Inside Track to Atlanta on the Line as No. 11 Kentucky Visits Top-Ranked Georgia
Pole position in the race for the SEC Championship Game is on the line this Saturday as No. 11 Kentucky travels to No. 1 Georgia in arguably the biggest FBS game of the week. Game time is 3:30 p.m. EDT and it will air CBS Sports. ESPN College GameDay will be in Athens, along with the Marty & McGee and SEC Nation shows.
Kentucky is seeking a 7-0 start for the first time since 1950 and just the fifth time in history (1910, 1903, 1898), as well as its first win over a No. 1 team since 2007.
The Wildcats are coming off a 42-21 win over LSU, the most points UK has ever scored against the Tigers in a regulation-length game. The Kentucky defense forced a turnover on the game’s first possession, setting up the Wildcats for a lead they never relinquished, and also claimed three stops on fourth-down conversion attempts.
Quarterback Will Levis was named National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, completing 14 of 17 for 145 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 75 yards and two scores. Linebacker DeAndre Square had eight tackles, including the quarterback sack/fumble on the opening possession.
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| Kentucky at Georgia | ||
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| Sat., Oct. 16 – 3:30 p.m. ET Sanford Stadium Athens, Ga. Game Notes: UK | UGA Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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TV: CBS |
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| UK | Team Stats | UGA |
| 6-0 | Record | 6-0 |
| 4-0 | Conference Record | 4-0 |
| 31.0 | Scoring/game | 39.8 |
| 411.8 | Total offense/game | 432.5 |
| 214.2 | Rushing yards/game | 197.2 |
| 197.7 | Passing yards/game | 235.3 |
| 16.2 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 24.0 |
| 3.8 | Punt returns (avg) | 6.9 |
| 43.2 | Punting (avg) | 45.3 |
| 30:45 | Time of possession/game | 32:38 |
| 45.2% | Third down conversion | 48.7% |
| 25.0% | Fourth down conversion | 40.0% |
| 17.5 | Points allowed/game | 5.5 |
| 305.0 | Total yards allowed/game | 203.5 |
| 111.2 | Rush yards allowed/game | 66.5 |
| 193.8 | Pass yards allowed/game | 137.0 |
Cat Scratches: Kentucky Offense Hoping to Capitalize on Opportunities
Kentucky faces its biggest challenge of the season so far on Saturday, facing top-ranked Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens.
The task for Kentucky’s offense this week will be facing the nation’s top defense. Plan and simple, the Bulldogs have been amazing this year. Georgia allows just 5.5 points per game on the season, which is first in the country. They allow just 201.2 yards total per game, also first in the country.
Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen is very impressed with the Bulldogs’ defense.
“Extremely talented group, extremely well-coached,” Coen said. “(They) play physical, play violent. There’s a reason why they’re the best defense in the country, there’s a reason why they’re the number one team in the country. They play their tails off, it will be a really good test for us.”
Coen saw his offense have one of its better performances of the year on Saturday in a 42-21 win over LSU. The Cats did a lot of things right in the win and Coen was happy to see a number of different Cats contributing…Read More
Cats in the National Polls
• Kentucky entered the Associated Press Top 25 on Oct. 3, coming in at No. 16, advancing to No. 11 after the win over LSU.
• It is the highest AP ranking for UK since Oct. 28, 2018, when the Cats were No. 11 after a 7-1 start.
• The Cats also have moved to No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, their highest ranking since ending the 2018 season at No. 11.
• UK also is ninth in the Football Writers Association of America/National Football Foundation “Super 16” poll.
Kentucky vs. The Ranked
• Kentucky has played 258 ranked teams in the Associated Press Poll in its history. The Cats are 47-206-5 in those games.
• Since 2015, the Cats are 8-10 against ranked teams. The wins were over No. 10 Florida (2021), No. 23 NC State (2020), No. 18 Tennessee (2020), No. 12 Penn State, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 25 Florida (2018), No. 11 Louisville (2016) and No. 25 Missouri (2015).
• UK is 3-32 vs. a ranked Georgia team. All three of the wins were in Lexington (1947, 1965 and 1988).
• UK’s last win over a ranked Georgia team came in 1988 when the Cats won 16-10 over the No. 11 Bulldogs in Lexington. Prior to that it was 1965.
• UK’s last win over a ranked SEC team was over No. 10 Florida earlier this season (Oct. 2, 2021).
• UK is 3-14 all-time vs. No. 1-ranked teams.
• This marks just the fourth time in school history a ranked UK team has met the AP Poll top-ranked team:
Jan. 1, 1951 – No. 7 UK vs. No. 1 Oklahoma
Nov. 24, 1951 – No. 9 UK vs. No. 1 Tennessee
Oct. 13, 2007 – No. 17 UK vs. No. 1 LSU
Series vs. Georgia
• Georgia leads the all-time series 60-12-2.
• Georgia leads 30-4-2 in Athens.
• Georgia has won 11 consecutive meetings dating back to UK’s 34-27 win in Athens in 2009.
• UK is 3-27 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
A UK Win Would…
• Make the Cats 7-0 for the first time since 1950 and just the fifth time in school history (1910, 1903, 1898). Only once in the past 111 years has UK started 7-0.
• Move UK to 5-0 in SEC play for the first time since 1977.
• Push the Cats’ current winning streak to nine games, which would tie for the third-longest in school history.
• Give head coach Mark Stoops 30 SEC victories at UK, extending his school record.
• Give Stoops 56 career victories at UK, putting him just four wins shy of tying Paul “Bear” Bryant for the school’s all-time winning coach.
• Be the first over a top-ranked team since a triple-overtime win over No. 1 and eventual nationally champion LSU in 2007.
• Be the first win in school history over a top-ranked team in a true road game. UK upset No. 1 Ole Miss in Jackson, Mississippi in 1964.
• Improve UK to 4-14 all-time vs. No. 1 teams.
• Be the 13th win all-time vs. Georgia, fourth vs. a ranked UGA team (first since 1988), fifth all-time win in Athens.
• End an 11-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
Kentucky-Georgia Connections
• Kentucky has 13 players from the state of Georgia on its roster, third-most behind Kentucky (39) and Ohio (22).
• The 13 players are: LB Marquez Bembry (Stone Mountain), DB Yusuf Corker (McDonough), DB Taj Dodson (Union Grove), LB D’Eryk Jackson (Dublin), OL Josh Jones (Columbus), LB Shawn Lawson (Jonesboro), DB Quandre Mosely (Brunswick), WR Chauncey Magwood (Albany), LB K.D. McDaniel (Tifton), RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. (McDonough), RB Travis Tisdale (Valdosta), LB Martez Thrower (Rochelle) and LB Trevin Wallace (Jesup)
• Georgia does not have a player on its roster from Kentucky.
• UK inside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall spent the 2018 season at Ole Miss on Matt Luke’s staff. Luke now is the associate head coach/offensive line at UGA.
Last Meeting vs. Georgia
• Kentucky fell in Lexington, 14-3, on Halloween 2020.
• The low-scoring affair came on the heels of a 21-0 Georgia win in a driving rain in 2019.
• Last season, the game was 7-3 at halftime and neither team scored over the final 26 minutes of action.
• The defenses dominated the action, as Kentucky intercepted a pair of passes and held the Bulldogs to 346 total yards. Georgia held the Cats to 229 yards of offense and only 91 passing.
• UK running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. churned out 108 rushing yards on 20 carries.
• Playing against his home state school, former UK linebacker Jamin Davis had 13 tackles and a forced fumble in the game.
