ATHENS, Ga. – A 27-3 win over Kentucky may not erase a 27-3 loss to Florida, but it sure has the Georgia Bulldogs feeling better about themselves.
Georgia was far from invincible Saturday at Sanford Stadium but still whipped the Wildcats to improve to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs clinched bowl eligibility for a 19th consecutive season, a streak that leads the SEC, with LSU (16) and Alabama (12) next in line.
Decidedly losing to the Gators in Jacksonville resulted in national media members early last week calling for the removal of Mark Richt as coach. Then Richt on Thursday had to squash speculation that defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt was being fired for being combative with other staff members.
“It’s been a little wild with all the outside stuff,” Georgia senior linebacker Jake Ganus said after tallying a team-high eight tackles on a defense that held Kentucky to 180 yards and eight first downs. “Our backs were against the wall, and there was a lot of negative stuff swirling around, and the best way to kill that was with a win.
“Winning may not solve everything, but it solves a lot of things.”
Kentucky dropped to 4-5 and 2-5 within the league with its fourth straight loss. The Wildcats must take two against Vanderbilt, Charlotte or Louisville to attain bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010.
Bulldogs offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said the reports of staff infighting have been overblown.
“We all have a job to do,” he said, “and when you’re struggling a little bit, you don’t always agree with everybody’s opinion. We’re working, and this win will help.”
And how did Richt explain the locker room after the much-needed victory?
“We weren’t doing back flips or anything like that, but everybody felt better,” he said. “There was a lot of support for one another throughout the week and a lot of support in the game. It was a good, solid victory and some good medicine for us right now.”
Sophomore tailback Sony Michel, who didn’t have a run longer than 10 yards in the previous two games, pounded out 165 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He had a 45-yard run late in the third quarter to set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Greyson Lambert to Keith Marshall that made it 24-3.
The 165 yards marked a career high for Michel.
“He’s a really tough kid who can run it inside and outside,” Richt said. “Everybody has always looked at him as a third-down back or a situational back, but he really is a tough runner.”
Said Michel: “All week we had been breaking stuff in in practice, and today felt like nothing new. It felt like the stuff we had been doing all week.”
Michel’s 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter essentially put the game away at 17-3. It also polished off a 10-play, 52-yard drive headed by Lambert, who regained his starting role after watching from the sideline last week as Faton Bauta was intercepted four times.
Lambert completed just 6 of 13 passes for 64 yards and the touchdown, but he was steady in helping the Bulldogs break free.
“It felt great being able to go back out there and for our team to get a win,” Lambert said. “I’m here to do my job, and whatever the coaches tell me my job is, that’s what I’m going to do to the best of my ability. Everybody wants to play, but you have to put the team first and see how you can still help the team.
“Faton helped out at safety this past week, and he was good at it, too. As a quarterback group, we’re all just trying to win ballgames and do what we can.”
Freshman receiver Terry Godwin had a unique touchdown to open Saturday’s scoring, taking a direct snap and fumbling a handoff before collecting the ball and racing ahead 28 yards for a 7-0 lead at the 8:57 mark of the first quarter. That was Georgia’s first touchdown in 29 possessions dating back to the Oct. 10 loss at Tennessee.
“It was a read option, and I tried to pull the ball away from Sony, but it slipped out of my hands,” Godwin said. “That actually helped us, because the defense overran it, and that opened up a hole.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Auburn this week for a noon EST kickoff on CBS, and they will do so in a better mood.
“This was a very positive thing that happened,” Richt said. “It’s one week and one game, but it certainly has us moving in a positive direction, and that’s what you want.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.