Grading Georgia's Win over Kentucky

It was another stressful Saturday for the Georgia football team.

The Bulldogs overcame two interceptions to defeat Kentucky 14-3 in Lexington. The Bulldogs dominated the game on the ground, but the interceptions killed two promising drives. However, the Georgia defense dominated, with one bad field goal being the group's only blemish.

Following are the grades for the game:

Offense: B+

This might seem high for an offense that scored only 14 points and had two interceptions, but the grade is for the entirety of the offense and the unit's effort deserved more than 14 points.

Running back Zamir White finally exceeded 100 yards in a game. He had 26 carries for 136 yards with one touchdown. His 5.2 yards-per-carry average illustrates how well Georgia played on offense. White worked his tail off, but the offensive line made his job incredibly easy. The Bulldogs put on a clinic up front.

The knock against them is the play of quarterback Stetson Bennett. He threw two interceptions and both were totally on him. Failing to step up into a clean pocket to hit an open Jermaine Burton led to one interception. Slinging the ball downfield to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, who clearly expected a back-shoulder throw, produced the second pick. Bennett said after the game that he was attempting to throw the ball out of bounds. The score would have been a lot more lopsided if Bennett took better care of the ball.

Defense: A+

After the game, many people on social media were focusing on Kentucky's nine-minute drive in the second quarter, and being critical of Georgia's struggles in run defense. The reality is that the Wildcats scored only three points on that long possession and never got close to scoring a touchdown again. The Bulldogs accomplished that despite having numerous injuries in each layer of the defense.

Statistically speaking, Georgia struggled against the run Saturday. Kentucky rushed for 158 yards on 35 carries. Running back Christian Rodriguez led the way with 108 yards on 20 carries and quarterback Joey Gatewood added 43 yards on 12 designed rushing plays. It wasn't great for the stat book.

However, stats are for fans to talk about and reporters to write about. Coaches don't typically worry about numbers. Georgia can live with Kentucky's success on the ground because Gatewood did not have a good day through the air. Completing 15 of 25 attempts, he passed for just 91 yards, which is only 3.6 yards per throw. Georgia also sacked Gatewood four times for 20 yards in losses. Kentucky's inability to pass cost them a touchdown on its nine-minute drive and prevented the Wildcats from ever challenging for the lead again. Georgia was able to make Kentucky one-dimensional.

Special teams: B+

Georgia had an OK game on special teams. Punter Jake Camarda continues to make his case for why he should win the Ray Guy Award. The junior pinned Kentucky inside the 10-yard line on his only two punts, one of which was for 54 yards. However, a bad snap led to Jack Podlesny's field-goal attempt being blocked.

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