Georgia refuses to overlook Kentucky: "They're just as dangerous whether they won or lost"

It’d be easy for the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs to look at what happened to Kentucky this past weekend and overlook their upcoming trip to Lexington. They steamrolled No. 14 Clemson to open the season with a 34-3 win, then followed that up with a name-your-score victory against Tennessee Tech — that one being 48-3. Not giving up a single touchdown through two weeks, UGA is set to face off against a train wreck of an offense for UK that failed to find the end zone against a mediocre South Carolina team on Saturday.

With more questions than answers from Mark Stoops on what went wrong for the Wildcats, why would Kirby Smart waste his time worrying about the SEC opener, especially with a trip to Alabama coming after the bye week?

Because the Georgia coach knows better. In his mind, the 31-6 loss for Kentucky is irrelevant.

“They’re just as dangerous whether they won or lost that game, in my opinion. I don’t get into the whole — we’re going to prepare the same way, regardless of what happened in that game,” Smart said Monday. “A lot of things went wrong quickly for them in that game, and it snowballed in some ways. I know what they’re capable of, I’ve seen them on tape and I know the football players they’ve got, how physical they are. I know how they’re coached. We’ve got to get ready for a really tough opponent.”

‘Immense respect’ between Smart and Stoops

The Wildcats are off to a rough start in 2024, but he’s seen the work Mark Stoops has done over the course of his 12-year career in Lexington. That culture and identity isn’t going away with a single loss in Smart’s eyes. He knows Kentucky will walk into a rowdy Kroger Field with the same tough, blue-collar approach that has made Stoops’ group a tough out for over a decade.

“I have immense respect for Mark, he and I have grown to be really good friends. He’s one of the best in the business, has done a tremendous job at Kentucky over the time he’s been there. His teams are always very disciplined, very physical,” Smart added. “That’s a really tough place to play when you go there, as you can see from every time we’ve played there. It’s been really tough.

“A lot of excitement playing an SEC opponent on the road, I think we know around this place how hard that can be. And we get an opportunity to play at night on the road, so you know the environment is going to be really loud. We’ve got to prepare for a tough, really physical game. It’s that way every time we play Kentucky.”

A physical matchup and tough environment

Smart hasn’t lost to Kentucky since taking the job in 2015. He has, however, seen finishes of 27-24 in 2016, 34-17 in 2018, 21-0 in 2019, 14-3 in 2020, 30-13 in 2021 and 16-6 in 2022 — all margins of victory of 17 points or fewer.

That’s a heck of a lot better than most SEC foes can say since Georgia has taken over as the juggernaut of the conference.

What’s made the Wildcats such a thorn in the Bulldogs’ side over the years — relatively speaking, obviously?

“They’re physical. So, you play defense, you have physical lines of scrimmage, you have huge people on the offensive and defensive line, and you’re hard to move the ball on,” Smart said. “The environment they create is very good. They’ve got great fans, they’ve got a great stadium — built their stadium to have more premium seating so they actually get less people in, but they’re louder when they’re there. They’re passionate. They play really hard, they’re well-coached. That’s what makes it tough.”

Preparing for Deone Walker

Oh, and they’ve got a one-man havoc-creator in Deone Walker, a projected first-rounder in the upcoming NFL Draft and likely All-American. That’s a player Smart once recruited heavily out of high school and once again has to gameplan for going into Saturday.

“He’s an extremely physical and versatile player who can play inside or out, somebody that’s been there forever. He’s a kid we recruited, a highly recruited kid,” the Georgia head coach added. “A tremendous athlete, just like a wrecking ball. He literally can wreck a play from any position, and I mean they even dropped him last year and so he’s, he’s a tremendous athlete.”

Needless to say, Kentucky didn’t earn a ‘get out of jail free’ card with the embarrassing loss to South Carolina. The Cats will still get the Dawgs’ best effort at Kroger Field.