The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: No. 1 Georgia vs Kentucky

Kentucky gave Georgia a lot more of a fight than most were expecting. Like many other top teams on Saturday, Georgia was just happy to survive and advance.

Georgia (11-0, 7-0) held on for a win against Kentucky 16-6 at a frigid Kroger Field. It wasn’t a pretty day for either team’s offense, with the cool weather playing a big role in the quarterbacks’ ability to throw the football.

The Good - Kenny McIntosh

You could be forgiven for thinking Kenny McIntosh is mainly a pass-catching back. For a majority of his career that’s exactly what he’s been. But the senior out of Fort Lauderdale is starting to show he’s an all-around great back. He was clearly Georgia’s best on Saturday, rushing for a career-high 143 yards and a score.

McIntosh is Georgia’s third-leading pass catcher, and now he looks like their best running threat. They say as the games get bigger, the rotations get shorter. We should be seeing a lot more Kenny McIntosh in Georgia’s remaining games.

The Bad - Situational football

Both coaches and players struggled mightily with decision making on Saturday. You never go broke taking a profit, but Kirby Smart got greedy in this one. After marching 72 yards in 9 plays, Smart elected to go for it on 4th down from the 1-yard line up 16-0, instead of letting Jack Podlesny put the team up by three scores. It backfired in a big way. Kendall Milton was stuffed and Kentucky took the football 99-yards for their first score of the game. In a game in which Georgia had dominated, the Bulldogs gave Kentucky some desperately needed momentum.

Stetson Bennett struggled with decision making as well. Leading 9-0, with a fresh set of downs at the 50, Bennett launched a duck into double coverage for his 6th interception of the year. He nearly had his second, when he snuck a ball to Dominick Blaylock for a first down. It felt like Bennett was pressing.

The Ugly - Short yardage

Speaking of getting stuffed at the goal line; it’s time for the Jalen Carter-package to go away. It’s not that Carter isn’t mauling people, it’s that all of those people know that where he goes the ball goes. Georgia used the package two plays in a row and picked up 0 yards.

On the next drive, Georgia was faced with a 3rd and 2 from their own 41. Once again, they were stuffed by Kentucky’s defense. Later in the game, when Georgia was trying to close the game out, Stetson Bennett was stuffed on a quarterback sneak on 3rd down. Todd Monken is an incredibly creative offensive coordinator. These calls feel like anything but. All in all it was a good day for Georgia running the ball, they just need to figure something out in the short yardage game.