Report Card: Georgia stays unbeaten with 16-6 win over Kentucky

Georgia is now 11-0 on the season after a rather boring 16-6 victory over Kentucky. Georgia controlled the game. It never trailed and led by two scores for over half the game, but let’s be honest, the Bulldogs didn’t look like the Bulldogs we’ve seen since the Missouri game.

A win is a win and no one is going to apologize for that one. With that said, we want to take a deeper look at how the Bulldogs played. Our position-by-position evaluation can be found below in our weekly report card.

Georgia quarterbacks

Stetson Bennett was the only quarterbacks against the Wildcats and it wasn’t a great day. He threw a bad interception and was a spotty part of the game plan, at least as a passer. It looked as if Georgia expected and maybe even wanted the low-scoring contest it got at times. It was ground and pound with limited high-percentage passes mixed in. Bennett didn’t execute that well although he did add some value with his legs. Grade: C

UGA running backs

This was Kenny McIntosh’s show on offense. It was the best game of his career statistically and the eyeball test confirmed that as well. McIntosh broke tackles, finished runs with power, and earned 143 yards on the ground. He scored the only Georgia touchdown and added 19 more receiving yards. Daijun Edwards flashed with a couple of nice runs. Kendall Milton also had some nice flashes in the third quarter. Grade: A

Georgia receivers and tight ends

It seemed as if the Bulldogs were struggling to gain separation at times. It’s tough to see that in real time or with the television copy of the game but it certainly felt that way as Bennett stood back there and held the ball a few times. Ladd McConkey and Dominick BLaylock had productive days. Blaylock’s yardage came almost all on one play but Georgia failed to finish that drive with points. The tight ends were up and down in the run game. Grade: B-

UGA offensive line

It’s hard to recall an offensive line performance that was so good in some areas and so bad in others. The pass protection was strong throughout. Stetson Bennett had time to stand back there and really look at the field a large portion of the time. The run blocking was also really good most of the time. Kentucky stuffed a few first-down runs but Georgia had a lot of success on second. The short-yardage execution, however, was dreadful. Georgia should have put that game away at 23-0 to start the fourth quarter. Grade: B-

Georgia defensive line

The Bulldogs were great at stopping the run. Nazir Stackhouse, Jalen Carter, Zion Logue, and Warren Brinson controlled those interior gaps. The defensive ends did a great job against the run as well. Mykel Williams played a big role in UGA’s fourth-down stop on Kentucky’s first possession. The pressure, however, was inconsistent. There was almost no quick pressure and there would be stretches where Will Levis had plenty of time. Grade: B

Georgia linebackers

Smael Mondon had a huge game. Jamon Dumas-Johnson was also impactful although he missed a couple of tackles. You could see from the press box how well they were reacting to Kentucky’s running backs releasing out of the backfield.

The Bulldogs didn’t get much production from the outside linebacker position. Robert Beal had a half sack and a half tackle for loss but he also had what was almost a costly hands-to-the-face penalty. Grade: B

UGA defensive backs

The Georgia defensive backs didn’t play great but they made big plays. Kelee Ringo and Kamari Lassiter had their struggles on the outside. Both gave up big plays to Barion Brown. Lassiter had a pass interference penalty as well. But Lassiter picked up two big tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Ringo came up with his second interception of the season. The safeties and STAR positions weren’t as impactful and struggled some with Kentucky’s RPO game. Grade: B

Special Teams

Brett Thorson did a nice job with two punts. Both came down inside the Wildcat 20-yard line and one flew out of bounds at the 10. Jack Podlesny did a tremendous job with kickoffs and field goals considering the wind. Georgia didn’t make any mistakes on special teams and held the line. Grade: A

Georgia at Mississippi State overall…

If you listen to Kirby Smart’s comments after the game, it seems like this is the kind of game he expected and wanted. I’m not sure why. I know the wind was whipping a bit and that Kentucky is a team that is going to try and run clock. It didn’t mean that Georgia had to play the game on the Wildcats’ terms. Either way, Georgia didn’t play well and it found a way to control that game for four quarters. It was pretty much over after Kelee Ringo’s interception. Grade: B-