ATHENS — On a day when Georgia was getting little help from other teams around the nation, the Bulldogs did the only thing they could do Saturday at Sanford Stadium to stay in the College Football Playoff race.
The Bulldogs churned out 381 yards on the ground, paced by five combined touchdown runs from seniors Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, and eventually ran away from Kentucky for a 42-13 victory.
The SEC East title and a spot in the SEC Championship game in two weeks already had been comfortably secured. And with sights still set on a bigger prize, Georgia (10-1, 7-1 SEC East) could not afford another letdown against the Wildcats (7-4, 4-4 SEC East) following last week’s beyond-disappointing 40-17 drubbing at the hands of Auburn.
“To me this was a game to show our attitude and resiliency and how we were going to respond,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I thought we responded well for the most part.”
The Bulldogs sat at No. 7 in the latest CFP poll and the six teams in front of them all won on Saturday. With just two weeks left, including conference championship games, there is virtually no margin for error if they are to snag one of the top four spots and a shot at the National Title.
“We didn’t really worry about that too much coming into this game but you always want to win,” Smart said. “To us this was just the next game. We still have a lot of things to improve on and our goal is just to get better each week.”
However, a slow start saw Georgia fall behind 3-0 after the Wildcats picked off Jake Fromm’s fourth pass of the opening drive and turn that into a 37-yard Austin MacGinnis field goal that seemed to wake up the Bulldogs and their running game.
Georgia answered with a 12-play, 75 yard drive that constituted 11 rushes for 67 yards, capped by an 8-yard scoring run from Chubb. The Wildcats pulled within 7-6 with 11 seconds left in the first quarter on another MacGinnis field goal of 35-yards that was set up by a 45-yard pass from Stephen Johnson to Blake Bone.
The teams traded punts most of the second quarter until Georgia extended its lead to 14-6 on a beautiful 27-yard strike from Fromm to Javon Wims with 4:56 left in the half. The Bulldogs defense forced a quick 3-and-out and Michel capped a short 51-yard drive with a 37-yard sprint through traffic and down the right sideline and diving inside the pylon for a 21-6 advantage they took into the intermission.
Kentucky opened the second half with a methodical 8-play, 75-yard drive to pull within 21-13 on a Benny Snell 1-yard touchdown run. Snell finished with 94 yards on the ground to pace the Wildcats.
“I was proud of the effort but we have to tackle better,” Smart said. “(Snell) is a tough guy to get ahold of and tackle but you still have to find a way to make those plays. Other than that I thought we did a good job.”
The Bulldogs answered that with an 8-yard Michel touchdown run on its next drive and then they essentially put the game away on the second play of the fourth quarter when Chubb raced 55-yards for a score and a 35-13 lead. Michel added his third scoring run of the game just three minutes later for the final points.
The 381 rushing yards was the highest since piling up 389 against Missouri on Oct. 14. Georgia changed up the offensive line with redshirt-freshman Ben Cleveland making his first start at right guard and teaming with true freshman Andrew Thomas on the right side.
“Ben has been competing hard in practice and he won a starting spot. There is just a tremendous amount of competition at that position and I thought they did a nice job,” Smart said. “But we wouldn’t put them out there if we didn’t expect them to do well and compete.”
For Chubb and Michel, and the rest of the seniors, it was their final games at Sanford Stadium. Smart said the program would not be making the push it is without their leadership.
“It was a great way for these seniors to go out -- winning the SEC East by going undefeated against the East teams,” Smart said. “They have given us tremendous amunt of leadership and have set the standard for our younger players and helped them buy in. We wouldn’t be where we are right now without them.”
Chubb, who finished with 151 yards and two scores, and Michel, who added 87 yards and three touchdowns, helped set the tone by opting to stay at Georgia following last season and returning for their senior seasons instead declaring for the NFL Draft.
It wasn’t lost on Smart, who thinks their decisions are also paying off individually.
“The could have left but I think they didn’t want to have that bad taste of watching these guys have success and not be a part of it,” he said. “But I also think they have improved. Both guys are underappreciated in what they have accomplished.
“They are equally talented. They have had to share for most of their careers which is a testament to both guys on what kind of unselfish team players they are. Both would have put up huge numbers had they been the lone featured guy.”
Georgia will try to keep pace in the CFP race next week heading to Bobby Dodd Stadium to take on Georgia Tech and their dangerous triple-option attack in the regular season finale.
“It’s a tough offense to defend so we will have to be disciplined for sure,” he said. “We’re not looking at anything other than it being the next game. The rest of that stuff will take care of itself.”
