Georgia visits Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington. Here are your three keys to a Georgia victory.
By Steve Wright
The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (3-1) will be nice and rested after a week off when they take on the Kentucky Wildcats (2-3) in Lexington this Saturday. With schools like Notre Dame and Oklahoma State remaining undefeated – along with Ohio State looking dominant in their opener – Kirby Smart’s bunch can’t afford a slip up here.
Don’t let Kentucky force mistakes
This is one of those games where Georgia wins on talent if all things are equal. The Kentucky defense has excelled this season at not making things equal, with the Wildcats following a six interception performance against Mississippi State with four more takeaways against Tennessee. Those were both wins – but the D couldn’t make turnovers happen against Mizzou in the Wildcats’ most recent defeat. Stetson Bennett needs to recover from his 18-of—40 with three picks performance against Alabama, with a big warning sign flashing in front of him that this Kentucky defense can get after the football if he slips up.
Stop the run
Kentucky wants to run the ball and that will be the case whether incumbent – but seemingly injured – starter Terry Wilson or Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood is the starter on Saturday at quarterback. The Kentucky running game is far better than the 22 attempts for 98 yards that it racked up against Missouri. This is an attack that has a 400-yard day on its books this season, and sometimes it feels like the play calling is getting in the way of the rushing attack as opposed to making it shine. Chris Rodriguez – his 5.5 yards per carry average and four touchdowns on the ground- is their key guy, but the Wildcats have a stable of backs that can effectively run the ball. Stopping the ground game is priority No. 1 for Georgia.
Keep the linebackers active
The Georgia linebackers have been next-level good so far this season. Outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari is impossible to play against and he has 15 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 13 hurries on the season already. Inside backer Monty Rice has 24 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack. The other linebackers – even in sub-packages – are just as active and they are the heartbeat of this Georgia defense. Keeping these players active by designing plays where they can attack the quarterback roam all over the field will be huge.
Saturday‘s Georgia football game kicks off at 11:00 PM CT (12:00 PM ET). You can watch on the SEC Network.
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