ATHENS – There is at least one good thing about Georgia playing Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington, and it has nothing to do with the Wildcats’ poor overall performance this season.
It’s about the offense they run.
For the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs, it’s closer to looking in the mirror. Georgia’s last two opponents - Tennessee and Mississippi State - were wildly different schematically, with funky, wide splits and hurry-up action for one and then the dink-and-dunk, spread of the Air Raid the Bulldogs just faced in Mississippi State.
Coach Mark Stoops’ Kentucky offense means a return to more traditional pro-style concepts, and that’s a somewhat welcomed return to normalcy for the Bulldogs’ defenders.
“We’ve had no overlap in our calls,” coach Kirby Smart said after Georgia’s 45-19 win over Mississippi State Saturday night in Starkville. “We had Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi State. I don’t want to minimize what our team is doing right now in terms of commitment to practice and toughness and doing things the right way. I’m really proud of them. I think people take it for granted sometimes. It’s hard to do what they’ve been doing.”
Georgia’s defense responded to the challenge. The Bulldogs allowed 17.3 points a game during that three-game stretch. Three drastically offenses averaged 322.7 yards against them, which included 91 yards rushing and 241 yards passing.
While that was slightly above Georgia’s nationally-leading averages coming into the stretch, it represented a significant decrease for those offenses coming into their games against the Bulldogs. Georgia heads into Week 12 ranked No. 2 nationally in points allowed (11.6 pg), third against the rush (82.4 ypg), sixth in yards allowed (269.7 pg) and 21st against the pass (187.3 ypg).
Smart would never say it, but the Wildcats might represent a bit of relief offensively. Quite the opposite of the expectation coming into the season, Kentucky is actually the SEC’s worst offense heading into Week 12.
The Wildcats are last in the league in yards (339.5) and points (23.3). That’s quite an anomaly considering the expectations for an offense led by quarterback Will Levis and running back Chris Rodriguez.
Kentucky certainly was hurt by the four-game suspension to start the season for Rodriguez, a preseason All-SEC selection. But the 5-foot-11, 224-pound senior from McDonough is fully back in the fold at this point. With a 72-yard touchdown run against Vanderbilt last Saturday, Rodriguez leads the SEC with 122.2 yards per game rushing average.
Rodriguez is expected to be a major focus defensively for the Bulldogs, who will be playing in another freezing-cold game on the SEC road. He managed just seven yards on seven carries against Georgia last year in Athens, but he had 108 yards on 20 carries in a 14-3 loss to Georgia at Kentucky’s Kroger Field in 2020.
But Georgia has proven to be just as reliable away from Sanford Stadium as it has been on it. It hasn’t lost on an opposing team’s field since dropping a 41-24 decision to Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2020.
Smart says there’s a reason for that.
He credits what he calls the program’s “DNA traits,” which he lists as toughness, resiliency, composure and connection.
“They travel,” Smart said of taking those traits. “They’re going with us, and we’re going to use them when we need them.”
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