Georgia Football takes on the Kentucky Wildcats. This will be the 77th time the two teams have squared off against each other. The game was first played in 1939 and has been played annually since 1956. Kentucky has never won back-to-back games in consecutive years in this series. The series has even had the future King of England come to Athens and watch the Dawgs vs. Cats. The now King of England, Charles, was just the scrappy 28-year-old Prince of Wales. Charles visited Sanford Stadium in 1977. The Dawgs lost the 33-0. But we won’t discuss that, just the fact this series brings out royalty because nothing says college football like Georgia vs. Kentucky! (sarcasm)
The longest winning streak for Kentucky in this series is two, with wins in 1949 and 1956. Georgia is on its longest win streak in the series, with 13 games in a row.
The last time Georgia lost against Kentucky was in 2009. Thank you, Joe Cox and Washaun Ealey! I genuinely think about that fumbled toss every time we play Kentucky. That hurt little Max’s heart. But since then, Georgia has not lost another game to the Wildcats.
Georgia has the upper hand in this series, leading it 62-12-2. This game has been played at each college’s campus. However, the first meeting was played in Louisville, and so was the third meeting. I am unsure why it was played in Louisville, so if any of you CFB nerds are out there, let me know!
Mark Stoops leads the Wildcats. Did you know outside of Nick Saban, Stoops is the longest-tenured coach in the SEC? This will be Stoops’s 10th season with the Wildcats. During the summer, I previewed Gerogia’s schedule game-by-game. I said this about the Wildcats: “With Liam Coen returning to take over play-calling duties and the addition of Devin Leary, Kentucky could have a shot at winning 10 to 11 games this season.” Hey, I might be right!
Devin Leary was picked to be a 1st rounder last season, but injury ruined his hopes. However, Leary has been up and down this season and turning over the ball a ton. We will see if he turns the ball enough against the Dawgs. Kentucky probably has one of the better wide-out rooms in the SEC, maybe outside LSU. Kentucky is returning a bunch of seasoned guys on defense and looks solid again. The only weakness that Kentucky has is the offensive line.
In the last five meetings against the Wildcats, Georgia has outscored Kentucky 115-39. While 76 points is a large margin, Georgia has not scored many points against Kentucky. The most points scored by Georgia in the last five meetings has been 34 points in 2018. So, the Wildcats know how to hold their own against the Dawgs.
Even though Georgia is a 14.5 favorite at home, under the lights, many believe Kentucky has a shot at beating the Dawgs. Kirby Smart has always said that the games against the Wildcats are the toughest because of the brand of football they play. Smart has said that the Wildcats play physically tough and hard-nosed football.
Is that the recipe to pull off this upset? Since Stoops has been building the Kentucky football program several times, they have had their shot against the Dawgs but came up short. 2018 was an SEC East showdown. Whoever won that game would be going to Atlanta to face Alabama. The Dawgs won 34-17. History and the Vegas say, once again, the Wildcats will come up short. So, can they pull off the miracle? We will see Saturday.