quarterback for a sack.
Series vs. Georgia
• Georgia leads the all-time series 58-12-2.
• The Bulldogs own a 29-4-2 edge in Athens.
• Georgia has won nine straight meetings dating to 2010. The Cats won 34-27 in Athens in 2009.
• The scoring margin during the current nine-game UGA winning streak in the series is 19.3.
• The winner has scored at least 27 points in seven straight games 10 of the past 11.
• UK is 3-25 all-time in games played against a ranked Georgia squad with the last win coming in 1988.
• 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
• Last season’s meeting determined the SEC East winner, with the No. 6 Bulldogs defeating the No. 11 Cats 34-17 in Lexington.
• The Bulldogs out-rushed the Cats 331 to 84 in the game, controlling the clock and the line ofscrimmage behind a powerful running game.
• UK athlete Lynn Bowden Jr. caught six passes for 52 yards in that game, while running back A.J. Rose caught four passes for 59 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown from Terry Wilson.
Kentucky-Georgia Connections
• Kentucky has 14 players from the state of Georgia on its roster, the fourth-most from any state behind Ohio and Kentucky (23) and Florida (18).
• The 14 players include LB Marquez Bembry (Stone Mountain), LS Blake Best Duluth), DL T.J. Carter (Mableton), S Yusuf Corker (McDonough), LB Jamin Davis (Ludowici), DB Taj Dodson (Union Grove), CB Jordan Griffin (Riverdale), DE Shawn Lawson (Jonesboro), DL Qua Mahone (Jordan City), LB K.D. McDaniel (Tifton), S Quandre Mosley (Brunswick), RB Christopher Rodriguez Jr. (McDonough), DE Calvin Taylor Jr. (Augusta) and LB Tra Wilkins (Lithonia).
• Georgia does not have a player on its roster from Kentucky.
• 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.
A UK Win Would…
• End a nine-game losing streak to Georgia dating to 2010.
• Be UK’s first victory in Athens since 2009, a 34-27 triumph, and fifth win in 36 trips there overall.
• Be UK’s fourth-ever win over a ranked Georgia team.
• Give UK its first win over a ranked Georgia team since 1988 when UK upset 11th-ranked Georgia, 16-10 in Lexington on Oct. 22.
• Give UK its first-ever win over a ranked Georgia team in Athens.
• Give UK its first win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 10 South Carolina in 2010, 31-28, in Lexington.
• Give UK its first win over a top-10 team on the road since upsetting No. 4 Penn State in 1977.
• Give UK its first win over a ranked SEC team on the road since 1998 vs. No. 21 LSU, 39-36, in Baton Rouge.
• Give UK its first win over a top-10 SEC team on the road since 19664 when the Cats upset topranked Ole Miss in Oxford, 27-21.
• Give coach Mark Stoops 40 career victories at UK, moving him within one of Jerry Claiborne (1982-89) and Blanton Collier (1954-61) for third on the school’s all-time list.
• Even UK’s record in October games under Stoops to 12-11.
