Wildcats have confidence against Bulldogs

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Posted 5:19PM on Friday, October 25, 2002

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky junior quarterback Jared Lorenzen can't explain why the Wildcats have played so well against Georgia in recent years. "It's just happened that way. Guys have stepped up and made plays," said Lorenzen, who's thrown for 905 yards and five touchdowns in two games with the Bulldogs. Georgia has won five straight in the series, but only by an average of nine points. They meet again Saturday and Georgia has more to lose than ever heading into a game with Kentucky. Georgia (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) is one of only eight unbeaten teams left in Division I-A and is shooting for its best start since 1982, the last year the Bulldogs won the SEC. They need two more league wins to clinch the Eastern Division. "This team knows what's at stake. If we win the next two games, we're Eastern Division champs. We're very motivated by that statement," said senior receiver Terrence Edwards, who needs four catches to become Georgia's career receptions leader. Edwards said he wasn't aware how close the Bulldogs were to clinching until coach Mark Richt told the team at a meeting. "A chill went through my body," Edwards said, "and the whole team, as well." Meanwhile, the Wildcats (5-2, 1 (2)- have little to lose. Banned from winning the SEC title or playing in a bowl game by the NCAA, they can still match their best start since 1984. They can also end the program's 17-game losing streak to top five opponents, a run that dates to a 24-20 win over No. 4 Penn State in 1977. "This is why I came here, and I'm sure it's why a lot of players came here: to play in big-time games and prove we're a big-time team," said receiver Aaron Boone, who leads the Wildcats with five touchdown catches. Win or lose, it's already been a season of major accomplishments for Kentucky. The Wildcats opened with a win at No. 17 Louisville, the highest ranked team they've beaten since 1988. Last week, they won at Arkansas, their first conference road win since 1999 against someone other than Vanderbilt. "We've come a long way. Georgia is one more hump we have to get over before we finally turn the corner," said Lorenzen, second in the SEC in passing efficiency. "We've got to prove to ourselves and prove to our fans we can play with these kinds of teams." Three key injuries make Georgia appear vulnerable. Leading rusher Musa Smith, second-leading receiver Fred Gibson and senior offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb all suffered injuries in last week's win over Vanderbilt that will keep them out of Saturday's game in Lexington. "It kind of all happened at once," Richt said. "A lot of times, a guy goes down and another guy jumps in there for a week or two. Now, all of a sudden, we've got some problems, no doubt." Redshirt freshman Tony Milton, who has only 118 yards on 28 carries this season, will make his first career start on Saturday. Even with Smith, the Bulldogs were 10th in the league in rushing, averaging only 122 yards per game. "I like what Milton has done, but I don't know if he can carry 20 times a game or whether the guys behind him can carry the ball five apiece," Richt said. "I am curious to see how these guys respond. Tony will do well, but he just has never done it before." Richt is also worried about Lorenzen, who completed 32-of-54 passes in last year's game, despite heavy pressure from Georgia's pass rush. "We got to him, we just couldn't tackle him," Richt said. "It was probably one of the most frustrating games we had defensively. We had a pretty good scheme, but because that guy was so physical, there really wasn't much we could do about it." David Greene matched Lorenzen's numbers last year, throwing for 364 yards and three touchdowns. Greene had his most accurate performance of this season last week, completing 20-of-23 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns against the Commodores. Kentucky coach Guy Morriss also expects to see redshirt freshman quarterback D.J. Shockley, the more mobile of the two. Shockley returned in the Vanderbilt game after sitting out four games with a broken foot. "Greene is a good passer who doesn't like to scramble; Shockley is probably not as good of a passer, but is extremely athletic and can run the ball," Morriss said. "You've got to prepare for it. It makes your life that much more miserable."