Kentucky's "physical" play worries Georgia coach Kirby Smart -- or he says it does. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Georgia coach Kirby Smart admits he has become really good friends with Kentucky coach Mark Stoops and has “immense respect” for him.
Maybe that’s why it was hard to tell that Kentucky lost 31-6 to South Carolina last week when Smart talked Monday about playing in Lexington this Saturday.
“He’s one of the best in the business. He’s done a tremendous job at Kentucky over the time he’s been there. His teams are always very disciplined, very physical,” Smart said.
Against South Carolina, UK was not disciplined or physical and even Stoops admitted that.
“That’s a really tough place to play. When you go there, as you can see from every time we’ve played there, it’s been really tough. A lot of excitement playing an SEC opponent on the road. I think we know around this place how hard that can be,” Smart said.
“You get an opportunity to play at night on the road, and you know the environment is going to be really loud. We’ve got to prepare for a tough, really physical game, which is that way every time we play Kentucky.”
Remember not only has Smart never lost to Stoops but Stoops does not have a win over Georgia during his UK tenure.
Even though UK was overmatched against double-digit underdog South Carolina, Smart said the Cats are still “dangerous” from all he’s seen.
“I mean, I don’t get into the whole – we’re going to prepare the same way regardless of what happened in that game,” he said. “A lot of things went wrong quickly for them in that game, and it snowballed in some ways.
“I know what they’re capable of. I’ve seen them on tape. I know the football players they got. I know how physical they are. I know how they’re coached. And we’ve got to get ready for a really tough opponent.”
Why? What makes Kentucky a tough opponent for the nation’s best program in recent years?
“They’re physical. So you play defense, you have physical lines of scrimmage, you have huge people on the offensive and defensive line, and you’re hard to move the ball on,” the Georgia coach said.
He’s also a big fan of the Kentucky fanbase.
“So the environment they create is very good. They’ve got great fans. They’ve got a great stadium. They’ve reduced their stadium to have more premium seating, so they actually get less people in, but they’re louder when they’re there. They’re passionate,” Smart said.
He also has respect for UK All-American defensive lineman Deone Walker, a player many thought might transfer to Georgia two years ago.
“He’s an extremely physical, versatile player who can play inside-out. It seems like he’s been there forever. He’s a kid we recruited – highly-recruited kid, tremendous athlete, just like a wrecking ball,” Smart said. “He literally can wreck a play from any position, and they even dropped him last year. He’s a tremendous athlete.”
