Takeaways from Kentucky's embarrassing 35-14 loss on the road at Georgia

Self-inflicted mistakes cost the Wildcats once again on Saturday.

Oct 4, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops shown on the sidelines during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Kentucky football once again found themselves in an ugly situation on Saturday as they took on #12 Georgia in Athens. The Wildcats were looking to put up a competitive performance against the powerhouse Bulldogs, but things turned ugly quick, thanks to multiple turnovers in a 10-minute span, leading to 21 unanswered points from Georgia, as it was all Bulldogs on Saturday. After an embarrassing blowout loss at South Carolina, Kentucky followed it up with another embarrassing one at Georgia.

Let's take a look at the takeaways from what went down, or didn't go down, in Athens, as the Wildcats move to 0-3 in SEC play this season, still winless in the conference since beating Ole Miss in September of 2024.

Turnovers on offense cost Kentucky (again)

The curse of the middle 8 struck again on Saturday, as the Wildcats were unable to come away with anthing starting at the end of the first half. Just as Kentucky was moving in rhythm towards the end of the half after a catch by Willie Rodgriguez to put the Wildcats in the redzone was overturned. Then, the Wildcats were able to get it just inside the Georgia 10-yard line, before failing to come away with points following a missed field goal attempt. It didn't end their, though, as Kentucky fumbled quickly to begin the second half, which gave Georgia the ball in scoring range. They capitalized quickly, then scoring back-to-back touchdowns after the fumble. Kentucky finished with 270 total yards, with just 45 yards on the ground.

Kentucky's secondary struggled all game

It wasn't just Kentucky's offense unable to find much going for them, as the defense, secondary in particular, did not have a very good day. Georgia was able to find a number of explosive plays, including a 36-yard pass, 33-yard pass, including 19-yard run from their starting running back as well as two rushing touchdowns from quarterback Gunner Stockton. He rushed for a high of 19 yards, as well as 7 and 6-yard runs that led to touchdowns. It was a brutal day for the Kentucky defense, as Georgia just kept pouring on the points. The yards after catch from a number of Georgia receivers were also killers, as the Bulldogs had receivers with as much as 31, 29, 20, and 19 yards after catch. A rough day for Kentucky's secondary, and it showed. Georgia finished with 425 total yards, including 245 yards in the air and 180 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs also converted 9-12 of their 3rd downs, which also bothered the Wildcats, not to mention their four penalties. Other than the interception, which the offense couldn't capitalize off of, nothing really went right for Brad White's unit.

Kentucky got beat badly in all areas on Saturday against a team coming off a tough 24-21 loss last week against Alabama, and they came ready to play, and the Wildcats were on the receiving end of it. Mark Stoops certainly will continue to have his back against the wall, as the chatter around his future as the head coach from fans and media continues to loom large.