We continue our prose exploration of the Georgia Bulldogs’ 2024 season with a look back at the Dawgs’ skin-of-their-teeth victory over Kentucky. In many ways it was a victory that signaled storm clouds on the horizon. A win, but one that subtly hinted that things weren’t quite right. To review the game I have chosen the style of a writer renowned for having the stylistic subtlety of a 10 pound hammer: “Papa” himself, Ernest Hemingway. Enjoy.
They say in football you must win your clunkers. This was a clunker. The worst game Georgia played in three seasons.
The veterans failed. Beck was bad. Fifteen completions. One hundred sixty yards. No interceptions but two balls that should have been if there were any justice in this God-forsaken world. A fumbled snap killed a drive. He was off. Just off.
The line was weak. One hundred two yards rushing. Worst since last season against Ball State. They found some push late when it mattered. But the line that started tonight would be destroyed by Alabama or Texas. Pulverized. Mutilated.
Kentucky owned the clock. Thirty-five minutes to twenty-five in time of possession. When Beck dropped back in the first half, you hoped. Greene struggled. Wilson snapped one at Beck’s shins. The veterans were unreliable.
The defense stumbled too. Starks got a penalty that kept a drive alive. Nine penalties for eighty-five yards total. Unacceptable. Yes, the call on Walker was bad. The refs missed some against Georgia too. It was sloppy football. Not championship football.
The tackling was poor. Kentucky gained one hundred seventy yards on the ground. Their line, which we had mocked, played with heart. Almost enough heart to win. The hearts of lions, not Wildcats.
Georgia deserved to lose. They made enough mistakes to lose. They don’t deserve trust until they prove they can play winning football from the start. They looked entitled against a Kentucky team with something to prove. That gets you beaten. Or eaten by hyenas. It depends whether you’re in northern Kentucky or Zimbabwe.
The good thing is teams aren’t as good as their big wins or as bad as their close ones. Georgia has done this before. They came back against Auburn last season. In 2022 they trailed Missouri until the fourth.
This doesn’t mean doom. But it doesn’t mean Georgia is the best team in America. They were barely good enough to beat Kentucky. South Carolina destroyed Kentucky only a week before.
Georgia would have a week to heal and remember how champions play before Alabama. If they thought this place was hostile, wait for Tuscaloosa. There’s time to fix things. But much work to do. Much work to do.
Go ‘Dawgs.