After traveling to Starkville to defeat Mississippi State 45-19 last Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs (10-0, 7-0) will have to head back on the road to take on the Kentucky Wildcats (6-4, 3-4) this weekend.
This is the first time during the 2022 season that the Bulldogs will have to play consecutive road games and head coach Kirby Smart acknowledged it won’t be easy.
“This is one of the challenging ones,” Smart said. “They have a great environment. Mark Stoops has done an incredible job there with the program. I know we’ll get the response from them that you would expect out of a team that’s the quality of Kentucky.”
The Wildcats have seen improvement over recent years. Stoops led the program to a 10-3 record during the 2021 season; however, the ‘Cats have struggled recently with the schedule. Kentucky comes into the game with a losing record in the SEC; its most recent loss coming last weekend against Vanderbilt – a team that hadn’t won a conference game since 2019.
Fortunately for Stoops, his offense still has veteran playmakers who can cause problems if on their game. The Wildcats return a top NFL prospect in quarterback Will Levis and a backfield bruiser in Chris Rodriguez Jr. Both players have been banged up at moments this season, but both will be healthy and in the lineup when Georgia plays at Kroger Field. Smart recognizes how tough they both are.
“Will Levis has got a bazooka for an arm. He can make all the throws, he’s a really good athlete and he’s physically and mentally tough,” Smart said. “He’s wired that way to compete against you. It’s not like he’s going to shy away from contact. He doesn’t get flustered by the rush.
"He’s not afraid of standing in there and taking shots. [Rodriguez] seeks and cherishes contact, and it’s that time of year where you watch defenses across the country and people turn down contact,” the UGA coach continued. “He’s one of the most physical runners I’ve seen, and it just seems like Kentucky always has that guy. Benny [Snell] was that way. It almost feeds their personality.”
Still, even given the talent Kentucky possesses on the offensive side of the ball, Georgia’s defense has been stingy all season. The Bulldogs are sixth in total defense and fourth in rush defense. With Levis struggling as of late, Georgia’s front seven may make it difficult for Rodriguez to be productive with his carries.
Kentucky has relied mostly on its defense to keep it in close games for most of the year. The Wildcats are currently 17th in the country in total defense, giving up only about 317 yards per game, and Smart acknowledged they play with consistency.
“Their entire defense has been one of the best throughout the conference and they have been consistent every year, let’s be clear. They have really good defensive coaches, Coach Stoops is very involved and (defensive coordinator) Coach (Brad) White does a tremendous job,” Smart said. “They’re very consistent because they’re physical. They don’t allow you to get the run game going. I have a lot of respect for what they do defensively and the players they have that do it.”
Ultimately, Georgia controls its destiny after already clinching the SEC East title and securing its spot in the SEC Championship game against LSU in December. Regardless, Smart never wants the team to get complacent and still believes there’s work to be done.
“When you get comfortable, you don’t always, you’re not always at your best. We’re trying our best to be at our best. That’s our job,” Smart said. “You got to do that by recreating yourself, by consistently outworking someone, and sometimes people get comfortable. The challenge is how do you do that better than the team you’re up against.”