ATHENS — Kirby Smart gets it, that this Georgia football team hasn’t looked as dominant this season as the past two national championship units.
Still, the Bulldogs are atop the media polls at No. 1, the two-time defending national champs having earned the benefit of the doubt even as some have them on upset alert.
Indeed, Georgia has had to come from double-digits down in each of its first two SEC wins over South Carolina (24-14) and Auburn (27-20).
“We haven’t been dominant on either side of the ball, but we’ve been good,” Smart said on the SEC Network Friday night, appearing on the Paul Finebaum Show as it originated from the Georgia campus.
“I think everyone is having a beauty contest to see who the prettiest team is, and the prettiest is the one who survives and advances.”
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The Bulldogs are a two-touchdown favorite to win what would be a 14th-straight game in the annual series with Kentucky, and a 23-straight game overall dating back to the 2021 season.
Here are four things to know about the UGA game:
Slow scoring, slow starts
The Bulldogs, in the five first quarters they have played, have scored two touchdowns and a field goal, which is perplexing to Smart.
“We have not started fast,” Smart said, “and I can’t put a finger on what that is.”
It’s worth noting Kentucky has struggled against Smart’s defenses, too, and has not scored any first-quarter points since 2017 against UGA.
Physical football
Every SEC game has an element of physicality to it, but Kentucky takes it to another level according to Smart, who said early in the week it would be a “bloodbath” on Saturday night.
“We had to go up there last year and play, and it was a helluva game,” Smart said. “It was a slobber-knocker, it was physical, and we expect this to be the same.”
The receiver situation
Georgia receiver Ladd McConkey returned to play limited snaps last Saturday against Auburn, making the most of them with three catches that converted on third downs.
Smart has indicated McConkey will again be a game-time decision, and if UGA’s elite perimeter threat is limited, the Bulldogs will look to transfers Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas to step up.
Neither Lovett nor Thomas has had more than 60 yards receiving in a game nor caught a touchdown pass as Georgia nears the midway point of the season.
In the trenches
Georgia faces arguably the hottest running back in the SEC in the former of Vanderbilt transfer Ray Davis, who led Kentucky with 280 yards and four touchdowns against Florida last week.
The Bulldogs’ defense starts with stopping the run, as Georgia has not allowed an opposing back to rush for 100 yards or more in 41 games, dating back to Najee Harris rushing for 152 yards in Alabama’s 41-24 win over UGA in 2020.
Kirby Smart is only 3-3 when an opposing back rushes for 100 yards or more, so Davis’ success on the ground along with Kentucky’s success in the opening quarter will be two keys for Georgia fans to zero-in on.
