The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (2-0), coming off of a 48-3 win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, will head to Kroger Field to play the Kentucky Wildcats (1-1), their first SEC opponent. Kentucky is coming off the heels of a 31-6 loss to South Carolina, which saw Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff get benched for Gavin Wimsatt.
Georgia has lived up to the preseason No. 1 hype so far, with dominating wins against No. 14 Clemson and Tennessee Tech. They’ll be looking to keep their undefeated regular season record alive.
Meanwhile, Kentucky has disappointed. What was supposed to be a solid, mid-tier SEC team has been a dud on both sides of the ball. While it is just Week 3 of the college season, losing in a blowout to South Carolina doesn’t inspire confidence.
Here’s a statistical look at each team, provided by CFB Stats.
Scoring Offense:
Georgia: 41 points per game (tied-31st)
Kentucky: 18.5 points per game (tied-110th)
Rushing Offense:
Georgia: 167.5 rushing yards per game (59th)
Kentucky: 143.5 rushing yards per game (82nd)
Passing Offense:
Georgia: 305 passing yards per game (24th)
Kentucky: 106.5 passing yards per game (130th)
Total Offense:
Georgia: 472.5 total yards per game (33rd)
Kentucky: 250 total yards per game (125th)
Scoring Defense:
Georgia: 3.0 points allowed per game (tied-4th)
Kentucky: 15.5 points allowed per game (t-49th)
Run Defense:
Georgia: 81 yards allowed per game (29th)
Kentucky: 45.5 yards allowed per game (8th)
Pass Defense:
Georgia: 80 yards allowed per game (5th)
Kentucky: 146 yards allowed per game (39th)
Total Defense:
Georgia: 161 total yards allowed per game (5th)
Kentucky: 191.5 total yards allowed per game (8th)
Kentucky still has one of the top defenses in the country. The Wildcats will need to stop the run against Georgia to have a chance. Georgia’s offense has looked much better than Kentucky’s to start the season. One thing to note is that Kentucky’s 31-0 win over Southern Mississippi in Week 1 was cut short due to a lightning delay.
“They’re physical. So you play defense, you have physical lines of scrimmage, you have huge people on the offensive and defensive line, and you’re hard to move the ball on,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart on facing Kentucky. Battles with the Wildcats usually come down to winning the line of scrimmage.