Logan Cook

September 14, 2024

Georgia fans took a collective breath of relief late Saturday night as Georgia unconvincingly survived a potential upset against Kentucky, battling to an ugly 13-12 victory.  

For Georgia, these are the games that you must survive, which they did, but there are worries among fans regarding Georgia’s offensive struggles: only 102 yards rushing, 160 passing, three fumbles, multiple penalties, 5-13 on third downs, and 12 first downs all game. Georgia has a history of struggling in SEC road openers. They barely beat Missouri in 2022 and only scored 16 against Auburn last season. Georgia has now failed to score more than 16 points in the last three meetings in Lexington. But in each of those matchups, Georgia survived.  

The ‘Cats went up 3-0 early after a 55-yard field goal from Alex Raynor. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff, the former UGA backup, looked good early completing 8 of his first 10 attempts and making plays with his legs. Fans briefly thought that Kentucky went up 10-0 in the 2nd quarter after a Kentucky pick-six, but it was called back after replay deemed it an incomplete pass.  

It was the Georgia defense that stepped up big in the first half. Linebacker Raylen Wilson forced a fumble on a sack giving Carson Beck great field position, but Georgia’s offense stumbled again and settled for a field goal. Kentucky entered the half up 6-3.  

In fans’ minds, this surely was just first half jitters on the road, right? Kirby will definitely fix things at half, right? Most fans stayed calm, but the anxiety continued to simmer underneath. 

Then it boiled over in the third. The Wildcats drove the ball 61 yards on the opening drive leading to a field goal to make it 9-3. Georgia responded with their own field goal after a 63-yard drive to make it 9-6. The Georgia offense finally found the end zone after multiple big runs by Trevor Etienne followed by a Branson Robinson touchdown giving the Dawgs a 13-9 lead, their first of the game.  

The Wildcats responded with their fourth field goal of the game, leading to the 13-12 final. Georgia defended their one-point lead in what could be described, at best, as sloppy. Two Georgia fumbles were recovered avoiding costly turnovers, and the defense and special teams kept Kentucky out of field goal range as time expired.  

It was an ugly win, no doubt. But it was a win for the Dawgs nonetheless, their first SEC win of the season. Coach Smart said after the game about the difficulty of playing on the road – “I told people all week, I knew it. We played Missouri on the road two years ago, we played Auburn on the road [last year]. When you go on the road in the SEC at night, it’s going to be a challenge, and we responded to the challenge.”  

Coach Smart will now have thirteen days to prepare for Alabama in Tuscaloosa following the upcoming bye week.