Kentucky football’s Mark Stoops chats with media after Georgia loss
Kentucky’s Mark Stoops talks after losing to No. 1 Georgia football by one point Saturday night in Lexington.
LEXINGTON — As the ball popped up in the air, Zion Childress was in the perfect place. Childress saw the ball into his hands and started sprinting in the opposite direction. He didn’t stop until he crossed the goal line.
It was a highlight-reel play for Kentucky football to take a 9-0 lead on No. 1 Georgia.
But it wasn’t to be: The play was reviewed. Overturned. And then the Bulldogs, who trailed for the duration of the first three quarters, turned the tide.
Try as the Wildcats might, it was an all-too-familiar result: a frustrating, 13-12 defeat to the Bulldogs at Kroger Field.
It marked Kentucky’s 15th straight loss to Georgia, dating back to its last victory in the series (2009). And it was UK’s second setback — at home — in the past two games, on the heels of a 31-6 loss to South Carolina.
“One heck of a football game. Really proud of our players, the way they fought and competed,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, who fell to 0-12 in his career against Georgia. “I thought our coaches did a really good job this week — as you could imagine very challenging week coming off the way we performed seven days ago in this stadium.”
The Wildcats (1-2, 0-2 SEC) fared far better Saturday. Especially the defense. They held the Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0) to three first-half points, the fewest for the nation’s top-ranked team since last season, when South Carolina also allowed three in the opening 30 minutes.
UGA rallied for a win against that USC squad. And the Bulldogs earned another triumph in come-from-behind fashion Saturday after trailing, 6-3, at intermission.
If Childress’ pick-six-that-wasn’t hadn’t been nullified, the hosts might have had an even larger halftime advantage.
“I feel like it was definitely a pick,” Childress said. “I just saw ball. I feel like the ball never hit the ground. But the camera told it differently.”
It was a surreal moment for Childress, who finished with six tackles, tied for the team high alongside fellow defensive back Ty Bryant and linebacker D’Eryk Jackson.
“I told the guys when I came to the sideline, like you imagine yourself catching a pick, but you don’t imagine yourself catching a pick like that,” he said. “It just didn’t go our way.”
Things began to go the Bulldogs’ way in the third quarter; after gaining just 63 yards in the first two periods, the visitors had 107 in the third stanza alone. That led to the Bulldogs’ first — and ultimately — only touchdown: a 3-yard plunge by tailback Branson Robinson with 12:20 to play, which gave them their first lead (13-9).
“(Kentucky’s defense) played with energy and physicality,” said Georgia receiver Dominic Lovett, who posted game highs in receptions (six) and receiving yards (89) on Saturday. “They played a great game. Props to them. I’m not going to say that we couldn’t get in a rhythm.
“That is simply just a very good team.”
The Bulldogs finished with 262 yards. (Twenty-two fewer than the Wildcats’ 284.) Georgia was 5 of 13 on third down. (Kentucky was 9 for 16.)
“Just so darn proud of the players,” UK defensive coordinator Brad White said. “We asked them, ‘Hey, do your job and take it one series at a time.’ And they did. And we knew everything wasn’t going to be perfect and there were going to be plays that are going to be made — they’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. They’re going to make plays.
“But I thought our kids, they battled. They made their own set of plays. They played physical. I just wish we could have given the ball back to the offense with more time on the clock.”
Kentucky also kept Carson Beck in check. Expected to be one of the chief contenders for the Heisman Trophy this season, Georgia’s star signal caller posted his worst completion percentage (62.5; 15 for 24) since taking over as the starter at the beginning of last season. He ended with 160 yards and failed to toss a touchdown for only the second time in 17 starts. The other? The aforementioned rally against South Carolina in 2023.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight coming in,” Beck said. “We knew it was gonna have to be blow by blow.”
Yet as well as UK’s defense played, it simply didn’t receive enough help from the offense.
All the unit mustered was four field goals, a quartet courtesy of placekicker Alex Raynor.
Making the defense’s efforts for naught on a day an epic upset was within the Wildcats’ grasp.
“I thought they have a very cohesive offensive line, and you could tell it’s a very good group,” Stoops said. “So you’ve just gotta play football. Yes, we mixed up looks (defensively). I thought coach White and our staff did a really good job and put us in position.”
Continuing to give themselves chances going forward is all the defense can ask for.
“Gave up a few plays here and there that we want back, for sure,” Childress said. “The guys played hard. They executed. They did everything the coaches asked of them.
“So we can’t mope about it. But I’m pretty sure there (are) some places we can get more from.”
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2024/09/14/georgia-kentucky-football-score-sec-standings-kirby-smart-mark-stoops/75114491007/
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Publish date : 2024-09-14 16:27:00
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