Second quarter turnover swings allowed Georgia to stay within striking distance

Kentucky had offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, star quarterback Carson Beck, and the rest of the Georgia offense all out of sorts in the first half. Through their first three possessions, Georgia gained only 27 yards and had to punt three times. The Wildcats had a chance to take over the game and build a double-digit lead that may have been insurmountable with the way the home team was running the football and playing defense.

Unfortunately, Kentucky missed its shot at landing a knockdown punch in the second quarter.

KSR is recapping UGA’s 13-12 road win by taking a closer look at the three biggest plays of the evening. Two turnover swings in the second quarter went the way of the road team before a second-and-long pass call led to a controversial punt decision by Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops.

The missed interception no one is talking about

I feel like I could write a 2,000-word column on the replay official’s decision to turn what appeared to be a clear catch and bobble from Dominic Lovett, resulting in an interception into an incomplete pass. How they got to that result still confuses me erasing a pick-six by Zion Childress that would’ve put Kentucky up two possessions in the middle of the second quarter.

But we shouldn’t have even got to that situation. On a third-and-two at their own 30, Georgia went to a dropback pass, and Carson Beck made a mistake. Kentucky was unable to capitalize.

Kentucky’s three-man rush does enough to get Beck off platform, and that pulls his eyes off the secondary for just a moment. The veteran quarterback looks to find Dominic Lovett across the middle but simply does not see safety Jordan Lovett lurking over the route. The redshirt junior jumps the route but lets an interception slip through his fingers.

Instead of getting another scoring opportunity that might’ve ended with a touchdown — or at least a field goal — Georgia moved the ball closer to midfield and was able to flip field position. The Bulldogs benefitted from the controversial pick-six overturn, but the game does it get to that situation if Lovett finishes this play.

Lost fumble gifts Georgia points

Eventually, Kentucky got off the field on Georgia’s fourth possession and forced a punt. Unfortunately, the missed interceptions allowed the Bulldogs to pin the Wildcats inside their own 10. But a questionable roughing the passer penalty on third down got the drive started for the home team.

Three plays later, a Brock Vandagriff scramble set up a first-and-10 at Kentucky’s own 44. Then disaster hit. A first down sack created an obvious passing down. Georgia’s pass rush got home on second down, and Vandagriff made his biggest mistake of the game.

The Wildcats use a play-action fake, but boundary linebacker Raylen Wilson comes on a delayed blitz once Vandagriff gets to the top of his drop. UGA gets a free runner at the Kentucky quarterback because of it, and the redshirt junior does not protect the ball.

If Vandagriff eats the sack, it creates a third-and-long but allows Kentucky to play the field position game with under four minutes left in the second quarter. Instead, the game’s first turnover gives a struggling UGA offense the ball at the Kentucky 23.

The Wildcats hold the Bulldogs to three points, but the Big Blue lost some key momentum situations in the second quarter, and those swings ultimately allowed Georgia to survive the early storm instead of falling in a two-possession hole which might have been insurmountable on Saturday night with two defenses trading haymakers.

The missed second down call

The decision by Mark Stoops to punt the ball facing a fourth-and-eight at the Georgia 47 with under three minutes remaining will be questioned all week. However, the Wildcats were truly in no man’s land against Georgia’s pass rush. The second down call is what everyone should be focused on.

Instead of going with a second down run to potentially set up a third-and-medium situation where Bush Hamdan’s offense would’ve automatically gotten two downs to move the chains, Kentucky decided to get aggressive one down early.

The Wildcats got back to their jet sweep series with a play-action concept looking for tight end Khamari Anderson up the seam. Unfortunately, Georgia had that covered up and forced Brock Vandagriff to his checkdown. Anthony Brown-Stephens was wide open as a release option and likely creates at least a third-and-short, but Kentucky’s offensive line could not handle the pass rush.

Georgia brings seven rushers, and Kentucky only has a six-man protection. The ball needs to come out fast. Linebacker Smael Mondon beats center Eli Cox, and defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse beats left guard tackle Marques Cox in a slide protection very quickly. That leads to a batted ball and a third-and-eight.

Kentucky got aggressive, but Georgia’s aggressive call won in a monumental spot and ultimately forced a punt. In important moments, the Wildcats simply could not hold up in protection, and that likely led to Stoops’ decision to punt with three timeouts and the two-minute warning in his back pocket.

The Wildcats did some good things in Week 3, but pass protection remains a massive issue.