LEXINGTON, KY – After watching Stetson Bennett throw two interceptions for his fifth pick in two games Saturday, head coach Kirby Smart was asked if there was ever any discussion with offensive coordinator Todd Monken on whether or not to make a change at quarterback, in an effort to give the Bulldogs an offensive spark.

There was none.

"No. There was no discussion about it, because I personally didn't,” said Smart—despite putting the onus on his junior quarterback for avoiding plays like the tipped pass and interception by Kentucky defensive tackle Phil Hoskins, with the Bulldogs at the 10-yard line and driving for score.

“A batted ball on a pass that he's got to get around a guy is not a real struggle,” Smart said. “I know you could say, 'If it happens once, shame on me. If it happens twice, shame on you,’ but it's one of those things where he's got to wrap the ball around it, he's got to throw it away, he's got to get another opportunity.”

Backups Carson Beck, D’Wan Mathis, and JT Daniels also traveled to the game.

Nevertheless, Smart spent much of his post-game press conference defending his starting quarterback, who also lost a fumble that was fortunately recovered by Bulldog tight end John FitzPatrick.

Bennett finished the game 9 of 13 for 131 yards and scored the first touchdown on a 2-yard run.

“He did a lot of good things in the run game. He pulled a ball and scored with it. He put us in the right run plays. He handled motion. He handled clock,” Smart said. “He did some good things. He didn't get a chance to throw the ball an awful lot today because we were able to run the ball."

Smart was right about that.

Georgia got its running game back in gear, totaling 215 yards, thanks largely to Zamir White’s first 100-yard day, with 26 carries for 136 yards, both career highs.

The fact is, Kentucky dominated the time of possession, 35 minutes to 25. But it was the low point total and Bennett’s mistakes that were the focus after the game.

“I thought we played pretty well (offensively) except for me,” Bennett said. “I don’t think I played horrible. But those two passes—I’ve just got to find a way.”

Smart scoffed at the notion that opposing defenses are starting to figure out Bennett and game-plan for him effectively.

“No, it has nothing to do with defenses scouting him better or anything like that. It happens sometimes when you throw the ball. It's one of those things; he made one poor decision. We thought he should have checked the ball down, but threw the ball deep, and really was trying to throw it out of bounds, and didn’t get it out of bounds,” Smart said. “It’s just a poor decision, a lack of experience to make a good decision. But he also did some good things with the ball. That's the most important thing for us. It's not necessarily getting back to what we were doing. Give Kentucky some credit; they have a good defense. They have a good team. They always play good, hard defense.”

Smart also disagreed with the idea that Georgia came into the game with the soul intent of running the football.

"No, we came in with the mindset that we wanted to score every single possession we got the ball, and do it by any means necessary—whether that was run the ball, throw the ball. You take what they give you, you know?” he said. “That’s what we were doing."

That was certainly true on the Bulldogs’ first possession when after forcing the punt, the offense took the football and drove 86 yards on 12 rushing plays, capped by Bennett’s 2-yard run.

Smart also shot back at a question when asked if Saturday’s display was what he meant when he stated after the loss to Alabama that Georgia needed to “get back” to the “Bulldog way” of playing offensive ball.

“I didn’t say 'my' brand, first of all. I said Georgia’s—that would be more appropriate. It's not about me,” Smart said. “We want to do whatever is going to allow us to be successful, and we're always going to take what the defense gives us. If they show us a certain defense, we're going to take shots. If they cannot stop us running the ball, we’re going to run the ball.”