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Kentucky vs. Georgia: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Predictions

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Georgia Bulldogs running back Daijun Edwards (30) carries the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats during the third quarter at Kroger Field.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

After a historic win over Florida, their third straight against the Gators, Kentucky football is 5-0 for just the fifth time in the last 72 years, with three of those coming in the last six years. This Saturday, Kentucky has an opportunity to continue to make history, traveling to Athens to go up against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Of course, Georgia is the defending National Champion and the No. 1 team in the country. However, they haven’t looked to be the juggernaut that many thought they would be. In both of their SEC matchups this season, against Auburn and South Carolina, two teams that look objectively worse than Kentucky, the Bulldogs have been tied or down at halftime.

Can Kentucky pull the upset? They have the personnel to do so, but it’s going to be a tall task. BUT if they can, Kentucky has a chance to take the “next step” that Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow refer to, by giving Kentucky a real shot at the SEC Championship and a signature program win.

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Let’s see what Kentucky needs to do to give themselves the best shot at a win.

Slow Brock Bowers

When talking about Georgia in Monday’s press conference Mark Stoops called Georgia’s top player and tight end, Brock Bowers, an “absolute freak in the most complimentary way.”

On the season, Bowers has 30 receptions for 413 total yards and three touchdowns. In comparison to the rest of the Georgia offense, he nearly doubles the next closest player in receiving yards, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, who has 226 yards. In other words, he is really good.

When looking at the game logs it should come as no surprise that when he struggles, the Bulldogs’ offense struggles. As said earlier, Georgia has been down or tied at halftime of their first two SEC contests this season. In the first halves of those games, Bowers has caught a combined 5 catches for 26 yards. However, in the second halves, he has a combined 10 receptions for 185 yards. Truly a tale of two halves.

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The Kentucky defense is one of the best defensive units in the country, it will be interesting to see if and how they can limit the future top 5 draft pick.

Get Some Explosive Plays

If you look at college football upsets, one key ingredient is explosive plays and Kentucky has the players to provide those and has shown that this season. Looking at the stats, Kentucky is eleventh in plays with 20+ yard gains with 33, and tied for fifth with plays more than 50+ yards, with 6.

Running back Ray Davis has provided several of those plays against the – what was – top rushing defense in the SEC in Florida. While not playing their best thus far this season, receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key have proven they are capable of big games, and you would have to think the passing game has to start clicking at some point.

However, I believe another likely source of an explosive play is the Kentucky defense. This season the defense has forced a defensive score in three of their five games. In the past, the Kentucky defense has a history of stepping up in primetime games, such as JJ Weaver’s 4th quarter interception against Florida in 2021 or Bud Dupree’s game-winning pick-six against South Carolina in 2014.

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Come Prepared

Through the first four games of this season, the Kentucky football team went undefeated, but there was still much to be desired from their performance. While there is still room for improvement, especially in the passing game, Kentucky just beat a Top 25 opponent 33-14, and it could have easily been by more.

That said Georgia is a much tougher opponent than Florida and may be the Wildcats’ toughest opponent of the season. If Kentucky wants a shot to win, they need to come prepared on both sides of the ball and capitalize on their red zone opportunities, which they failed to do last season.

Given this is Georgia’s first night game since 2021, it will also be a rowdy road environment. Mark Stoops and Co must be ready to overcome adversity on and off the field

No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 SEC) vs. No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 SEC)

Time/Date: 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, October 7th, 2023
Location: Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia
TV Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath
Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Satellite Radio: XM Channel 203, Sirius Channel 98, Internet Channel 966
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | UGA
Stats To Know: UK | UGA

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Covers.com Weather Forecast:

Odds: The DraftKings Sportsbook has Kentucky bet down to a small 14.5-point underdog. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky a small but fair shot, giving the Wildcats a 13.9% chance to pull the upset.

PredictionsTeamRankings has Georgia coming away with a 31-17 win, while DRatings.com is going with a 37-14 victory for the Bulldogs! As much as I want to drink the Kool-Aid, I can’t. I’m predicting a close first half thanks to the Kentucky defense, but Georgia starts to pull away in the third quarter to win 27-17.

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Jamon Dumas-Johnson: A NFL Draft Steal

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Kentucky Wildcats linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson (2) makes the sign of the cross while taking a knee before the game.
Carter Skaggs | Imagn

Before he transferred to Kentucky, Jamon Dumas-Johnson was an All-American at Georgia, with waves to at least test the NFL draft after winning a National Championship. However, with the decision to play his last collegiate season as a Wildcat, Dumas-Johnson was a cornerstone piece for the Kentucky defense, finishing the season with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks during his 11 starts for the team. 

His athleticism spoke volumes at Kentucky football’s NFL pro day, where current NFL draft boards now list the linebacker as one of the best athletes at the position and has earned himself a “top 10” feel ahead of the draft. Before pro day, publications such as Bleacher Report had him listed as No. 13 at his position. 

Dumas-Johnson proved himself with the highest vertical jump (37.5) and the longest broad jump (10.60) out of the Wildcats who competed in said events, and ran an impressive best 4.50 40-yard dash. At 245 pounds, he also managed to press 16 reps of 225, which could technically be “better” compared to NFL standards, but is impressive nonetheless in hindsight.

