Opposition Research: Kentucky
It's time for another edition of our Opposition Research series as we preview Georgia's game against Kentucky.
To do that, we reached out to Justin Rowland, the publisher for our sister site CATS Illustrated.
UGASports: How would you describe the way Kentucky's season has gone this year?
Rowland: "Kentucky has had a lot of close calls in 2017. A lot of them have gone their way and that's a change from the past. This is a program that has a pretty scarred, fatalistic fan base, so people appreciate that Kentucky has been 8-3 in games decided by a touchdown or less over the past two seasons. The win against Vanderbilt was their first blowout of the season, and along with that 10-point win at South Carolina, the team's best performance of the season. It hasn't all been great this year, though. Some of those close calls came against teams they should have defeated handily, like Eastern Michigan and Eastern Kentucky. If you look at the whole body of work, it would be tough for a Kentucky fan not to be happy with 7-3. That said, it's also tough not to look at that Florida game when Kentucky squandered a 27-14 fourth quarter lead and gave up two touchdown passes to wide receivers who weren't covered, or the Ole Miss game, when the Cats gave up a touchdown with five seconds to play in a loss.
UGASports: What did the big win over Vanderbilt do for the confidence heading into Saturday?
Rowland: "The two groups that probably benefit the most, confidence-wise, are the offensive line and the secondary. Those have been the two most maligned units on the team in 2017, because most people anticipated they, along with the linebackers, would be Kentucky's best units. But they've struggled this season. Now the offensive line is back on track with redshirt freshman Drake Jackson at center, and the Cats have had three straight really strong rushing performances. The secondary had its best game of the season, too, picking off Kyle Shurmur four times. He had thrown just three picks all season prior to that."
UGASports: How has Stephen Johnson improved at quarterback this season?
Rowland: "His accuracy is significantly better. He was a 55-percent passer last season and that's up this year. He hasn't been accurate every single week, but he's been a lot better there. Last year he relied very heavily on play action throws over the top. This year, with a younger receiving corps, he hasn't been able to rely on that. His accuracy on the short to intermediate throws has improved a lot and he's going through his reads a lot better, too. He's still a quality runner and that's a big part of Kentucky's offense."
UGASports: Where is Kentucky at defensively this year?
Rowland: "They had one of the top run defenses in the country through the first half of the season but that seemed like fool's gold because of the competition. When Florida, Missouri, Tennessee and Ole Miss needed to run the ball against Kentucky, they were able to. The pass defense was supposed to be a strength this year, but not until Saturday did the secondary really put together a strong performance. The personnel is better top to bottom than it usually is at Kentucky and that's a credit to Stoops' recruiting. Kentucky is strong on the edge and at linebacker. Junior safety/nickel Mike Edwards is one of the league's top defensive backs. Kentucky has struggled to pressure the quarterback in recent years but they're up to 27 sacks on the season because they've had 15 the last three games. It needs more work on the defensive line and up the middle. The defensive line rarely pressures the quarterback."
UGASports: How do you see Saturday's game breaking down?
Rowland: "Georgia opened as a 22-point favorite and I don't think that's unfair. Kentucky has been playing better recently and they are coming off their most complete performance of the season. However, they lean very heavily on the run and Georgia probably has the defensive personnel to really slow that down more than almost anyone else. If Kentucky is forced to pass into Georgia's secondary, it's tough to see them having consistent success. On the flip side, while Kentucky is good on the edges defensively, they are weaker up the middle. Georgia should be able to exploit that. With the Bulldogs still playing for a spot in the sport's postseason playoff, I'll pick the Dawgs, 35-14."