Georgia coach Kirby Smart says Kentucky still ‘dangerous’ despite performance in SEC opener

By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today

Georgia coach Kirby Smart hasn’t changed his approach going into the top-ranked Bulldogs’ Southeastern Conference opener at Kentucky on Saturday.

The Georgia coach said the Wildcats’ disappointing 31-6 loss to South Carolina last weekend isn’t indicative of Kentucky’s full potential and is anticipating a hard-fought encounter.

“It’s all about perception and how you perceive things,” Smart said. “They are just as dangerous whether they won or lost that game, in my opinion. … we’re going to prepare the same way regardless of what happened in that game. A lot of things went wrong quickly for them in that game, and it snowballed in some ways. I know what they’re capable of.

“I’ve seen them on tape. I know the football players they got. I know how physical they are. I know how they’re coached. And we’ve got to get ready for a really tough opponent.”

Georgia offensive lineman Chaz Chambliss agreed with his coach.

“It is always hard to go on the road in the SEC,” he said. “Fans are always going to be there, everyone is going to give it their best shot. We talked about it last week, we want to give everyone our best shot.”

One of Smart’s former players — Kentucky starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff — played for two seasons at Georgia before transferring to Lexington. Smart said Vandagriff was a valuable part of the program and helped create a positive culture on and off the field.

“I have a lot of respect for Brock, his dad, his family,” he said. “What Brock did for this university was awesome. He was a wonderful teammate and just a great kid. (He) always put the team first and would do anything to help the team, and really helped our culture while he was here. I have a lot of appreciation for what he did.”

Georgia has compiled a 48-2 in its last 50 games and has won 41 consecutive regular-season contests. The streak began with a 14-3 victory over the Wildcats in 2020. The Bulldogs also have won 14 straight and 15 of the past 17 games against Kentucky.

Despite the dominance, two of the past five games have been decided by 11 points or less. Georgia escaped with a 16-6 win over the Wildcats two years ago at Kroger Field.

“I have immense respect for Mark [Stoops],” Smart said. “He and I have grown to be really good friends. He’s one of the best in the business. He’s done a tremendous job at Kentucky over the time he’s been there.

“His teams are always very disciplined, very physical. That’s a really tough place to play. When you go there, as you can see from every time we’ve played there, it’s been really tough. “

Gametracker : Georgia at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ABC, UK Radio Network.

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