Kirby Smart expects a physical battle against Mark Stoops-led Kentucky team

With the SEC East already locked up, Georgia has two weekend’s worth of games between them and an undefeated appearance in the conference title game. However, Kirby Smart knows his team can’t get ahead of themselves with a tough matchup with Kentucky on the docket tomorrow.

Smart complimented Mark Stoops and his program during his press conference earlier this week. Although the Wildcats are amidst a tough stretch that includes a home loss to Vanderbilt, he believes that makes them more dangerous as they’ll be out to set the record straight against the Bulldogs.

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“This is one of the challenging ones…Mark Stoops has done an incredible job there with the program,” said Smart. “(They’re) coming off a tough loss against Vandy. I know we’ll get the response from them that you would expect out of a team that’s the quality of Kentucky. They’ve done a tremendous job the last two or three years with what he’s done with their program.”

Georgia’s game with Kentucky has been a surprisingly crucial one for both programs over the last few seasons. 2018 was a matchup between Top-10 teams that the Dawgs won 34-17. Then, in 2021, the game featured Top-12 teams that Georgia also won 30-13.

While Georgia has dominated the series as of late, there’s one side of the game that Smart says will be present regardless of the score. He knows Kentucky is going to bring a level of physicality that his team will have to be ready for on Saturday.

“Extremely physical and tough. When you ask our kids over the last two years what the most physical game they played in, every one of them talks about how physical the Kentucky game was two years ago up there. And then at our place last year,” Smart said. “So, great challenge for us…and looking forward to the opportunity.”

With the division secured, some may view this as a spot where Georgia could trip over their last two. If they lock in and match the Cat’s toughness, though, they should be well on their way to their 11th win of the season to cap off an undefeated SEC run.