ATHENS, Ga. - The Kentucky Wildcats know a thing or two about rebounds.
They witnessed an impressive one Saturday inside Sanford Stadium.
Bouncing back from its only loss of the season, No. 7 Georgia pummeled Kentucky 42-13 before a sellout crowd that witnessed 31 Bulldogs seniors get recognized before the opening kickoff. Two of those seniors, running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, led an attack that amassed 504 yards and averaged 8.7 yards a snap.
"It's always good to get a bad taste out of your mouth," Chubb said. "I think coming out here and doing what we're capable of doing helped our confidence. We've just got to continue to play Georgia ball and not get away from it."
Chubb and Michel combined for 238 yards and five touchdowns on 27 rushes.
With the resounding triumph, the Bulldogs improved to 10-1 overall and completed the Southeastern Conference portion of their schedule at 7-1, with the only loss being last week's 40-17 defeat at No. 6 Auburn. Included in Georgia's 7-1 league record is a 6-0 mark against Eastern Division foes, marking the first time the Bulldogs have accomplished that feat since the SEC went to divisional play in 1992.
Georgia's six wins over its Eastern opponents have come by the average score of 41-12, essentially making Saturday's result a microcosm of the dominance the Bulldogs have displayed in Kirby Smart's second season as head coach.
"Say what you want about the East, but they did it," Smart said. "It was a great team accomplishment, and it's something we motivated them with this week, because the focus was on Kentucky."
Said Michel: "This means a lot. It's a great accomplishment, and it's something that guys on this team can talk about forever."
Kentucky fell to 7-4 overall and wrapped up its conference schedule at 4-4. The Wildcats still haven't posted a winning league record since 1977.
"They were what we expected them to be," Kentucky sophomore tailback Benny Snell said after a 22-carry, 94-yard performance. "They swarmed to the ball. They're very athletic, and they have a competitive will."
The Bulldogs picked up one first down on their opening possession before Jake Fromm was intercepted by Wildcats linebacker Josh Allen, who had a 14-yard return to the Georgia 32. Kentucky picked up one first down on its first drive as well before settling on an Austin MacGinnis 37-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Fromm was sacked early in Georgia's second possession, but the Bulldogs capitalized on a roughing-the-punter penalty and drove 75 yards in 12 plays, taking a 7-3 lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by Chubb. The Wildcats responded with a 45-yard pass from Stephen Johnson to Blake Bone to Georgia's 31, but they had to settle for a 35-yard MacGinnis field goal and a 7-6 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
"It was emotional out there for all of us, and that may be what slowed us down at the beginning," Chubb said. "We were kind of like, 'This is really our last one here.' We got to rolling later."
Georgia had second-quarter touchdown drives of 80 and 51 yards, taking a 14-6 lead on a 27-yard pass from Fromm to Javon Wims and a 21-6 lead on a 37-yard run by Michel. The Bulldogs took a 21-6 lead into halftime.
The Wildcats opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 75-yard drive and pulled within 21-13 on a 1-yard run by Snell, but the Bulldogs countered with a six-play, 60-yard possession. That Georgia drive consisted entirely of runs, and a 7-yard touchdown by Michel restored the 15-point advantage at 28-13.
Kentucky did not travel into Georgia territory the rest of the game.
"Sometimes you've got to regroup," Bulldogs senior outside linebacker Davin Bellamy said. "We came to the sideline, and we regrouped and realized we had to be more physical with them."
Georgia will conclude its regular season this Saturday at Georgia Tech, with the game being televised by ABC at either noon or 8 p.m. The kickoff time should be announced at some point today.
"I think adversity doesn't build character but exposes character," Smart said. "There was an opportunity after last week's loss to see how we would respond, and I think the character of our group is clear."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.