Georgia rides red-hot start to blast Kentucky 51-13

ATHENS, Ga. — The Sanford Stadium crowd got what they paid for on Saturday as Georgia stayed unbeaten with a 51-13 beating of Kentucky. The Bulldogs started fast and never looked back, leading by 27 points at the half and outscoring the Wildcats 27-7 in the final two quarters.

Carson Beck had a career day with 389 yards, four touchdowns and an interception on 28 of 35 passing. Brock Bowers topped 100 yards for his third straight game, catching seven passes for 132 yards and a score. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint almost joined him in triple digits with four grabs for 99 yards and a score. The Bulldog run game contribued 173 yards and a touchdown on 31 totes.

Georgia came into the game having scored just 17 points in the first quarter through its first five games. It almost matched that against Kentucky, reaching the end zone on its first two possessions. Both of those possessions ended with Beck touchdown passes. The first capped off the opening possession of the game and it was a 40-yard hookup with Rosemy-Jacksaint. The second was a 15-yard connection with Rara Thomas that was initially ruled incomplete. Replayed showed that Thomas got a foot in bounds and Peyton Woodring‘s PAT staked the Bulldogs to a 14-0 lead.

That was the score at the end of the first quarter and Georgia added on. The Bulldogs took over at their own five-yard line and put together a 13-play, 95-yard drive that ended with Beck throwing his third touchdown of the day, a five-yard toss to Oscar Delp. The PAT put the Bulldogs up 21-0.

This time Kentucky had a response. It get help from a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Warren Brinson and traveled 75 yards on 10 plays. Devin Leary found Josh Kattus for a touchdown from four yards out to cut the Bulldog lead to 21-7.

Georgia scored again on its fourth possession but this time it could only get three. After Bowers dropped a third down pass in the end zone, Woodring came on to hit a 36-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs up by 17 at 24-7.

That started a 13-0 Georgia run to end the first half. The Bulldogs found the end zone for the fourth time in the first half the next time they got the football. This time Georgia took over at its own 45-yard line and used five plays to go 55 yards with Kendall Milton rumbling in from five yards out. The PAT pushed Georgia’s lead to 31-7.

Kentucky got it back with just over a minute left in the half but chewed up just 23 seconds of clock. Georgia got it back with 30 seconds left in the second quarter and got Woodring in position to tack on three more. He connected from 46 yards out, a career long, to take the game into the half with UGA leading 34-7.

The Bulldogs forced a three and out on the opening possession of the second half but Beck made his first and only poor decision of the day. With the Bulldogs facing a 3rd and 16, Beck forced a ball into coverage and it was intercepted by Maxwell Hairston and returned 48 yards to the UGA 27-yard line.

Kentucky needed just two plays to punch it in as Leary found Ray Davis on a screen for a 25-yard touchdown. The Wildcats went for two but Georgia stuffed the direct snap to Davis but the touchdown cut the Bulldog lead 34-13.

The ground game was the focus on the ensuing possession. Georgia threw it just twice for 21 yards as it used 12 plays to go 56 yards. The drive stalled at the 15-yard line and Woodring came on to hit his third field goal of the day to put Georgia up 37-13.

A three and out was the result of Kentucky’s next possession and Georgia continued to pour it on. Beck extended the drive on 3rd and 9 with a 19-yard pass to Thomas and then hit Bowers on the seam the very next play for a 21-yard touchdown. Woodring’s PAT extended UGA’s already-large lead to 31 points at 44-13.

That was the end of the night for Beck, who gave way to Brock Vandagriff. The Bulldogs went three and out with Vandagriff’s first drive of the game but he used his legs and arm to lead the offense on a 12-play, 92-yard march that ended with him finding Andrew Paul for a seven-yard touchdown on fourth down. Woodring’s PAT capped the scoring a 51-13.

Next up for Georgia is a trip to the Music City to take on Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs and Commodores will tee it up at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN.