By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Georgia continued its dominance over Kentucky on Saturday in Athens.
Coming off a 24-21 loss to No. 10 Alabama, the 12th-ranked Bulldogs roared to a 35-14 win over the Wildcats, handing Kentucky (2-3, 0-3) its eighth-straight Southeastern Conference setback dating back to last season.
Georgia (4-1, 2-1) notched its 16th straight victory over Kentucky, which hasn’t beaten the Bulldogs since the 2009 season. Georgia coach Kirby Smart improved to 10-0 against the Wildcats, while coach Mark Stoops has failed to notch a win over the Bulldogs in his 13-year tenure at Kentucky.
Following the loss, Stoops responded to a radio report he had asked for a buyout last season and denied the report.
“I’d hate to give anything like that legs,” Stoops told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “There’s zero … I told you last year. You guys can say or write anything you want about me, but there’s zero chance I’m walking away. You know what I mean? Zero. There’s no quit in me, so that’s unequivocally false.”
Stoops is 2-14 in the team’s last 16 conference games, and his current contract features a $38 million buyout that is payable within 60 days of a dismissal by the Kentucky administration.
Making his third start of the season, Wildcats signal-caller Cutter Boley threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Boley had one interception and was sacked twice for a loss of seven yards. Boley completed a pair of long pass plays, including a 38-yard strike to Kendrick Law that led to a touchdown in the second quarter.
Law caught six passes for 64 yards, while Cameron Miller hauled in three passes for 41 yards in the second half.
On the flip side of the football, the Wildcats managed just 45 yards rushing and 270 overall yards in the setback. Seth McGowan rushed for 44 yards on 11 carries.
Kentucky missed a 26-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half, and a fumble on its first series of the second half resulted in a touchdown in the ensuing drive for the hosts.
Kentucky’s defense struggled to contain Georgia signal-caller Gunner Stockton, who threw for 196 yards and rushed for 48 yards and a pair of scores in the first half. Overall, the Bulldogs racked up 425 yards of offense, including 245 yards passing. Stockton completed passes of 18 yards or more to four different receivers.
Stoops believes the Wildcats can recover from the three league losses moving forward.
“We talked about those and knocking down some pegs, and moving up,” Stoops said. “I’ve been there and done that. It’s hard. You’ve got to have the right pieces in place. We’re not exactly where we want to be. We’re better than we’ve been in the recent past, but we’re still not where we want to be. We’re missing some pieces, but we’re going to get to work.”
Gametracker: Texas at Kentucky, Oct. 18. TV/Radio: TBA, UK Radio Network.