SEC Kickoff: Everything you need to know about Georgia at Kentucky

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s SEC East showdown between No. 20 Georgia and Kentucky in The Bluegrass State.

When: Today
Where: Lexington, Kentucky
Game Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Current Line: Georgia (-10.5)

Game Buzz: After last week’s stunning defeat at the hands of the Florida Gators, UGA desperately needs a win to stay in the SEC East title race. Behind only a half-game because of the tiebreaker, the ‘Dawgs must keep pace with Missouri who is on a bye week this week. As for Kentucky, the Wildcats have improved a great deal this season, but three straight SEC losses has fans worried they might not make a bowl game after starting 5-1. Today’s matchup against UGA is an opportunity for Kentucky to garner a conference win against one of the SEC’s bigger schools, a much-needed accomplishment for Mark Stoops and his team.

SATURDAY DOWN SOUTH PREVIEWS

• Richt implores short memory for ‘Dawgs to avoid bigger letdown
• Early opponent analysis: Kentucky
• UGA’s defense won’t get much rest vs. Kentucky RBs
• Inside the Numbers: Chubb keeps chuggin’ along
• Is UGA stuck under limited ceiling with Mark Richt?
• Mark Stoops previews tough matchup against No. 11 Georgia
• Early Opponent Analysis: Georgia
• Matchup Breakdown: Kentucky’s rush defense looks to stop Nick Chubb
• Inside the Numbers: Kentucky looks to snap losing streak against No. 20 Georgia

No. 20 GEORGIA BULLDOGS

Players To Watch:

• QB Hutson Mason
• RB Nick Chubb
• WR Malcolm Mitchell
• TE Jeb Blazevich
• OL John Theus
• OL Kolton Houston
• LB Leonard Floyd
• LB Jordan Jenkins
• CB Damian Swann
• LB Amarlo Herrera

Keys For Georgia:

• Forget about last week. The defensive performance against Florida last Saturday was certainly not something UGA players want to remember. A short memory works best here, especially with having to play in a very sneaky tough road environment. Kentucky’s on a bit of a slide, losing three straight SEC games. With no marquee win on their schedule, the Cats will look to change that against Georgia and the worst thing the ‘Dawgs can do is let last week’s loss turn into two losses.
• Get the ball to Nick Chubb … a lot. This shouldn’t even have to be explained, but the freshman running back has absolutely dominated since becoming the starter in Todd Gurley’s absence. He had over 200 total yards last week even in a losing effort. If UGA goes back to a run-heavy offense, it not only gets its best offensive player the ball more often, but it should neutralize a pretty strong UK pass rush.
• Limit big plays. This is a key for every team in every game, but it’s especially true this afternoon. Kentucky’s offense (and defense, frankly) thrives off of big plays. Georgia can’t give UK fans a reason to go nuts in Commonwealth Stadium. The ‘Dawgs are the better team and big plays will only neutralize that advantage and make things much closer than they should be.

Most interesting part of the game: Georgia’s response to last week’s loss. The Bulldogs have yet to be in this position this season. Their only other loss, a 38-35 road defeat to South Carolina, was disappointing but against a ranked team. Last week’s loss to Florida was an embarrassment considering the two very different directions each team’s respective season had gone up until that point. We’ll see today if UGA still has a bit of a hangover from the 38-20 drubbing.

Team buzz: A playoff berth is highly unlikely at this point, but UGA still has a great shot to win the SEC East division. It’ll need some help from Missouri, but Georgia cannot afford to lose any more conference games are they can kiss the SEC Championship goodbye.

KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Players to watch:

• QB Patrick Towles
• RB Jojo Kemp
• RB Braylon Heard
• WR Ryan Timmons
• WR Demarco Robinson
• DE/LB Alvin “Bud” Dupree
• LB Josh Forrest
• DB A.J. Stamps
• DB Marcus McWilson

Keys for Kentucky:

• Stop the run: Kentucky must find a way to contain Georgia’s rushing attack. The Wildcats rush defense ranks No. 94 overall and is averaging 188.6 yards allowed per game. Nick Chubb will be the center of the Bulldogs offense and should see a high amount of carries.
• Find consistency in running game: Kentucky has seen inconsistent performances from its tailbacks. The Wildcats averaged 2.8 yards per carry last week and combined for 102 yards on 36 attempts. Kentucky needs a tailback to emerge as the most consistent option in its backfield.
• Patrick Towles needs to step up: The Kentucky offense needs Patrick Towles to have a big performance. When Towles is at his best, the Wildcats look like a high powered offense. However, if he fails to see production, Kentucky doesn’t have the pieces to bail him out.

Most interesting part of the game: Can Kentucky secure bowl eligibility despite being a heavy underdog at home?

Team Buzz: Kentucky opened its season at 5-1. Since then, the Wildcats have faced a three-game losing streak during the bulk of their schedule. Despite its strong start, Kentucky is in danger of missing a bowl game with upcoming matchups at Tennessee and Louisville. The Wildcats must win one of their next three games to avoid a major collapse.

Drew Laing

Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.