5 Things You Need to Know About the Georgia Bulldogs

We’ve seen a slow and steady build of the Kentucky football program since Coach Mark Stoops came to Lexington. First, the program became bowl eligible again in 2016 after missing five consecutive postseasons. Then, the Wildcats ended ugly losing streaks to Florida and Tennessee. Finally, a pair of 10-win seasons came which ushered in new expectations around Big Blue Nation. Gone are the days of simply getting to six wins and going to play in the Music City Bowl. Now, competing at a Top 25 level is the standard and lofty goals have risen even higher. Saturday night between the hedges is when we all get to cash in some of those hopes and dreams. At 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time the #20 Kentucky Wildcats (5-0, 2-0) will kickoff against the #1 Georgia Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0) with real expectations of climbing another rung on the ladder as a program.

In years past, the ‘Cats have been knocking on the door of the ‘Dawgs. 34-17, 21-0, 14-3, 30-13, and 16-6 have been the scores in the last five seasons. However, nobody has gotten over the hump against Georgia in quite some time. The Bulldogs have back-to-back national titles and are riding a 22-game winning streak. Teams ranked #1 in the polls don’t lose at home very often and this is a team accustomed to winning football games. It would be a monumental upset, regardless of facts and circumstances, for Kentucky to win on Saturday night. That won’t keep the Big Blue Nation from burning the ships and cheering for some magic down in Athens.

As always, we have all of your pregame needs right here on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com. If you haven’t already, two must reads are Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report and Freddie Maggard’s goals for the game. Those are the in-depth, football-nerd previews. For those in search of a more surface level look at what to expect on Saturday at noon, you are in the right place. Let’s dive on in to five things you need to know about the Georgia Bulldogs.

Brock Bowers For Heisman

Typically, we begin our five things you need to know with something about the opposing quarterback or their offense as a whole. However, when talking about the Georgia Bulldogs, it is hard to not start with Brock Bowers. You don’t typically see tight ends creep into Heisman Trophy consideration, but coming out of Week 5, Bowers made his case. The junior put the Bulldogs on his back against Auburn catching eight passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Bowers is up to a team-leading 30 receptions for 413 yards and three scores. He will be the top offensive weapon on Saturday night and a potential game-changer in the passing game.

The 6’4″ 240 pound tight end is often delivered the ball in the middle of the field fairly near the line of scrimmage, but that doesn’t mean he can’t create explosive plays. Bowers is one of the best in the country at running after the catch. That is precisely what makes him one of the best players in college football. He is racking up 10 yards after the catch on average. Kentucky must hold him below his average in that category and be sound in open field tackling to have a chance to pull the upset in Athens.

Efficient Passing Games Keeps Georgia Ahead of the Chains

Perception can often be a function of expectation. The Georgia Bulldogs are the two-time defending national champions so expectations could not possibly be higher. That is how a Top 15-20 offense in the country can be perceived as down or even mediocre. This is still very much an efficient offense though that is going to take what the defense gives them and move the chains on down the field. That is also exactly where this game will likely be won or lost. Georgia is seventh nationally in third and fourth down efficiency and ranks highly in success rate as well. However, in the red zone, the Bulldogs have sputtered a bit finding the end zone just over 65% of the time. If Kentucky can turn potential sevens into threes it will go a long way to upsetting the number one team in the country.

Georgia’s offensive efficiency begins with redshirt junior quarterback Carson Beck. After waiting his turn for the starting job, Beck has completed 72% of his throws his season for just under 1,500 yards and seven touchdowns. He will not look to stretch the field vertically, but that hasn’t kept the Bulldogs from creating explosive plays. Beck has 20 completions for 20 or more yards due to the ‘Dawgs pass catchers’ ability to run after the catch. Again, the Wildcats will have be excellent at tackling on Saturday night to have a chance.

Aside from his favorite target in Brock Bowers, Beck has shared the ball pretty evenly among other pass catchers. Six other Georgia targets have between eight and 20 receptions on the season. Dominic Lovett and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint have the next two primary targets, but the return of Ladd McConkey will likely change that. McConkey just returned last week and had one reception, but as a sophomore last season he was second on the team with 58 catches for 762 yards and seven scores. This could be the week is fully reintegrated into the passing game. There will be no shortage of options for the Wildcats to cover against the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs Feature Long Injury Report

There has been a lot of talk about how this Georgia Bulldogs team isn’t the dominant force they were last season. That is largely a fair and accurate statement. However, there is no denying that a long list of injuries has been a factor. Amarius Mims is out which has caused several shifts among the offensive line. Moves from the left side to the right side has left a whole in what was a very strong unit up front. Branson Robinson and Kendall Milton have missed time in the backfield leaving Daijuan Edwards to shoulder the load since returning from his own injury in week three. Then, as discussed above, star receiver Ladd McConkey just made his return to the field and likely isn’t his old self yet. Georgia is banged up and it has led to them being more vulnerable.

Georgia Defense Vulnerable Against the Run

The words vulnerable and Georgia Bulldogs defense do not typically go together. Again, this is a bit of a perception versus expectation issue because this is still a very good defense. However, it isn’t the absolute dominant force we’ve seen the last couple of years. There is at least some hope for moving the ball against the ‘Dawgs. That is especially true on the ground where Georgia allows just a tick shy of four yards per carry. A stat like that gives hope to Kentucky as the ‘Cats are coming off of a game that saw them gain 334 yards on the ground against Florida including 280 from Ray Davis. It is very possible the Wildcats have the better run defense and run offense in this game.

Where Georgia has made up for their vulnerability against the run is by dominating on third down and limiting explosive plays. The Bulldogs are Top 10 nationally in third and fourth down efficiency getting off the field over 70% of the time. They are also fourth in the country in allowing the fewest plays of 20 yards or more. Creating havoc hasn’t been a strength and the red zone defense has been leaky as well. However, the secondary is elite. We will have more on the back end of Georgia’s defense below.

Going into Saturday night there will be three stats Kentucky fans should be monitoring. One will be winning the ground game as discussed here. Secondly, winning the red zone battle. Converting touchdowns offensively and holding Georgia to field goals defensively will be key. Finally, creating more explosive plays will be crucial to pulling off the upset over the number one ‘Dawgs.

Secondary is a Strength

Big Blue Nation has hope. Playing the two-time defending national champions is never easy, but Kentucky has proven themselves so far this season with a 5-0 record, #20 ranking, and are coming off of a dominate performance against Florida. Meanwhile, the Georgia Bulldogs have trailed at halftime of both of their SEC games this season. Will Saturday night be when the Bulldogs put it all together and once again look like the best team in the country? We will find out starting at 7:00 p.m. However, for all of the areas where the ‘Cats might be able to exploit the ‘Dawgs, Georgia’s secondary is still a dominant force.

First and foremost, they are third in the country allowing just 4.8 yards per pass. There is plenty of star power on the back end as Malaki Starks might be the best safety in college football and Javon Bullard is playing at an All-SEC level at the position as well. Starks has 18 tackles, two interceptions, and four pass breakups on the season. West Virginia transfer Tykee Smith has three interceptions as well as four tackles for loss. He is the havoc creator in the Georgia Bulldogs secondary. At corner, Daylen Everette and Kamari Lassiter have combined for six pass breakups. This will be a “show me” game for Devin Leary. He will need to play his best game as a Wildcat for there to be a chance at an upset between the hedges Saturday night.