Georgia football’s surprising Top 15 matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats is packed with unexpected storylines.
Following Alabama’s stunning loss to unranked Texas A&M Saturday night in College Station, Georgia is the No. 1 ranked team in college football.
The Bulldogs and the Wildcats are the only two undefeated teams remaining in the Southeastern Conference.
Kentucky enters the matchup riding high off of two emotional home wins at Kroger Field over traditional SEC powers Florida and LSU and the Wildcats recipe for success has an old-fashioned flavor to it – running the football and playing physical defense.
With Kentucky being ranked 11th, this is a de facto Top 10 matchup and ESPN’s College GameDay had no choice but to bring the preeminent college football pregame show to the Classic City Saturday to preview Dawgs-Cats and the rest of the weekend’s college football slate.
https://twitter.com/CollegeGameDay/status/1447258094518538248
Georgia football heads into Saturday’s tilt fresh off an emphatic 34-10 road win over Auburn in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops and his Wildcats play a physical brand of football, led by a bruising offense line and the two-headed rushing attack of Christopher Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke.
Penn State grad transfer Will Levis played his best game of the season, accounting for four scores and most importantly, he protected the football.
Kentucky will need to play turnover-free football and win the battle of the trenches to have any change of upending the Dawgs.
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Georgia Bulldogs odds for Week 7:
There’s no rest for the weary in this matchup. Georgia and Kentucky are both coming off of back-to-back conference games against tough opponents.
Georgia bested No. 8 Arkansas and hated rival Auburn to push their record to 6-0, while Kentucky exorcised some demons in a defeat of Florida before dominating LSU on Saturday night.
Georgia enters the CBS Game of the Week matchup with the Wildcats as a 21.5 point favorite according to the latest odds from WynnBET. WynnBET currently lists even odds for both Georgia and Kentucky at -110 to start the week (bet $110 to win $100).
If you like betting totals, WynnBET currently lists the over/under for Dawgs-Cats at 43.5 points. There are also currently even odds on the total, with both the over and the under sitting at -110 (bet $110 to win $100).
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Georgia Bulldogs Prediction for Week 7:
This game comes down to strength on strength. Kentucky wants to line up, lean on their hog mollies on the offensive line, run the football, control the time of possession, and have their stout defense rested when the opposing teams offense is on the field.
Georgia has the best front seven in the nation, and through their first six games, the Bulldogs are allowing a paltry 64.2 yards per game on the ground.
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis played his best game of the season against LSU, a game in which he only had to throw the football 17 times. The success of Kentucky’s rushing attack meant Levis could operate in the short and intermediate passing game with lower risk throws.
He also ran the ball 11 times for 75 yards, while Kentucky rushed the ball 45 times for 330 yards as a team. They will not be able to do that against Georgia’s defense, so Levis will be forced to stretch the field and make some plays through the air.
When he’s been forced to do that in the past, Levis has been prone to turn the ball over, something Kentucky cannot do if it hopes to stay in the ballgame against the Bulldogs.
Kentucky is a very good football team, and Mark Stoops will be one of the hottest commodities on the market for a high profile head coaching job at season’s end, but Kentucky is not balanced enough to beat Georgia.
The Junkyard Dawgs defense will shut down Kentucky’s rushing attack and force multiple turnovers when Levis is forced to beat them with his arm. Given that this is essentially a matchup between two Top 10 teams, the 21.5 point spread seems huge, but much like the Arkansas game, this is favorable matchup for the Dawgs, and they should be able to dictate the style of play and the tempo to their liking. The Wildcats trip home will be similar to the Razorbacks after the home team pummels them. Lay the points with Georgia and take the over this week as well.
WynnBET Promo: Bet $1, Win $100 if any NFL or college football team scores. Claim offer now.