UK Opens Two-Game Road Swing at Georgia
The Kentucky football team will kickoff a two-game road trip to conclude Southeastern Conference play, traveling to face division foe Georgia on Saturday, with kickoff slated for Noon ET at Sanford Stadium.
Kentucky will be seeking to snap a three-game losing streak in its third road game of the season. UK has a road win at South Carolina and suffered a loss on Oct. 24 at Mississippi State in its two road tilts in 2015. The Wildcats will be seeking their fifth all-time win at Georgia and its first since 2009. UK will conclude its road and league schedule the following weekend, traveling to Vanderbilt.
The Wildcats are coming off a 52-21 loss to Tennessee last week, with the Vols coming from behind in the second quarter to erase an early UK lead. UK got a 77-yard fumble return for a touchdown from senior defensive tackle Cory Johnson to open the scoring in the first quarter, with Patrick Towles and Garrett Johnson connecting for another score and Towles scrambling in from one-yard out for his 10th career TD rush.
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| Kentucky at Georgia | ||
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| Sat., Nov. 7 – 12 p.m. ET Sanford Stadium Athens, Ga. Game Notes: UK  | UGA Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | 2015 Team Stats | UGA |
| 4-4 | Record | 5-3 |
| 2-4 | Conference Record | 3-3 |
| 24.2 | Scoring/game | 29.4 |
| 387.1 | Total offense/game | 403.6 |
| 142.6 | Rushing yards/game | 197.2 |
| 244.5 | Passing yards/game | 206.4 |
| 21.7 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 16.7 |
| 8.7 | Punt returns (avg) | 13.0 |
| 39.7 | Punting (avg) | 40.0 |
| 29:23 | Time of possession/game | 27:17 |
| 39% | Third down conversion | 31% |
| 77% | Fourth down conversion | 25% |
| 29.1 | Points allowed/game | 20.4 |
| 414.6 | Total yards allowed/game | 321.0 |
| 182.2 | Rush yards allowed/game | 138.0 |
| 232.4 | Pass yards allowed/game | 183.0 |
UK’s offensive attack has seen Towles throw for 1,914 yards and nine TDs, with Johnson totaling 562 yards to lead the air attack. Dorian Baker has added three TD catches and a club-high 42 receptions.
Next Opportunity Approaching for Kentucky
It didn’t take more than a few minutes for Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats to move from stewing over a loss to Tennessee on Saturday to focusing on the next opportunity awaiting them at Georgia.
Days later, that opportunity is at hand.
“We are looking forward to Georgia,” Stoops said. “That is the beautiful thing is we have another great challenge going in and playing at Georgia, on the road, and a team that is probably upset just like us. The only way you can erase this feeling in your program is to get a victory, I am sure they feel the same way, just like we do to go out and play a very good game this week.”
As Stoops referenced, the Wildcats (4-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) and Bulldogs (5-3, 3-3 SEC) enter Saturday’s noon matchup in Athens, Ga., in similar positions. Both began the season on a high note, combining for a record of 7-1 in September. October, however, wasn’t so kind. The two teams each went 1-3 and closed the month with blowout losses to SEC East Division rivals…Read More
Series vs. Georgia
Georgia leads the all-time series with Kentucky, 54-12-2, including a 27-4-2 record in games played in Athens, Ga. UK is seeking its first win at UGA since 2009 and just its fifth win overall, joining 1956, 1973 and 1977. The last time the two teams met in Athens, the Bulldogs defeated the Cats, 59-17. Georgia has won six consecutive meetings in the series since 2009 and have won eight of the last 10. Georgia won last year’s meeting in Lexington, 63-31. The two teams played nine times from 1939-49, and after a six-year lull, have played annually since 1956. 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 16-8-2
Last Meeting
Then-No. 17 Georgia posted a 63-31 win over Kentucky on Nov. 8, 2014 in Commonwealth Stadium on Senior Day. The Bulldogs opened with 21 points in the first quarter, before UK exploded for 24 points to cut the lead to 34-24 at halftime. UGA answered with the next 28 points – 21 in the third quarter – to post the win and improve to 7-2, 5-2 in the league. The loss dropped UK to 5-5, 2-5 in the SEC. Georgia’s offense collected 559 yards of total offense in the win, including 254 yards in the air and 305 yards rushing. UK had 353 yards of offense, with 214 coming on the ground. Boom Williams rushed for 98 yards on just nine carries, with QB Patrick Towles carrying it 17 times for 60 yards and a touchdown. Braylon Heard rushed 14 times for 38 yards and a TD. Towles was 16-for-31 for 139 yards and a touchdown, going to WR Javess Blue. Demarco Robinson had five catches for 43 yards. Georgia’s Nick Chubb rushed 13 times for 170 yards and a TD. Sony Michel had 16 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown. Hutson Mason threw for four TDs and 174 yards on 13-for-16 passes. Brice Ramsey had a TD pass in relief.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Georgia (5-3, 3-3 SEC) enters the game with UK coming off a 27-3 loss to No. 11/12 Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bulldogs are coached by 15th year head coach Mark Richt, who has won 141 games during his time with UGA. The Bulldogs are averaging 29.4 points per game through their first eight games. UGA is averaging 197.2 rushing yards per game, 206.4 passing yards and 403.6 yards of total offense per game. Defensively, UGA is holding opponents to 321 yards and 20.4 points per game. Off to a blistering start to the season, UGA star running back Nick Chubb suffered an injury that thwarted his run at the Heisman Trophy. Chubb has 747 rushing yards on the year, and average of 124.5 yards per game, and seven TDs through six games. Sony Michel has picked up for Chubb, rushing it 102 times for 553 yards and four TDs. QBs Greyson Lambert, Faton Bauta and Brice Ramsey have combined to captain the UGA offense. Lambert has started seven games and Bauta started vs. Florida last week. Lambert is 100-for-156 with nine TDs and 1,276 yards. Bauta went 15-for-33 with 154 yards vs. the Gators. In the air, WR Malcom Mitchell is leading the way with 39 catches for 565 yards and four TDs. Michel has three TDs and 18 catches for 206 yards. Defensively, UGA is led by UAB transfer Jake Ganus at linebacker, with Ganus totaling 55 tackles and two interceptions. Leonard Floyd leads the line with 3.5 sacks, with Jordan Jenkins charting 8.5 tackles for a loss. QB Brice Ramsey punted six times vs. UF for a 43.2 yard average, including a 50 yarder and one dropped inside the 20. Collin Barber has punted 34 times for 40.6 yards. Marshall Morgan is 10-for-14 in field-goal attempts, with a long of 47 yards.
Texas Roadhouse Countdown to Kickoff
Tune in to the UK Sports Network for the “Texas Roadhouse Countdown to Kickoff” two hours before every football game. From Cat Walk to Cat Talk, host Christi Thomas and former UK Quarterback Freddie Maggard will focus on the X’s and O’s of the game and bring a little fun to pregame in the first 30 minutes of the show. Afterward, Host Neil Price is joined by Oscar Combs, Dick Gabriel, Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro to continue the official pregame broadcast until kickoff. The show is broadcast in Lexington on 98.1 WBUL & 630 WLAP, UK Radio Network affiliates, online at ukathletics.com, and in the UK Gameday App. For the first time, the two-hour pregame show will be live streamed every home game for fans to watch on ukathletics.com.
