Kentucky did a lot of things better, played with more heart but still could not beat Georgia

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Just stop and think about this.

— Kentucky had a 99-yard scoring drive.

— In the first quarter Kentucky had drives of 64 and 57 yards.

— Kentucky’s defense kept Georgia out of the end zone on back to back plays from the one-yard line.

— Three other times Kentucky stopped Georgia on third down and two yard or less.

— Kentucky’s defense held No. 1 Georgia to a season-low point total,

Yet the Cats once again just could not make the big play on offense when they needed it the most and lost 16-6 to Georgia — UK’s 12th straight loss to the Bulldogs.

Quarterback Will Levis threw an interception in the end zone. Another low snap — how many has that been this season — cost UK any chance to  make a 38-yard field goal trailing only 16-6.

The Cat had only 30 yards of total offense in the second quarter and only five in the third quarter.

Yet in the fourth quarter the offense Kentucky fans thought they would see all season came alive. The nine-play, 99-yard drive after the goal line stop ended with Levis throwing an 8-yard scoring strike to freshman Barion Brown, who had 10 catches for 145 yards.

Down 16-6, Kentucky drove 70 yards in nine plays before the drive was stopped when it seemed Brown was held and Levis overthrew him. Still, a 38-yard field goal would have cut the lead to 16-9 and with another stop, given UK a chance to still win or tie the game.

Instead the snap bounced back to holder Chance Moore and he was lucky to get the ball placed before kicker Matt Ruffolo badly hooked the ball.

“What do I say? It’s not good. That anybody can see,” Stoops said.

And has been able to see for weeks but yet it keeps happening.

“I have no good answer. We do it (snaps and kicks) all the time (in practice). It’s not good. It’s inexcusable,” Stoops said.

Yes it is and is just part of what has been a perplexing season. The team that played Georgia should have beat South Carolina and Vanderbilt but for the most part took both weeks off.

Maybe that’s why Stoops — and UK fans — appreciated what the UK defense did to hold Georgia to 16 points and just one touchdown. The UK defense didn’t wilt in the fourth quarter down 16-0.

“I really appreciate them digging in like that. That (Georgia) is a physical football team that is creative with their dynamic tight ends and the ways they create and score touchdowns,” Stoops said.  “Our guys really competed and played hard.”

They did but it still wasn’t quite enough against a team as good as Georgia that got more scoring chances and didn’t waste the ones it had like Kentucky did and has done most of the season.

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