The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs erased a 9-3 second-half deficit to end the Kentucky Wildcats’ bid for the biggest upset in program history.
Georgia got a 2-yard touchdown run from Branson Robinson with 12:20 left in the game to take a 13-9 lead and held on for a 13-12 victory over Kentucky Saturday night at Kroger Field in Lexington.
The Wildcats (1-2) didn’t make it easy on the nation’s No. 1 ranked team.
After taking a 6-3 lead into halftime, Kentucky opened the second half with an 11-play, 61-yard drive that took almost six minutes off the clock and resulted in Alex Raynor’s third field goal of the night for a 9-3 Wildcats lead.
Georgia (3-0) and top-rated quarterback Carson Beck soon found a rhythm. After cutting the lead to 9-6 with 3:52 to play in the third quarter, Beck and running back Trevor Etienne went back to work after a three-and-out by the Bulldogs’ defense.
Etienne had runs of 20 yards and 17 yards and caught a pass for 11 more to help Georgia get to the Kentucky 3-yard line. Robinson took a handoff and found the end-zone on 3rd-and-2 to give Georgia its first lead of the night.
Kentucky would respond when Raynor connected on a 51-yard field goal with 8:02 to play, his fourth of the night and second from 50+ yards.
The Wildcats held Georgia to a three-and-out on the Bulldogs’ next possession, but after Kentucky drove to the Georgia 47-yard line, the drive stalled and Mark Stoops opted to punt on 4th-and-8 with only 3:03 remaining.
Georgia took over at its 15-yard line after Wilson Berry’s punt. Dominic Lovett made the biggest catch of the night, a 36-yard gain on a play-action pass to put the ball near midfield. Georgia drove to the Kentucky 35-yard line before punting into the end-zone with 9 seconds remaining.
With Kentucky at its own 32-yard line with 2 seconds left, Brock Vandagriff completed a pass to Jordan Dingle, who attempted a lateral but was tackled by Malaki Starks to end the game.
The win was Georgia’s 42nd straight regular season victory dating back to 2020.
RELATED: What Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had to say on Brock Vandagriff
After being held to just 65 yards of total offense in the first half, the Bulldogs put together back-to-back scoring drives that totaled 63 and 68 yards, respectively, to take the lead. Brad White’s defense held Georgia to 199 total yards for the night. Beck finished 13-of-21 for 119 yards while Etienne rushed 15 times for 68 yards.
Vandagriff was 12-of-22 for 97 yards against the Bulldogs’ top-rated defense with Demie Sumo-Karngbaye finishing with 86 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Kentucky had 19 first downs while holding Georgia to 10. The Wildcats also held the ball for 31:25 to Georgia’s 20:34.
UP NEXT
Kentucky will host the Ohio Bobcats next Saturday at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 12:45 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network.