Georgia coach Kirby Smart knows what his Bulldogs are up against trailing Kentucky 6-3 at halftime in Lexington.

“Give credit to them,” Smart said during his ABC-TV halftime interview, “this is the road in the SEC, this is what it is.”

The Wildcats (1-1) have outgained Georgia 130-63 — the lowest first-half offensive yardage total for the Bulldogs since a 2009 game with LSU.

Kentucky, led by UGA transfer Brock Vandagriff, have also controlled the ball for 19 minutes, 34 seconds to Georgia’s 10:26.

UGA quarterback Carson Beck is just 5-of-11 passing for 32 yards, while Vandagriff is enjoying a 9-of-14 for 59-yard first half.

Georgia tailback Trevor Etienne, who has nine carries for 26 yards, is dealing with a shoulder injury.

“He may be able to come back, he’s done a phenomenal job tonight,” Smart said. “He’s running his tail off, we have to help him out, we have to get some things going.”

Smart credited the Kentucky defensive line for UGA’s lack of success, and offensive guard Tate Ratledge leaving the game with an ankle injury hasn’t helped things.

“Their defensive front challenged our team the most,” Smart said. “We didn’t get many explosives offensively, we haven’t been able to generate anything offensively, we don’t have much of a rhythm offensively.”

Georgia has won 14 straight in its series with Kentucky and is riding a national-high 41-game regular season win streak that dates back to 2020.