ATHENS — Kentucky could not have played any worse last week in a loss to South Carolina. The Wildcats scored 6 points, gave up 5.0 sacks and had just 44 yards passing.
Now the Wildcats have to play the No. 1 team in the country in Georgia. And while the Bulldogs have an off week and a date with Alabama on the horizon, they aren’t looking past the Wildcats.
Especially with how Mark Stoops’ teams have played Georgia in the past.
“Mark has a workman-like, blue-collar toughness, physicalness, win-the-line-of-scrimmage mentality, and that carries over into his offense,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “So, you know, we’ve always said this has been the physical game – the most physical game we’ve played in most years, especially when we played up there.”
Georgia hasn’t scored more than 20 points in Lexington, Ky., — where this game will be played — since 2018. Georgia won rock fights in both 2020 and 2022.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Kentucky tried to drag Georgia into the mud once again this weekend. With the struggles Kentucky faces in its passing game, the Wildcats ran 18 consecutive running plays against the Gamecocks at one point.
Defensive back Joenel Aguero knows what starting Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff brings to the table. The two faced off often last season when Aguero was a freshman on the scout team while Vandagriff worked as the second-string quarterback for Georgia.
Vandagriff won his fair share of battles against the Georgia defense, but Aguero was quick to remind people that he’s gotten the best of Vandagriff.
He’ll look to do so again on Saturday for the Bulldogs.
“Yeah, we know they’re a physical team,” Aguero said. “Coach Smart is preaching that every day. It’s gonna be like a blow-by-blow, so it’s gonna be a fight.”
Weather has been a factor in previous trips to Kentucky, with the wind being an issue in 2020 and the cold factoring into the equation in 2022. There is a chance for rain on Saturday and Georgia has spent time preparing for that.
For as many eyes as there will be on how the Georgia offense plays at Kentucky, the defense has been very stout against the Wildcats. Only once has Georgia given up more than 20 points against Kentucky since Smart took over and that was in his first trip to Lexington in 2016. Georgia still won that game, and Smart is 8-0 against Stoops.
Georgia beat Kentucky 51-13 in Athens last season, with quarterback Carson Beck shining for the Bulldogs. Georgia has seen Kentucky enough however to know that it’ll be difficult to replicate that performance on the road.
“We’re preparing for a super physical game with a really physical run game,” Smart said.
