Three Plays: Missed opportunities doom Kentucky

In a matchup between the top two teams in the SEC East, Georgia came away with an impressive 30-13 home victory over No. 11 Kentucky. The Bulldogs were dominant and issued another statement to the college football world.

Despite being outgained by 168 yards while playing 21 more offensive snaps, Kentucky had plenty of moments to put some real pressure on Georgia and make the heavyweight matchup more competitive.

KSR has dug into the tape and has the snaps that made the difference at Sanford Stadium.

Missed takeaway

On Georgia’s third possession of the game, the Bulldogs put together a solid drive at the end of the first quarter. After getting the ball at midfield, a pair of Stetson Bennet completions created a scoring opportunity for the home team.

On second-and-long from just outside of the red zone, Kentucky’s Josh Paschal made a big play. However, the Wildcats didn’t finish it off.

Josh Paschal comes away with a forced fumble, and the ball rolls directly next to Mike linebacker Jacquez Jones with Will linebacker DeAndre Square in the general vicinity. However, neither senior jumped on the ball and Georgia running back Kendall Milton smartly jumped on it quickly.

On the next snap, Stetson Bennett hit James Cook for a touchdown to take a lead that Georgia would own for the rest of the game. The seismic moment gave the home team some early momentum in a spot where Kentucky could’ve grabbed some.

Backbreaking touchdown

In the second quarter, Kentucky put together a beautiful 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to just one possession. After both teams traded possessions, we entered the half at Sanford Stadium with a close game.

If Kentucky could just hang with Georgia for the next 15 minutes, Sanford Stadium would’ve turned into a nervous setting for the final quarter.

Instead, Georgia delivered a knockout punch.

After just four snaps, Georgia had the ball inside the Kentucky 30. On a second-and-long, offensive coordinator Todd Monken and quarterback Stetson Bennett went to their superstar true freshman tight end.

Kentucky goes with a six-man pressure looking to create a negative play. However, the Wildcats man-up on the outside, and Bennett goes to his top target. Brock Bowers makes a beautiful catch and puts UGA ahead by two touchdowns.

The game felt over at that point going against a Georgia defense that totally made Kentucky one-dimensional. The Wildcats needed a couple of stops in the third quarter to put some game pressure on the Bulldogs. The defense was unable to deliver.

Georgia beat the Wildcats to the punch coming out of the break.

Another blocked kick

Georgia would add on a field goal in the third quarter taking total control of the game. However, Kentucky started their final drive of that quarter at their own 45 following a short Georgia punt.

The Wildcats then put together a successful drive.

Will Levis connected with DeMarcus Harris twice for a pair of explosive completions followed by a big third-down conversion on a throw to Justin Rigg. However, Wan’Dale Robinson barely missed a touchdown reception, and Kentucky failed to get Mike linebacker Nakobe Dean blocked on a beautiful throwback screen to Chris Rodriguez Jr.

The Wildcats had to settle for three and sent Matt Ruffolo out to trim the lead to two possessions on a 33-yard attempt. A missed blocking assignment doomed the scoring opportunity.

On the snap, Jeremy Flax (No. 77) does not step down hard enough leaving Kenneth Horsey (No. 68) in a rough spot. All-American Jordan Davis overpowers Kentucky’s starting left guard and blocks a field goal attempt that appeared to be a little low coming out.

The blown opportunity turns into another Georgia touchdown, and the lights were turned out at Sanford Stadium.

Overall, Kentucky had the deck stacked against them as Georgia was hitting on a ton of big plays, totally shut down Kentucky’s potent rushing game, and had zero turnovers. Still, there were moments where Kentucky could’ve made the game closer to put some pressure on the home favorite.

The Wildcats were unable to accomplish the mission.