#11 Kentucky traveled to #1 Georgia for a matchup of undefeateds at Sanford Stadium!
The Kentucky vs Georgia football game was a highly anticipated SEC matchup for the 2021 college football season. This was the first time these two teams had faced each other in undefeated form. Moreover, these were the last two undefeated teams remaining in the South Eastern Conference. Big Blue Nation and Bulldog fans packed a sold out Sanford Stadium “between the hedges” in Athens, Georgia for a total of 92,746 fans in attendance to see the undefeated teams.
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Georgia’s defense has developed a reputation this season for suffocating their opponent’s offense, and that was no different on Saturday. The Bulldog’s defense limited the Wildcat’s rushing game to only 51 yards on the ground. However, the Cats quarterback Will Levis kept them in the game for the better part of 3 quarters on 32 of 42 passing for 198 yards.
Georgia quarterback and former walk-on, Stetson Bennett, came to play as well. He threw for 250 yards, producing 3 touchdowns to overpower Kentucky’s defense. UGA looked like the best team in college football, however the Wildcats fought tooth and nail against them. UK’s second touchdown in the final seconds of the game covered the Vegas spread, breaking betting hearts across the country.
Game Final Score
The University of Kentucky vs Georgia football final game score was 13-30. This was a chance for the Wildcats to gain control of the SEC East, however Georgia’s strong win puts them in the driver’s seat of college football as a whole.
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Recap
The Kentucky Wildcats jumped the Bulldogs to start the game, picking up a pair of first down in an attempt to continue their undefeated streak for the 2021 college football season. That’s until an ill-timed penalty forced the Cats to punt. They would go three-and-out on their next three possessions to kill that momentum and allow one of the best defenses in college football history to gain their composure.
The Wildcat defense then missed an opportunity of their own during a fateful fumble recovery. As the two teams remained tied at zero, Josh Paschal swatted a pass by Georgia’s Stetson Bennett as he threw the ball. The ball fell to the turf, which appeared to some as a sputtering incompletion, however the referees never blew the whistle as the ball sat lifeless on the ground. The ball sat on the ground near a Wildcat for a recovery, however Georgia recognized the live ball and jumped on for the recovery instead. An official review confirmed thatPaschal punched the ball free, resulting in a fumble instead of an incomplete pass. The Bulldogs would score a touchdown on the next play.
Georgia leveraged the run game to build a 14-0 lead, and seemed to be on the verge of pulling away with the game untilLiam Coen dug into his bag of play-actions and tricks. Putting together a series of hook and ladders, play-action passes, and screens, the Cats grinded their way to the endzone on a 75-yards on a 13-play drive. Levis found Justin Rigg with huge score to pull back the early Georgia lead.
Georgia’s freshman tight end Brock Bowers caught a perfect pass in the corner of the endzone to move Georgia a more commanding lead of 21-7. UK responded by taking the ball to the 10-yard line at the end of the third quarter, howeverNkobe Dean had other ideas. Moreover, nobody could stop the 6-foot-7 Jordan Davis either has he blocked the field goal attempt the Cats were settling for.
Even with those roadblocks, Kentucky’s offense scored as many touchdowns as the first six opponents combined against the infamous Georgia defense. Seven games into the season was the first time that the Bulldogs allowed a first half touchdown. Kentucky never gave up however, scoring on a 1-yard pass from Levis to Wan’Dale Robinson on the final play of the game.
Georgia moves to 12 straight wins against the University of Kentucky football. UK is now 3-15 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams. Their last win against a No. 1 came against LSU in the 2007 season. UGA now moves into the driver’s seat of college football, and Kentucky moves onto a much needed bye week after three pivotal SEC games in their 2021 football season.
Preseason predictions said they needed to win at least one of those games to have a big season, and they went 2-1. While the Bulldogs won handily, the Wildcats have nothing to be embarrassed about during this historical game for their new-look team. Time to regroup and continue their success in Week 9 against the 3-3 Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Box Score
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Highlights Video:
Full Game Highlights
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