I’m not going to lie, I didn’t want to think about this game a 2nd time let alone have to re-watch it. Kentucky embarrasssed themselves in Athens this weekend. This is probably a “burn the tape” type game but maybe we can find something to be positive about.
Offense
This was a frustrating watch. Liam Coen clearly had a plan and it felt like he was in a good rhythm early in the game, but three glaring mistakes just crippled the offense.
Two of those mistakes came from one player and while I don’t love calling out college kids it has to be discussed. Jager Burton committed two inexcusable penalties after Kentucky drove into Georgia territory while still in the game. One of which was a total cheap shot. I’m sure Jager is a quality young man and I believe he’ll be a very good OL but that is a night he’ll want to forget.
The third mistake was something we have become used to this season, and it was Leary sailing a throw to a wide-open WR. It was a beautiful play call and design from Coen with Tayvion Robinson probably scoring if the ball is accurate. It was a layup and Leary just flubbed it.
On the day Leary was 10/26 for 128 yards and 2 TD. That isn’t good enough and it’s not what anyone around the Kentucky program believed they were getting. Many believed he would be better than Will Levis but at this juncture I’m not sure he’s better than Terry Wilson or Stephen Johnson who at least had the threat of running the ball. Leary seems like a nice kid and the floundering offense isn’t 100% on him but he has to play better. If he can’t play better Coen has to start scheming around his limitations.
There wasn’t a whole lot of positive but once again Ray Davis showed up. He didn’t have a great day running the ball, but he still got in the scoresheet with 26-yard TD reception. He had 105 total yards and was by the far best offensive performer of the day. Honorable mention to Dane Key who quietly had a decent day.
Defense
As bad as the offensive performance was the defensive performance was even worse. Soft is really the only word I can use to describe it without some colorful language.
First off, we must give credit to Georgia who realized they couldn’t keep trying to force the run game and instead decided to pick on the Kentucky secondary. Georgia still rushed for 173 yards but it was clear Georgia had a different gameplan than prevous weeks.
The real problem is the Kentucky secondary. It was a concern around the program all summer but playing some horrendous passing offenses kind of papered over the cracks. Kentucky DB’s played scared all night with poor technique pre-snap and bad breaks at the point of attack. Carson Beck racked up 388 yards and 4 TD, his backup Brock Vandergriff also threw for a TD. Maxwell Hairston was able to pick off a pass and set up one of Kentucky’s two TD but the game was already over by that point.
In total the Kentucky defense gave up 608 yards of offense. It was a total embarrassment on that side of the football and I know Stoops is taking that personally. He and Brad White were completely pantsed by Mike Bobo schematically and Kentucky doesn’t have the talent advantage on the field to also lose on the sidelines.
Special Teams
Kentucky’s punting isn’t good enough. It doesn’t matter much when you lose by 40 but the Wildcats need all the advantages they can get, and Wilson Berry isn’t giving them one. He had multiple opportunities to pin Georgia inside the 5 and was only able to do it once. His worst punt of the day handed Georgia another scoring opportunity right before the half. At this point he is who he is but it’s a problem that other SEC teams don’t seem to have.
Kicking wise Alex Raynor only got the one XP which he made.
Final Thoughts
When disasters like this happen it’s common for fans to look for someone to be angry at. Some have decided to be mad at media personalities (who are fans) and popular fans on social media to blame for “getting everyone’s hopes up”. Others are mad at Stoops for making $9m a year and having these kinds of performances. An even smaller group of fans have decided to have a go at individual players on social media (if you’re one of the ones doing this, you’re an embarrassment). The reality is that sometimes there isn’t anyone to blame.
I wrote in the SEC Power Rankings last week that Georgia did this last year where they struggled for a couple of weeks and then obliterated everyone else until Ohio State in the Peach Bowl (semifinal). Georgia had their best game of the season and once that became clear the game was over regardless of how Kentucky played.
Losing to Georgia is forgivable and fans would be wise to not dwell on it. I can already hear the gasbags who need to create content guffawing but Kentucky’s most important game of the season is coming this weekend. Everyone needs to get on board. If you’re demanding your pound of flesh because you can’t handle disappointment that is a personal problem. There will be a time to have a big picture discussion about Stoops and the Kentucky program’s ceiling, but it doesn’t need to happen mid-season.