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At 23 years old, this linebacker exploits explosiveness, agility and can hawk down any playmaker on the field. Out the 31 NFL teams that attended the event (a Cleveland Browns representative did not attend), one will be getting a prize steal of the draft with Dumas-Johnson. 

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Alex Raynor: A Rare Gem In This Year’s NFL Draft

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Kentucky Wildcats place kicker Alex Raynor (16) lines up a kick.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Alex Raynor had an illustrious season for Kentucky last year, being named to First-Team All-SEC, as a finalist for the Lou Groza award and as SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.

As the record holder for the longest field goal in program history, and arguably one of, if not the, most consistent kickers to ever be a Wildcat, Raynor now looks to the NFL Draft in the next chapter of his book. 

Recently, at Kentucky football’s NFL Pro Day on Tuesday, March 11, Raynor kicked off the event with his workout. 

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Although he would miss a routine kick for him inside of the 45, he would continue to move back, nailing a 55-yard kick and nearly making a 60-yard kick. 

The best moments of his workout came when Raynor would line up behind the UK logo inside of Nutter Field House and would nail a 65-yard field goal.

That, although it’s an indoor kick and is not faced with the NFL pressure, would be one of the longest field goals in NFL history. 

Historically, it’s extremely rare for kickers to be drafted any higher than the 6th, more commonly going in the late rounds on the third day. 

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However, Raynor would hold as one of the rare occasions to go higher than projected, due to his historic year as a Wildcat.

Wherever the young man from Georgia ends up in the pros, don’t be surprised if you hear his name every reoccurring Sunday.

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The State of Kentucky Football

Following their worst season in nearly a decade, Kentucky Football faces a steep rebuild and rising expectations.

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops has been linked to the Texas A&M job.
Chet White | UK Athletics

After charting a 4-8 record in the 2023-24 season, including a 1-7, second-to-last finish in the SEC, Kentucky Football looks lost for the first time in a long time.

It can be argued that the program never really broke through to the “higher echelon” of college football in the first place, but even then, they’ve been consistently better than they were historically known to be. Until now.

With that aforementioned .333 record, the Cats weren’t able to earn a bowl game. That marks the first time since the 2015 season that Kentucky Football won’t appear in postseason competition, and, excluding the 2020 season (for COVID-related reasons,) it’s also the only time the Wildcats have finished under .500 since then.

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What about the last time the team had less than five wins? 2013, in Stoops’ first season. The deeper you dig, the worse it appears.

Losing to Louisville in blowout fashion at the end of last month felt like the straw that broke the Cats’ back. It was clear that whatever would happen next wouldn’t be simply transitional, and thus far, the early offseason has evidenced that.

The Big Move

It began with an exodus. Star wideout Barion Brown elected to transfer to LSU for his senior season. His receiver running mate, Dane Key, left for Nebraska. In addition to the team’s two primary deep threats, Chip Trayanum, the promising back and former Buckeye who spent much of this year battling injuries, took his talents to Toledo.

In total, the Cats have lost nearly two dozen players to the transfer portal, and that’s not even counting the guys headed to the NFL draft (like Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston,) as well as the graduates.

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To put it bluntly, next year’s team will share little more with the players from this past season than the blue and white on their jerseys. It’s a brutal overhaul, though one Coach Stoops and his staff are trying to get the jump on, to their credit.

Fresh Faces

Among a growing list of incoming transfers, a few names in particular stand out. Chief among them is Zach Calzada, a quarterback whose upcoming season at Kentucky will mark his fifth year playing football in his third different jersey.

The journeyman spent this past season at Incarnate Word, where he threw for 35 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He completed 344 passes on the year, almost doubling that of his previous two. 

Before his two-year stint at IW, Calzada spent the beginnings of his college career at Texas A&M where, among a mixture of steadily improving statistics, he led the Aggies to an impressive home win over the still Saban-led Alabama Crimson Tide. Whether or not his recent success in the Southland Conference will translate back to the SEC is yet to be seen, but, at least on paper, this pickup makes sense for Kentucky following a year of unsparing QB play across the board.

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Along with Calzada, the Cats have hauled in J.J. Hester, a 6 ‘4 senior receiver from Oklahoma, Dante Dowdell, a power back coming off a 12-touchdown season for Nebraska, and Sam Greene, a defensive end transferring in from USC, among a handful of others. We’ll have a team. 

Though, even considering the roster turnover, that wasn’t the question. That still remains, “what will that team do?”

Potential vs. Progress

Kentucky is 18-25 in their last three seasons of football; a steady decline that has been made worse by the fact that the program’s outlier 10-3 finish in the 2021 season has since been disqualified by the NCAA due to a rule violation. All in all, the last half-decade has been, at best, barely getting by.

How long will this trend continue? The only thing we know for sure is that nobody is sure. Answering that question requires the analysis and knowing of many moving parts, not all of which are at widespread disposal.

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But this much is clear: the longtime variable nature of Kentucky Football came to a head this year, and the product we’re about to see is going to have to be radically different from the one we’ve just seen in order to right this ship.

For better or worse, the 2024-25 season will likely go down as the most important yet in the Stoops era at UK.

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