Kentucky football can’t beat No. 1 Georgia, but it can prove something Saturday

Kentucky football is a better football team than it showed Saturday.

It has to be a better than that, right? Better than that 31-6 shellacking at the hands of South Carolina at Kroger Field. Better at blocking. Better at passing. Better at defending the pass. Better at avoiding penalties. Better at quarterback play. Better at discipline. Better at energy and emotion. Better, well, at just about everything.

“I didn’t like our response,” UK head coach Mark Stoops said afterward .

What response? There was no response. In an otherwise admirable Stoops tenure, his Wildcats have fallen victim to the annoying habit of laying an egg at least once a season. Think Missouri in 2020; Mississippi State in 2021; Tennessee in 2022; South Carolina in 2023. Saturday, against a team it was a 9-point favorite to beat, Stoops’ squad went splat yet again.

And now, just as the Cats need to pull themselves up off the tracks, here comes the barreling locomotive that is No. 1-ranked Georgia for a 7:30 p.m. SEC contest at Kroger Field on Saturday.

Before Saturday, I didn’t expect the Cats to beat the mighty Bulldogs. After Saturday, I certainly don’t expect Kentucky to upset Georgia for the first time in Stoops’ dozen years as the UK coach. I do expect Kentucky to put up more of a fight than it did against South Carolina.

I expect more from an offensive line that could not block the Gamecocks. True, the Cats’ cause was not helped by injuries to right offensive tackle Gerald Mincey (who did return) and left offensive guard Jager Burton (who did not). Even before that, Kentucky couldn’t protect quarterback Brock Vandagriff against Carolina’s talented pass rush tandem of Kyle Kennard and fabulous freshman Dylan Stewart.

I expect more from Vandagriff, who looked completely rattled in his second collegiate start. Even on the rare occasion when the Georgia transfer had time to throw, Vandagriff appeared to lock in on his receiver. Or make a bad throw. He wasn’t the same QB who overcame an early interception against Southern Miss to finish 12-for-18 through the air.

I expect more from a UK defense that kept the Cats in the game in the first half, but once again had trouble stopping South Carolina on third-and-long situations and suffered a pair of secondary breakdowns that allowed Gamecocks receivers wide-, wide-open for touchdown passes.

I expect more from Stoops, who put his defense in a rough spot by a terrible second-quarter decision to go for it on a fourth-and-1 at his own 31-yard line with his team down 7-0. When Carolina stuffed Vandagriff’s quarterback sneak, the Gamecocks earned more than just terrific field position — which resulted in three points — they earned the confidence they could manhandle their opponent.

After all, they had done it before. Twice. South Carolina entered Kroger Field having won two straight over the Cats. Once in Lexington. Once in Columbia. Having felt the heat after a lackluster 23-19 win over Old Dominion in its opener, Shane Beamer’s team entered Saturday with something to prove. And proved it.

You would have thought Kentucky owned the same motivation. Instead, you got the feeling UK’s mindset was, “Yeah, we’ve lost two in row to South Carolina, but we’re the better team.” And now the Cats have not only lost three straight to South Carolina, they’ve lost six of their last seven SEC games. Since Ray Davis rushed for 280 yards in that 33-14 win over Florida on Sept. 30, 2023, Stoops is 1-6 in conference play.

We’ve been here before. Sort of. History tells us that after last season’s frustration-filled November 17-14 loss to the Gamecocks in Columbia, Kentucky found a way to rebound and upset No. 9-ranked Louisville 38-31 in Louisville on Thanksgiving weekend.

I expect a similar response this Saturday. No, Kentucky won’t beat the Bulldogs. Louisville then wasn’t Georgia now. (Or then.) But I expect UK to prove that it is in fact a better football team than the one that failed so miserably against South Carolina. If the Cats can’t do that, it’s going to be a very long season.

Three takeaways as Kentucky football lays an egg against South Carolina

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Five things you need to know from UK’s embarrassing 31-6 loss to South Carolina