SEC football final: Georgia Bulldogs 13, Kentucky Wildcats 12

john clay

Sat, Sep 14, 2024, 6:29 p.m.·3 min read

Hoping to shake off last week’s 31-6 spanking by South Carolina, Kentucky jumps right back into SEC play with a matchup against No. 1-ranked Georgia on Saturday at Kroger Field. ABC has the telecast, starting at 7 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:44 p.m.

UK coach Mark Stoops is 0-11 against the Bulldogs, including 0-8 against current Georgia coach Kirby Smart. In fact, Kentucky has lost 14 straight to the team from Athens. The Wildcats last win over Georgia came in Athens, 34-27 in 2009. For the gamblers out there, Georgia is a 24-point favorite.

Jon Hale, Mark Story and yours truly will be in the press box high above Kroger Field on Saturday. Follow us on X/Twitter at @jonhale_hl, @markcstory and @johnclayiv.

Or you can follow a Kentucky football X/Twitter list by clicking here.

Final: Georgia 13, Kentucky 12

▪ Kentucky drops to 1-2 on the season, including 0-2 in the SEC.

▪ Georgia won its 28th straight regular-season SEC game.

▪ Georgia has won 15 straight games over Kentucky.

▪ Final stats

End of 3rd quarter: Kentucky 9, Georgia 6

▪ The two teams traded field goals in the third quarter, but Georgia has started moving the ball.

▪ Kentucky has rushed for 124 yards.

▪ Stats through three quarters

Halftime: Kentucky 6, Georgia 3

▪ Alex Raynor’s 32-yard field goal with five seconds left in the half gave Kentucky a 6-3 lead.

▪ First time UK has led Georgia at the half since 14-13 in 2016. Georgia rallied to win 27-24 in Lexington.

▪ Kentucky was 7-of-10 on third down in the first half. Georgia was 1-of-6.

▪ Georgia had 63 total yards in the first half.

▪ First half stats

End of 1Q: Kentucky 3, Georgia 0

▪ Kentucky’s Alex Raynor booted a 55-yard field goal for the quarter’s only score. The kick was a UK school record. Raynor was 1-of-5 from kicks of 50+ yards.

▪ Kentucky outgained Georgia 67-32 in the first quarter.

▪ Cats played with much more intensity and better execution than they showed in last week’s 31-6 loss to South Carolina.

▪ First quarter stats

Kentucky-Georgia pregame notes

▪ I posted some game day notes and a prediction.

▪ Georgia cornerback Daniel Harris was arrested for reckless driving on Thursday but was expected to make the trip to Lexington. He is at least the 25th Bulldog to be arrested or cited for speeding, reckless driving or racing since Jan. 15, 2023.

▪ Georgia has won 27 straight regular-season SEC games. Here’s the list.

▪ ESPN and DirecTV struck a deal Saturday morning, so if you are a DirecTV customer you should be able to watch Kentucky-Georgia.

▪ Both teams have only played two games. Kentucky’s first game was called by weather after 35 minutes. Georgia played an FCS team (Tennessee Tech) last week. Still, Georgia is No. 5 nationally in total defense, allowing 161 yards per game. Kentucky is No. 8 nationally in total defense, allowing 191.5 yards per game.

▪ Georgia is allowing 3.22 yards per play. Kentucky is allowing 4.73 yards per play.

▪ Georgia is averaging 7.81 yards per play on offense. Kentucky is averaging 4.76.

▪ Georgia had 45 active players on NFL rosters for Week 1. Kentucky had 18.