"The moment was too big for some." Penalties cost Kentucky chances against Georgia

When you glance at the box score, Kentucky’s five penalties for 60 total yards don’t seem all that detrimental compared to Georgia’s six penalties for 59 yards. But it was how those yellow flags came about that ruined any chance the Wildcats had at pulling off a massive upset in Athens.

Kentucky was walloped by the top-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday night 51-13. Not even 20 minutes into game action, Georgia led 21-0. At the half, it was 34-7. Simply put, UK was outplayed, outcoached, and flat-out embarrassed on national television from start to finish. But had the Wildcats’ penalties happened at different moments, this could have been a completely different game.

“We couldn’t stop them. We didn’t stop them. And when we did, we got a silly penalty. And then we’re moving the ball and we get penalties that stop ourselves,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said postgame. “The penalties killed two drives and then a missed throw killed another drive. You just can’t come down here and do that.”

Let’s break down some of the untimely fouls. Already trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Kentucky was driving in Georgia territory. Facing a 1st and 10, Ray Davis was handed the ball and snuck out a yard. Unfortunately, a holding call on redshirt sophomore right guard Jager Burton brought the drive back 10 yards. UK would punt a few plays later and UGA turned their next possession into a touchdown.

On the ensuing drive for Kentucky, once again in Bulldogs’ territory, they were inching closer to the red zone. Devin Leary had just completed a beautiful 36-yard pass to Dane Key. But again, on 1st and 10, a bad personal foul penalty (also on Burton) killed the drive’s momentum. A false start two plays later pushed the ‘Cats back even further to a 3rd and 26. Now near midfield, the drive ended in another punt.

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And yes, Georgia scored right away on its next possession, again with the help of Kentucky’s poor decisions. UK had the Bulldogs facing a 3rd and 7 in their own territory before another personal foul penalty from the ‘Cats moved up Georgia 15 yards and extended the home team’s eventual touchdown-scoring drive.

“A lot,” Offensive Liam Coen said postgame about how penalties impacted UK’s early drives. “On the first two drives of the game you go down and you’re in scoring range and we get to back-to-back penalties on the first two drives against the No. 1 team in the country, unfortunately, those things aren’t going to help you.

“I don’t know how much we can learn from when you have those penalties early on. It’s not really an execution issue there, it’s just unfortunate mishaps, which puts you in some long spots. And then the game just gets away from you.”

Back-to-back offensive drives with momentum-destroying penalties cost Kentucky two scoring opportunities. Equally devastating fouls on defense cost the ‘Cats even more.

“Lack of discipline. I just didn’t have them ready for the moment. The moment was too big for some,” Stoops said of those penalties. “We didn’t play very good. We didn’t play very disciplined. We didn’t play very tough. We didn’t get it done. It’s not coach speak, but we as a staff have to do a better job of getting them ready and prepared.”

There’s no reason to point fingers at any one individual for these costly mistakes. This was an all-systems failure. From the coaches to the players, Kentucky simply wasn’t prepared — a hard truth to swallow for a group and fanbase that expected to at least be competitive against the nation’s top-ranked team.

“The penalties,” Stoops continued. “It gets away from you very quickly when you’re not playing good and then you do some stupid things as well. You do that in their place against the No. 1 team in the country and it’s going to get away from you fast and it did.”

Kentucky recorded zero penalties during the entire second half. But facing a four-touchdown hole, not even perfect football was going to bring the ‘Cats back.