Why Has The Kentucky Defense Been More Successful Than Most Against Georgia?

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Georgia has won the last two national championships and is favored to make it three straight this season which is not good news for Kentucky coach Mark Stoops considering he’s yet to beat the Bulldogs.

Kentucky has to play at Georgia in October and certainly will be a decided underdog even if the Cats find a way to start the season 5-0 as many expect.

However, Kentucky has made an impression on Georgia with its physical play and the UK defense has kept the Georgia offense from running wild in recent games.

Stoops was asked Wednesday at SEC Media Days why his defense had been more successful against Georgia than other SEC teams.

“I don’t know, let’s not talk about them. We don’t need to aggravate them. They are the type of team, you challenge them, they are going to make you look bad,” Stoops laughed and said.

But who could blame him? Why chance providing bulletin board material for the nation’s most talented team?

“I don’t know if — you can’t put your finger on any one thing. We know they are capable of going off against anybody and scoring and making good plays,” Stoops said.  “All you have to do is watch the (national) championship game and playoffs and watch them against some really good football teams. They are capable of that with their coaching and with their players.”

Stoops credited UK defensive coordinator and his staff for the success against Georgia and noted the UK defense “played really hard” against the Bulldogs.

“But close isn’t good enough. I am proud of the way they competed on that side. Now we need to put it all together and bottom line is try to win the game,” Stoops said.

“But again, I give them a lot of credit because I think they are — I don’t think it’s talked about enough. They recruit at a high level, and they are talented, but they are very well-coached.”