Georgia Football: Bulldogs vs Wildcats by the numbers

Georgia football looks to get their season back on track this week against the Wildcats of Kentucky.

After losing to Alabama, Georgia football had a bye this past week. This week Georgia heads to Lexington, Kentucky to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. It will make the fourth time under Kirby Smart that the Bulldogs have faced the Wildcats after a loss. Georgia beat the Wildcats 21-0 in one of three shutouts pitched by its defense in 2019.

However, it is not very likely that this game ends in a similar fashion. Although there is no reason to believe it will be close. Georgia has beaten Kentucky by a combined score of 365-170 over their last ten meetings. That is an average score of 37-17.

Here are the numbers for this lopsided series.

Overall Series Record: Georgia leads, 59-12-2
Since 2000: Georgia leads, 18-2
Longest Winning Streak: Georgia 10 (1978-1987, 2010-2019)
Last Game in Lexington: Georgia 34 – Kentucky 17, 2018
When Both Teams are Ranked: Georgia leads, 3-0
When Both Teams are Top 10: N/A
When Both Teams are Top 5: N/A
When Kentucky is Ranked Higher: Kentucky leads, 2-0
In Kroger Field: Georgia leads, 19-4

Georgia has dominated this matchup in every single way possible. Any team can beat any other team on any given Saturday, but the Wildcats don’t seem to have much of a chance when they line up against the Bulldogs. This year will be no different.

Georgia football vs Kentucky in 2020

Georgia’s defense is light years ahead of Kentucky’s, they aren’t even in the same galaxy.  Both teams struggle on offense so Georgia’s defense should give them an even bigger advantage than normal in this matchup. Expect a lot of turnovers and extra possessions for Georgia’s offense. It is very possible that Kentucky will not even get a touchdown in this game. Their kicker could get quite a workout.

Here are the numbers on each team’s defense and how they stack up.

Rushing Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 65.5 yards per game (No. 4)
Kentucky – 129.0 yards per game (No. 37)

Pass Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 198.3 yards per game (No. 21)
Kentucky – 228.2 yards per game (No. 44)

Scoring Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 19.5 points per game (No. 19)
Kentucky – 20 points per game (No. 20)

Total Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 318.5 yards per game (No. 20)
Kentucky – 357.2 yards per game (No. 30)

It doesn’t look like Kentucky’s defense will put up much resistance against Georgia football’s offensive attack. In fact, you should expect another huge day out of Georgia’s running game Saturday. Over their last two games, the Wildcats defense has given up an average of 197.5 rushing yards.

However, Kentucky’s defense has clamped down on its opponent’s passing attack over its last few games. They have given up just 156.5 passing yards per game over its last two games. In their last three games, they haven’t allowed a single receiving touchdown and have snagged nine interceptions.

Georgia has struggled with their passing attack this year, so this could be something to keep an eye on.

Here are the numbers on each team’s offense and how they stack up.

Rushing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 165.25 yards per game (No. 52)
Kentucky – 184.4 (No. 34)

Passing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 253.3 yards per game (No. 35)
Kentucky – 123.4 yards per game (No. 91)

Scoring Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 33.0 points per game (No. 41)
Kentucky – 24.4 points per game (No. 69)

Total Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 418.5 yards per game (No. 41)
Kentucky – 307.8 yards per game (No. 85)

As was mentioned before, Georgia is still struggling a bit with its passing attack. Stetson Bennett leads the SEC in broken up passes (14.52%) and uncatchable passes (20.16%) according to SEC Stat Cat. Bennett is only completing 57.26% of his passes and his receivers have only dropped four of his 126 attempts. Georgia has got to get better quarterback play if they want their offense to take the next step.

Kentucky’s defense may be just what the doctor ordered to get Georgia’s passing attack back on track.

Georgia’s rushing offense has been better than the numbers say. Kendall Milton is the most elusive running back in the SEC, according to Pro Football Focus who has given him an elusive rating of 201.8. Milton has avoided a total of ten tacklers in just 21 carries.

Milton is also third in the SEC in yards per carry after contact averaging 4.24. If he were to get more carries Georgia’s rushing attack could be one of the best in the country.

Kentucky’s offense is bad and trending towards worse. In the Wildcats last two games their rushing offense has only averaged 142.5 rushing yards per game. They were only able to muster 98 rushing yards in their most recent game against Missouri. I wouldn’t expect them to get more than 60 yards rushing on Georgia’s defense.

Kentucky’s passing offense hasn’t been much better. Over their last three games, the Wildcats have passed for a combined 227 yards. You read that right, 227 total passing yards across three games. That is just 75.7 yards passing a game.

All things considered, this game shouldn’t even be close. The Wildcats are going to face a very focused and angry Georgia team that is seeking retribution for losing to Alabama. Expect Georgia to punch Kentucky in the mouth early and often. The game should be long over before the fourth quarter.