There is a clash of the unbeaten on Saturday in Athens as the 6-0 and No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs take on the No. 11 ranked (and also 6-0) Kentucky Wildcats. Here are the three keys to a Georgia win.
By Steve Wright
1 – Don’t turn it over
The Kentucky defense has been very good without being amazing at any one thing that can turn a game like this. They haven’t allowed anyone over 175 yards on the ground – including the lethal Florida run game – while no one has passed for more than 300 yards either. This is good and efficient, but against Georgia, there needs to be something more. Kentucky has only six takeaways on the season – and none in the last two games. If Georgia doesn’t turn it over the Wildcats’ defense will eventually fall away.
2 – Stop Chris Rodriguez Jr.
The Wildcats are built a little like the Bulldogs in the way they like to run the football and sustain drives. This should result in them controlling the clock – though it hasn’t that much this year – and the way they do it is through the power of Chris Rodriguez Jr. Rodriguez is a third-down machine and in total this season he has rushed for 768 yards and five touchdowns at a ridiculous 6.4 yards per carry. This is despite every team knowing he is the No. 1 option. Rodriguez rushed for almost 150 yards and a score last week against LSU (at 9.2 yards per carry) and Georgia will look to make Kentucky one-dimensional by taking him out of the game.
3 – Stay ahead on the scoreboard
This is a game that Georgia is talented enough to win. You would, however, have said the same about the Alabama vs. A&M game last weekend. The Aggies won that contest through scoreboard pressure. They got up on ‘Bama and made the former No. 1 team in the country answer questions that it could not. Pressure is a funny thing and Georgia needs to stay away from pressure by scoring early and keeping some scoreboard distance.
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