Improbable Upset Eludes Kentucky in 13-12 Loss to No. 1 Georgia

by:Nick Roush•09/14/24•

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If this were a game of horseshoes or hand grenades, Big Blue Nation would be rejoicing. Unfortunately, this is football and close doesn’t cut it against the No. 1 team in the country. Kentucky kept the Georgia Bulldogs within arm’s reach all night but could not deliver the knockout blow, falling 13-12.

The victory for the Dawgs was their 42nd straight regular-season victory. Kirby Smart‘s last regular season loss was to Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators in 2020. Georgia extended its win streak over Kentucky to 15 games.

The Wildcats that laid an egg a week ago against South Carolina were nowhere to be found on Saturday. Kentucky turned it into a rock fight and did not let the top-ranked team in the country take a lead until RB Branson Robinson punched it into the end zone three minutes into the fourth quarter.

Kentucky responded on the following drive by stringing together three first downs, but like every other successful drive, they couldn’t get loose for a big play to cap off the drive with a touchdown. Alex Raynor hit a 51-yard field goal, his fourth of the day, to cut the deficit to one.

The Wildcats got an assist from a fumbled snap to force a three-and-out, giving Kentucky the ball on the 15-yard line with six minutes to play. The Wildcats put together a decent drive, albeit one that stalled outside of field goal range after a pair of Brock Vandagriff passes were tipped at the line of scrimmage.

With three timeouts and a 2-minute warning ahead, on 4th and 8 Mark Stoops elected to punt the ball to Georgia with three minutes left. Kentucky did not get the ball back until there were nine seconds left on the clock. The game was put on ice after Georgia recovered its own fumble for a first down. It was the sixth fumble over the last two games that resulted in zero Kentucky takeaways.

Kentucky out-gained Georgia and had nearly twice as many first downs, but explosive plays eluded the offense all day and kept the Cats out of the end zone, costing Stoops a chance to record his biggest win as the Wildcats’ head coach.

A Dominant First Half, just not on the Scoreboard

Kentucky completely controlled the flow of the game in the first half. The Wildcats held Georgia to only three first downs and 65 total yards of offense, the fewest by the Dawgs since 2009. Carson Beck, one of the most accurate passers in SEC history, completed 5-of-11 passes while facing pressure from the Kentucky defense.

The Wildcats moved the ball effectively, racking up a dozen first downs and running 39 plays. The problem was all of that ball control only led to six Kentucky points. The Cats had the ball on the 15-yard line with nine seconds remaining but elected to kick the field goal rather than take a shot to the end zone, a decision that will likely be debated as much as Stoops’ decision to punt with three minutes left in the game.

Kentucky Couldn’t Catch a Break

The Wildcats were doing everything they could to keep the game within arm’s reach. All they needed was a break to go their way.

An unexpected bad punt gave Kentucky great field position and quickly moved inside the 30-yard line. That was negated by a facemask penalty on Jordan Dingle, even though Jamarion Wilcox‘s helmet was ripped off by his facemask to end the play. The Cats salvaged it with a 55-yard Alex Raynor field goal, a new school record, but lost a shot at a touchdown due to the missed call.

Jordan Lovett got his hands on a pass to pick off a pass. It slipped through his fingertips and into Dominic Lovett‘s hands. That wasn’t the most brutal beat of the day. Zion Childress‘ jaw-dropping pick six was overturned after replay review determined the ball hit the ground.